On the afternoon of November 12th, the SUIBE museum located at the Gubei Campus celebrated its inaugural exhibition, one that explained the impacts from the Chinese porcelain culture on the European culture. The exhibits were presented by the museum in collaboration with renowned collector Ms. Sun Jianwei, under the support of the university’s alumni from Xiamen, Fujian Province, and other organizations. The opening ceremony was attended by Xu Dazhen, Vice Chairman of the Shanghai Municipal Federation of Returned Overseas Chinese, An Laishun, President of the Regional Alliance of Asia-Pacific Countries of the International Council of Museums (ICOM), Luo Yinru, Chief Representative of the Shanghai Liaison Office of the German Trade & Invest Agency, as well as representatives from the Shanghai Municipal People’s Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries, Tongji University, Sun’s relatives, and the SUIBE alumni. The ceremony was also attended by Yin Yao, chairman of the University Council of SUIBE, Wang Rongming, SUIBE president, Qi Ming, vice chairman of the University Council and vice president of SUIBE, and SUIBE vice presidents Xu Yonglin, Wu Zhong and Yu Xuemei as well as the heads of relevant departments of the university and foreign guests.
President Wang said that the SUIBE museum serves as a platform for cultural exchange and an important front for culture-and-art education. He stressed that it plays a special role in developing disciplines and majors, inheriting brilliant cultures, and shaping cultural values, etc. A well-constructed university museum is an inherent pat of the construction of world-class universities and first-class disciplines and mirrors the university’s historical responsibility in doing so. It is a pragmatic measure to provide quality public services and respond to external expectations while cultivating students. He said that SUIBE will give full play to its characteristic advantages and integrate platform resources to promote high-quality construction and development of the museum.
The exhibition displayed nearly 300 pieces of porcelain, including some that date back to the 17th century and were shipped from Germany, the UK, France, Italy, Austria, Hungary, and other European countries, and some exported from China. From multiple perspectives, it presented the world’s enthusiasm for porcelain and told the story of how the Chinese porcelain culture ignited the prosperity of trade between China and the West.
Translated by Chen Siqi
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