In greeting the Year of the Dog 2018 or the Year of WU XU, the NMC specially curated “Welcoming the Year of the Dog—Exhibition of Cultural Relics in the NMC”, featuring over 100 cultural relics about Chinese Spring Festival customs and precious artworks themed on the dog.
Themed on “Happy Spring Festival and Zodiac Sign of Dog”, the exhibition is staged in four sections, namely, Welcoming the New Year—the Spring Festival customs, Prosperity—dogs in people’s daily life, Psychic—dogs in folk culture, and Companionship—dogs in literature and art. Among the exhibits are pieces of pottery, bronzes, porcelains, jade ware, paintings and folk art. The section of “Welcoming the New Year” showcases a selected series of representative scroll paintings, hanging screens, illustrated books, fans, embroidered pieces, New Year pictures, paper cuttings, mirror curtains, candles and porcelains, interpreting the cultural implications of the Spring Festival while demonstrating various folk activities familiar to the Chinese people, such as setting off firecrackers, pasting the new year pictures, appreciating lanterns, just to name a few. The Spring Festival is an occasion to pray for good fortune and great blessings that appeal to all, creating an auspicious and harmonious atmosphere.
The “Prosperity” section focuses on the dogs in daily production activities and everyday life, featuring a selected series of cultural relics, including burial objects, portrait bricks, stone tablets, accessories, snuff bottles, illustrated books, scroll paintings, and New Year pictures. This section showcases the dogs’ social roles and important functions in daily life.
The “Psychic” section gathers a rich and vast range of cultural relics, such as the pottery figurine of the Zodiac dog, stamp, copper seal, jewelry box, tray, jade puppy, and folk clay figures. This section interprets the dog’s symbolic meaning and spiritual implications in traditional Chinese culture from the perspectives of burial customs, zodiac culture, idol worship, and others.
The “Companionship” section displays the paintings from various eras and regions, including artworks based on historical customs and classic literary works, oil paintings, as well as ink and wash which vividly portray the dogs.