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Stories from China’s Past
中国古代的故事：四川汉代画像砖与考古文物展

September 17 – November 12, 1988

This exhibition displayed a rich assortment of Han dynasty (206 BCE–220 CE) pictorial tomb tiles, tomb bricks, and building materials used to construct nobles’ tomb chambers in Sichuan Province. Han tomb tiles found in northern China emphasize pictorial scenes derived from historical sources, mythology, and folklore, while tiles from Sichuan, in marked contrast, bring realism to the art form with vivid representations of “Ba Shu” culture, the regional culture of Sichuan. Carved and painted figures on the seventy tomb relief objects in the exhibition depicted every aspect of people’s daily life, from farming and loom weaving to hunting and fishing. The reliefs and sculptures included scenes of entertainment, from carriage riding and archery to drama and music. Showcasing funerary reliefs, stone and pottery sculptures, and other artifacts from the Han dynasty, the exhibition was the first to present these cultural relics from Sichuan in the United States.

Exhibition organized by The Chinese Culture Center of San Francisco; catalogue published by The Chinese Culture Center of San Francisco, California; copyright 1987 by The Chinese Culture Center of San Francisco.

• The Chinese Culture Center of San Francisco, San Francisco, California April 11–May 31, 1987
• Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, Massachusetts, July 1–August 16, 1987
• University of Michigan Museum, Ann Arbor, Michigan, September 8–October 25, 1987
• Walters Art Gallery, Baltimore, Maryland, November 20, 1987– January 10, 1988
• Herbert F. Johnson Museum, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York, January 36–March 13, 1988
• Frederick S. Wright Gallery, University of California, Los Angeles, California, April 3–May 22, 1988
• Phoenix Art Museum, Phoenix, Arizona, June 18–August 21, 1988

Media Coverage

  • The New Yorker
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