Palace Museum Incorporates Modern Techniques to Promote Tradition

The Forbidden City in Beijing
The Forbidden City in Beijing (photo: pixabay)
By Mei ManuelNovember 18th, 2018

In order to promote the country's traditions, culture and historical relics, the Palace Museum is now applying new mediums to reach its targets.

The first project of this effort appeared on November 9, a TV show that was co-produced by the museum and Beijing TV. According to the video rating website Douban, it received 8.3 out of 10 points. It is also reported that this is the first TV show produced by the museum.

The show features popular actors and actresses, led by cultural relics and history experts, in exploring the Forbidden City, visiting cultural relics and learning traditional culture and historical events behind the scenes.

They also, with the help of designers and design major students, propose the creation of cultural and creative products featuring several Palace Museum memorabilia, such as bracelets, purses, pens and fans, that appeal to the younger generation.

In addition to the TV program, the Palace Museum has also been working on other mediums. It has been co-organizing a music competition with China's internet giant Tencent since July, inviting local composers and singers to produce and create songs, drawing inspiration from the museum's 10 ancient masterpiece paintings.

The theme song for the event is based on the painting "a Panorama of Rivers and Mountains". The song's music video received over 34 million online views on just the first day of release.

The museum has also partnered with Tencent in terms of developing a game featuring the Forbidden City and its themes and since it was released, it has been downloaded 40 million times.

Curator of the Palace Museum Shan Jixiang said such new approaches to combine the museum's treasures with music and technologies are expected to stimulate the creativity of the younger generation, injecting new vitality into the Chinese nation's traditional culture.

 

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