BEIJING, Aug. 30 (Xinhua) -- The Palace Museum in Beijing houses 53,150 paintings; it is often the faces of their protagonists that bring the spirit of China most vividly alive.
From the romantic encounter of Cao Zhi and the Luo River Goddess to the quiet resonance between Yu Boya and Zhong Ziqi, from the image of a Chinese emperor in Western attire to the bustle of everyday life, these portraits speak volumes across centuries.
As the museum is about to celebrate its centenary, this feature revisits portraiture not as static images but as vessels of memory and meaning, tracing how this art form preserved the values and character of a civilization.
Image courtesy of
The Palace Museum
Editing and visual design by
Li Mangmang, Sui Shangjun, Hu Jingwen
CHINA SIGNATURE STUDIO
