The weddings of the Qing emperors were majestic state ceremonies and among the most solemn celebrations within the Forbidden City. An upcoming exhibition at the Hong Kong Heritage Museum featuring these grand occasions offers visitors a chance to learn more about the traditions of Qing weddings and the origins of modern wedding etiquette. The Hong Kong Jockey Club Series:Ceremony and Celebration - The Grand Weddings of the Qing Emperors exhibition, which opens tomorrow and is funded by the The Hong Kong Jockey Club Charities Trust, will showcase 153 rare and valuable exhibits meticulously selected from the Palace Museum collection.
Today (29 November), Club Deputy Chairman Anthony W K Chow joined Chief Secretary of the Hong Kong SAR Carrie Lam, Director of The Palace Museum Dr Shan Jixiang, Chairperson of the History Sub-committee, Museum Advisory Committee Anita Fung, Director of Leisure and Cultural Services Michelle Li and Hong Kong Heritage Museum Director Fione Lo as officiating guests at the opening ceremony.
Mr Chow told the guests that enabling such exhibitions to come to Hong Kong demonstrated the Club’s commitment to supporting arts and cultural development across the city, with sponsorship totalling over HK$4.3 billion over the past decade. “Our support also includes various education activities including public lectures, guided tours and interactive outreach workshops, enhancing the interest of the younger generation in Chinese traditional wedding ceremonies and customs,” he said.
Running for nearly three months, The Hong Kong Jockey Club Series: Ceremony and Celebration - The Grand Weddings of the Qing Emperors will showcase more than a hundred artefacts from the weddings of Qing emperors, such as a gold seal engraved with Huanghou zhibao (empress’s seal) surmounted by a dragon knob, the robe with Double Happiness and gold dragon motifs worn by Emperor Guangxu during his wedding and the duomu flask used in traditional Manchu weddings. Most fascinating of all is the Comprehensive Illustrated Record of the Grand Wedding of Zaitian (Emperor Guangxu), displayed in Hong Kong for the first time, giving a precise visual account of the processes of Emperor Guangxu’s grand wedding, vividly conveying the ceremonious and jubilant atmosphere of the event. Artefacts highlighting marriage traditions from local museum collections will also be displayed, allowing visitors to compare the scale of the emperors’ grand weddings with those practised by commoners in China.
Adding further appeal are various specially-created multimedia applications including replicas of the emperor’s wedding room and the empress’s Phoenix Chair, giving visitors a truly realistic experience of the Qing Dynasty wedding. For details, please visit
http://www.heritagemuseum.gov.hk/en_US/web/hm/exhibitions/data/exid239.html.
The Hong Kong Jockey Club Series is a partnership between the Club’s Charities Trust and the Leisure and Cultural Services Department. Launched in 2012/13 with annual Trust funding of about HK$17 million, it supports two to three exhibitions each year. All exhibitions are complemented by educational programmes. Previous exhibitions including The Radiant Ming 1368-1644 through the Min Chiu Society Collection, The Rise of the Celestial Empire - Consolidation and Cultural Exchange during the Han Dynasty andWestern Scientific Instruments of the Qing Court exhibition.
The Hong Kong Jockey Club
The Hong Kong Jockey Club is a not-for-profit enterprise dedicated to community betterment. Through its integrated business model of world-class racing, responsible sports wagering and lottery, and charity and community contribution, the Club generates substantial economic and social value and assists the Government in combatting illegal gambling. In 2015/16 the Club donated a record HK$3.9 billion to charity and paid a record HK$20.9 billion in tax. It is Hong Kong’s largest single tax payer and one of the world’s largest charity donors. Committed to global excellence and giving back to society, the Club is always “riding high together for a better future” with the people of Hong Kong.
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Club Deputy Chairman Anthony W K Chow says the Club has long been a supporter of arts and cultural development across the city, and is delighted to be the sole sponsor of The Hong Kong Jockey Club Series: Ceremony and Celebration - The Grand Weddings of the Qing Emperors.
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Club Deputy Chairman Anthony W K Chow (2nd right) joins Chief Secretary of the Hong Kong SAR Carrie Lam (3rd right), Director of The Palace Museum Director Dr Shan Jixiang (3rd left), Chairperson of the History Sub-committee, Museum Advisory Committee Anita Fung (2nd left), Director of Leisure and Cultural Services Michelle Li (1st right) and Hong Kong Heritage Museum Director Fione Lo (1st left) at the opening ceremony of The Hong Kong Jockey Club Series: Ceremony and Celebration - The Grand Weddings of the Qing Emperors exhibition.
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Officiating guests tour The Hong Kong Jockey Club Series: Ceremony and Celebration - The Grand Weddings of the Qing Emperors exhibition.
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Photos 5/6:
Exhibits of The Hong Kong Jockey Club Series: Ceremony and Celebration - The Grand Weddings of the Qing Emperors exhibition.
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