Time treasure
Beijing antique shop to celebrate 350 years of its establishment next year, Lin Qi reports.
When Songzhu Zhai ("studio of pines and bamboos"), a small paper shop, was opened in Beijing in the late 17th century, none of its owners or customers expected the store, later renamed Rongbao Zhai ("studio of glorious treasures"), to continue operating for more than three centuries, evolving into a prestigious brand and influential contributor to traditional Chinese arts and crafts.
Rongbao Zhai, now a comprehensive State-owned cultural enterprise with experience in dealing, collecting and exhibiting antiques, as well as publishing and preserving craftsmanship, will mark its 350th anniversary next year. It recently announced a diverse program for the upcoming celebrations at its Beijing headquarters, located on Liulichang, a street with a number of antique shops.
Fan Cungang, deputy general manager of Rongbao Zhai, says anniversary activities will be held throughout 2022 to include exhibitions, videos, forums and publications, among others.
He says six exhibitions will be mounted to review Rongbao Zhai's history, its accumulation of Chinese art legacies and long-standing connections with and support of renowned artists. The highlighted shows include one that will present selected artworks from different periods from the company's immense collection and another that will have works by inheritors of intangible heritage from across the country.
Rongbao Zhai pays attention to preserving craftsmanship. It has established workshops for its staff members who are devoted to woodblock printing and techniques of mounting and restoring, two items recognized as national-level intangible cultural heritage.
The company will also collaborate with the Long Museum, founded by Shanghai collector couple Liu Yiqian and Wang Wei, to show works by Zhang Daqian (1899-1983) and Qi Baishi (1864-1957), two giants of modern Chinese art and regular customers of Rongbao Zhai. These works are from the collections of Rongbao Zhai and the Long Museum.
It will also launch a special video program of 30 episodes where interviews of renowned artists, scholars, collectors and experts will be shown and the viewers will be told about how these figures carry forward Chinese cultural traditions.
