GUIZHOU – Chinas Reich der Töne und Farben

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The province of Guizhou lies in the south-west of the People’s Republic of China on a subtropical, moist plateau over 1,000 metres above sea level. Because of its geographical location Guizhou was virtually inaccessible for a long time and still counts as the poorest province in China. With its 220 (!) days of bad weather a year Guizhou is the province with the highest number of cloudy days in the whole of the People’s Republic. It is small wonder that the name of the capital Guiyang means “precious sunshine” in English.

Approximately 38m people live in Guizhou, 37% of whom belong to one of the fifteen ethnic groups. This ethnicity has developed over thousands of years, various nationalities from the north and east settling here in the mountains or stopping a while on their journey and then moving on to southern Asia. Each of these ethnic groups with such mellifluous names as Dong, Miao, Yao or Shui brought along its own language and culture, and their customs, their embroidery, silver jewellery, their songs and their religious ideas have remained basically intact to the present day.

All these religious ideas have one thing in common: natural phenomena such as water, plants and stars have a soul. In the course of the centuries Buddhist and Taoist elements have intermingled with these ideas.

From 17th May, roughly 300 objects from the collection of Professor Liu Yong, a Buyi national, will provide an insight into the diversity of a province which is experiencing upheavals caused by the great economic change in the People’s Republic of China and which is having to defend its traditional values. Besides festive dress and everyday clothing of the people from various mountain areas and valleys the exhibition also shows jewellery, images of religious ceremonies and masks from the Nuo and Dixi Music Theatre in photographs and film.

A comprehensive supporting programme, educational offers from the museum, family Sundays and holiday workshops will help to reinforce this insight into these apparently so distant cultures. A brochure on the exhibition will be published at the opening of the exhibition. Guided tours and audio guides will be available in German, Italian and English.

Opening hours:
17th May - 26th October: daily 10 a.m - 04 p.m.
(Closed on Mondays)

08/09/2008