Events
To book the events below, call 020 7300 5839 or fax 020 7300 8071. For information only, email events.lectures@royalacademy.org.uk or visit www.royalacademy.org.uk/eventsandlectures
EVENING LECTURES
All evening lectures take place in the Reynolds Room at the Royal Academy from 6.30pm—7.30pm; £14/£6 students (includes exhibition entry and a drink), £10 (includes a drink)
Friday 9 December
The Three Emperors: Universal Rule and the Auspicious Universe, the Role of Art at the Qing Court
Professor Dame Jessica Rawson, Warden of Merton College, Oxford
The arts of the Qing court – painting, silk weaving, porcelain, jade and lacquer — were used by the Qing Emperors to express and maintain their command of the diverse territories they ruled, from the Mongolian Steppes and deserts of the north to the gardens and rice fields of the semi-tropical south. Professor Dame Jessica Rawson, Warden of Merton College, Oxford and co-curator of the exhibition, explores the ways in which the Emperors deployed the finest paintings, porcelains and jades to represent themselves at the centres of the universe in the eyes of their courtiers and subjects: as the creators of a great state, as ardent Buddhists and as eminent figures within China’s ancient scholarly traditions.
Friday 13 January
Pleasurable Duties: The Three Emperors’ Patronage of the Arts
Regina Krahl
The Emperors of China fulfilled multiple roles, which included protecting the artistic heritage of previous dynasties, upholding the country’s traditions and actively supporting contemporary arts and crafts. Independent scholar Regina Krahl explores how, through their keen personal interest in the arts and commitment to patronage, the Kangxi, Yongzheng and Qianlong Emperors shaped the artistic production of their day in very immediate ways, according to their different personalities.
Friday 27 January
The Forbidden City and Other Buildings: The Qing Emperors and Architecture
Dr Frances Wood, Head of Chinese, Manchu and Mongolian Collections at The British Library
The early Qing emperors were keen patrons of architecture. Though constrained by Chinese imperial symbolism and the high walls of the Forbidden City, they nevertheless stamped a Manchu mark on its interiors. It was outside Peking, however, that they constructed their grandest and most decorative summer palaces and temples. Dr Frances Wood, Head of Chinese, Manchu and Mongolian Collections at The British Library, discusses the architectural legacy created by the Three Emperors with particular reference to the vital function and exquisite decoration of the Forbidden City.
Friday 3 February
Religious Traditions of the Forbidden City
Susan Naquin, Professor of History and East Asian Studies at Princeton University
The Manchu rulers of the Qing empire presided over a large multi-ethnic empire, and this cultural richness was replicated within the cinnabar walls of the Forbidden City. Reflecting a remarkable cosmopolitanism, these Emperors performed rituals to Buddhist, Daoist, and Confucian gods, and they lavishly patronised monks and nuns, mosques, churches, and monasteries. Tibetan lamas were their close advisors, even as they humbled themselves on the white marble Altar to Heaven. Susan Naquin, Professor of History and East Asian Studies at Princeton University, investigates the apparent contradictions of this intimate palace world of imperial belief and practice.
Friday 17 February
The ‘Prosperous Age’: China in the Kangxi, Yongzheng and Qianlong Reigns
Evelyn S. Rawski, Professor of History at the University of Pittsburgh
The Kangxi, Yongzheng and Qianlong reigns can be evaluated from a number of different perspectives. Although the economic, political and cultural achievements of the age may have marked the historical peak of dynastic rule, many historians compare them unfavourably with simultaneous changes in Western Europe. Recent scholarship, however, places the three reigns within a global context to highlight parallels between Chinese and European historical developments. Evelyn S. Rawski, Professor of History at the University of Pittsburgh, surveys the scholarly literature, which assesses the impact of Manchu rule during the early Qing dynasty.
Friday 3 March
Resisting with Impunity: Painted Commentaries on the Manchu Conquest
Dr Alfreda Murck
In contrast to the auspicious imagery of the Qing dynasty imperial court paintings, some of the scholarly paintings produced by the Chinese literati served to vent frustrations with the Manchu rulers and to remember the fallen Ming dynasty. These Chinese intellectuals of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries expressed resistance and complaint to Qing rule through imagery that varied widely from a beautiful courtesan to a humble snail, and from dilapidated architecture to red peach blossoms. Independent scholar Dr Alfreda Murck demonstrates how literati painters and poets created a symbolic language for dissent based on ancient tradition and new circumstances.
LUNCHTIME LECTURES
All free lunchtime lectures take place in the Reynolds Room; 1—2pm; collect tokens from the entrance to the Saloon from 12 noon; doors open at 12.30pm; first come, first served.
Monday 28 November
An Introduction to the Exhibition
Cecilia Treves, co-curator of the exhibition
Monday 16 January
Court and Calligraphy: The Three Emperors and the Art of Writing
Shelagh Vainker, Ashmolean Museum, Oxford
Monday 30 January
Imperial Tastes in Porcelain and Textile Decoration
Jacqueline Simcox, private textiles dealer
Monday 13 February
‘Sinicised Barbarians’: The Liao, Jin and Qing Conquest Dynasties
Hiromi Kinoshita, Chinese art historian
Monday 20 March
The European Artists at the Court of the Three Emperors
Professor Michèle Pirazzoli-t’Serstevens, EPHE, Sorbonne, Paris
COURSE
Mondays 27 February, 6 & 13 March
Chinese Decorative Arts of the Qing Dynasty
Session 1: Rose Kerr
Session 2: Teacher and writer Verity Wilson
Session 3: Carol Michaelson of The British Museum
This three-part course examines the function, production and ornament of decorative arts in Qing Dynasty China. It was in the celebrated imperial collections of the Three Emperors that finely crafted porcelain, jade, lacquer, ceramics and textiles found their most opulent expression. In session one, historian and curator Rose Kerr looks at Qing ceramics and porcelain; in session two, teacher and writer Verity Wilson discusses the lavish textiles and dress of the Qing court; in session three, Carol Michaelson of The British Museum explores the Qianlong Emperor’s love of Chinese jade.
Reynolds Room, Royal Academy; 2.30pm – 4.30pm; £45/£25 students (includes catalogue, exhibition entry and tea)
FOCUS DAY
Saturday 25 February
Imperial Identity in Qing Dynasty China
Dr Frances Wood of The British Library, Christie’s academic consultant Rosemary Scott and Dr Shane McCausland, from the Chester Beatty Library
This Focus Day considers the roles and responsibilities assumed by Qing Dynasty rulers and reveals the personal and political characters of the Kangxi, Yongzheng and Qianlong Emperors. Dr Shane McCausland, curator, illustrates the various roles of the Qing Emperor – ruler, patron, conqueror, scholar – through Chinese painting; Christie’s academic consultant Rosemary Scott examines the effects of each Emperor’s tastes and interests on the works added to the imperial collection during their respective reigns; Dr Frances Wood of The British Library discusses imperial symbolism in the context of the Qing tombs and attitudes towards ancestor worship and the afterlife.
Society of Antiquaries, Burlington House, W1; 10am—2pm; £25/£15 students (includes exhibition entry and tea)
WORKSHOPS
Saturdays 14 January, 11 February, 18 March, 15 April
The Ancient Art of Calligraphy workshop
Chinese artist and calligrapher Qu Lei Lei
Led by respected Chinese artist and calligrapher Qu Lei Lei, this workshop explores the beautiful forms and disciplined practice of the ancient Chinese art of calligraphy. A slide talk introduces the origins and five major styles of calligraphy, before participants turn their own hand to this celebrated form of expression under Qu Lei Lei’s expert guidance. Using traditional Chinese ink, paper and brushes, participants experiment with simple, universal script characters, before progressing to the more complex ancient pictographic and Han official styles.
6 Burlington Gardens, W1; 2pm—6pm; £45/£30 students (includes exhibition entry, tea and materials)
SYMPOSIUM
A symposium is being organised to coincide with The Three Emperors exhibition and is scheduled to take place in the Khalili Lecture Theatre at the School of Oriental and Asian Studies (SOAS) on the weekend of 4/5 March. The format and programme for the day are still to be confirmed. For further information, please email events.lectures@royalacademy.org.uk
PUBLIC GALLERY TALKS
45-minute introductory talks; free with an exhibition ticket; meet in the first gallery of the exhibition; 2.30pm on Wednesdays and 7pm on Fridays (from 16 November)
SPOTLIGHT TALKS
10-minute talks focusing on individual works; free with an exhibition ticket; 3pm on Thursdays (from 17 November)
SCHOOL VISITS
Gallery Talks
Mondays at 9am, 10.30am, 12 noon and 2pm; Tuesdays at 10.30am, 12 noon and 2pm; Thursdays at 10.30am and 12 noon; Fridays at 9am.
Workshops
A full programme of primary and secondary school workshops. Please call 020 5995 to book school visits
EDUCATION GUIDES
An Introduction to the Exhibition for teachers and secondary students is available from the Education Desk with a ticket to the exhibition. It is on sale to other visitors in the RA Shop for £3.95. A special colour illustrated junior guide will also be produced for this exhibition, on sale in the shop for £1.50 and free at the Education desk for teachers and students with a ticket to the exhibition. Art Detectives, a gallery explorer for primary school children, can be obtained from the Education Desk with a ticket for the exhibition.
FAMILY EVENTS
Family Workshops
Tuesday 14 and Thursday 16 February
An introductory slide talk, visit to the exhibition, and practical hands-on session
6 Burlington Gardens, W1; 10.15am—1pm; free with an exhibition ticket; places are limited so please call 020 7300 5995 to pre-book
ACCESS PROGRAMME
All public areas are accessible. Guide, hearing and assistance dogs are welcome. Disabled parking spaces (limited) and wheelchairs must be pre-booked on 020 7300 8028; fax 020 7300 8071; text phone 0800 197 8549. Audio guides, transcripts, large-print gallery guides and labels are available on request. For any other enquiries including booking for BSL-interpreted gallery talks or guided tours for visually impaired people, please call the Access Officer on 020 7300 5732 or email access@royalacademy.org.uk.
British Sign Language and Lip-Speaking Gallery Tour
Fridays 16 December, 20 January, 17 February and 17 March; 6—7pm; please arrive at 5.45pm; tickets can be pre-booked through the Access Officer (contact above) or bought on the door; £3 deaf/hard-of-hearing and BSL/lip-speaking students
For PUBLIC information, please call 020 7300 8000 or visit
www.royalacademy.org.uk
www.threeemperors.org.uk
Royal Academy of Arts, Burlington House, Piccadilly, London W1J OBD
For further PRESS information, please contact the RA Press Office on tel: 020 7300 5615 fax: 020 7300 8032 or email press.office@royalacademy.org.uk 07/11/05
