On September 9th, the "Ancient Masterpieces, Glorious Literary Heritage - Exhibition of Excellent Traditional Chinese Cultural Classics" opened at the National Library (National Museum of Classic Books). Through vivid exhibition forms, precious ancient Chinese cultural classics came to life, bridging the gap with the audience.

On the occasion of the 115th anniversary of the National Library's establishment, the exhibition "Ancient Masterpieces, Glorious Literary Heritage - Exhibition of Excellent Traditional Chinese Cultural Classics" was specially curated, in collaboration with eight domestic libraries and museums. It featured selected handed-down editions and unearthed documents, including oracle bones, bamboo slips, stone carvings, and rare editions, rooted in Chinese cultural heritage, focusing on the profound connotations of classics, and showcasing achievements such as the "Chinese Ancient Classics Protection Program" and the "Hundred Classic Works of Chinese Traditional Culture."

The exhibition is divided into five units: "National Foundation Classics," "Axial Age," "Chinese Unity," "Exchange and Mutual Learning," and "Cultural Peaks." It also introduces the compilation project of the "Hundred Classic Works of Chinese Traditional Culture" and the "Chinese Ancient Classics Protection Program."

The first unit, "National Foundation Classics," starts from the "Five Classics," showcasing the grandeur and profound ideas of the "Book of Changes," "Book of Documents," "Book of Songs," "Book of Rites," and "Spring and Autumn Annals." It then expands to the "Thirteen Classics" continuously enriched by later scholars, revealing the enduring values and moral standards passed down through generations of the Chinese nation.

The second unit, "Axial Age," vividly presents the first golden age in the history of Chinese cultural thought - the period of a hundred schools of thought contending. Scholars of the time put forward a series of theoretical ideas and actively engaged in applying them in social practices. Confucianism, Mohism, Taoism, Legalism, Military Strategy... the intense clashes of ideas sparked wisdom. These great thoughts transcend time and space, still shining with wisdom today.

The third unit, "Chinese Unity," examines the concept of "Great Unity," its elaboration, and expansion. Through various types of classics such as historical records, maps, geographical documents, it explains how the unity of political systems, legal principles, geographic space, and even cultural education forms a solid foundation for the enduring and rejuvenating concept of "Great Unity." It reveals that "Great Unity" is an important cultural bond that sustains the development of the Chinese nation as a community and embodies the common pursuit and value identification of the Chinese people.

The fourth unit, "Exchange and Mutual Learning," showcases the long-standing cultural exchanges between China and other countries, reflecting the open and inclusive nature of Chinese civilization.

The fifth unit, "Cultural Peaks," displays the innovative and exploratory wisdom of the Chinese nation in various fields such as mathematics, art, science, and literature. It showcases literary works such as the "Book of Songs," Chu Ci, Han Fu, Tang Poetry, Song Lyrics, Yuan Qu, Ming and Qing novels, embodying the elegance and spiritual pursuits of literati, connecting the magnificent growth of Chinese cultural heritage, and presenting the brilliant Chinese civilization comprehensively.

The exhibition features a total of 54 precious exhibits in 75 volumes. Among them are the Song Dynasty's Chixi seven-year (1180) engraved version of "Classic of Mountains and Seas" from the National Library's collection, remnants of the Xiping Stone Classics "Book of Documents - Yao Canon," successive editions of the "Four Books with Chapter and Verse Commentaries" from the Song Dynasty, the official engraved edition of "Comprehensive Mirror for Aid in Government" from the Song Dynasty, the Song engraved edition of "Mr. Tao Yuanming's Poetry," and the oracle bones of the "Work Classics" from the Shandong Museum, among others.

To enhance the audience's exhibition experience comprehensively and make the process more engaging, various forms of multimedia interactive exhibits are set up in the exhibition hall, guiding visitors to explore the world of classics using new technologies. Upon entering the hall, visitors are greeted by a large immersive transparent LED screen playing a loop of the exhibition's theme video. Through the screen, visitors can see the exhibition layout, merging the foreground of the screen with the background of the hall. The hall's walls feature atmospheric projections, creating a classical ambiance for the entire exhibition. A long interactive touch screen map area complements the exhibits for expanded content display. The "Hundred Classic Works Dialogue" area uses a timeline for retrieval, showcasing the content of the hundred classics. Interactive transparent screens on display cabinets can sense visitors' positions and automatically show content related to the "Chu Ci" classics. By touching the screen, visitors can learn more about the exhibits, creating a unique interactive reading experience. Radar wave human body sensing technology is installed in the hall, activating lighting when detecting human presence. This not only saves energy and prolongs equipment life but also significantly reduces the exposure time of light-sensitive artifacts, making long-term display of paper artifacts possible.

Additionally, the hall provides free QR code audio guides in Chinese and English, allowing visitors to explore and view more related resources of the exhibits.

The exhibition is organized by the National Library (National Center for the Preservation of Ancient Books, National Museum of Classic Books), and co-organized by the Liaoning Provincial Library, Shanghai Library, Nanjing Library, Zhejiang Library, Shandong Museum, Guangdong Provincial Zhongshan Library, The Gansu Bamboo Slips Museum, and Jingzhou Museum. The exhibition opens to the public today (September 10th) at the first exhibition hall of the National Museum of Classic Books.

Translator: FENG Haoxuan

Reviewer: Ding Hongwei