The story of one of China's greatest emperors, the Kangxi Emperor, is being told through rare treasures from the Palace Museum in Beijing, in the first blockbuster exhibition in Singapore this year.
The Kangxi Emperor: Treasures From The Forbidden City, opens at the Asian Civilisations Museum (ACM) this Friday and runs till June 14.
The museum is reducing ticket prices from $10 to $8 to attract as many visitors as possible during the current economic downturn.
It expects 80,000 visitors to this comprehensive exhibition, which highlights various aspects of the Kangxi Emperor's reign.
Most of the artefacts have not been shown in South-east Asia and some have not been out of China.
The Kangxi Emperor, whose Chinese name was Aisin Gioro Xuanye, ruled China for 61 years from 1662 to 1722. He was the third emperor of the Manchu-led Qing dynasty.
He was a shrewd politician, a skilful archer and a fearless general, who reunited China after the fall of the Ming dynasty.
His uninterrupted rule makes him the longest-reigning emperor in Chinese history and one of the longest-reigning emperors in the world. His rule was marked by long-term stability and relative wealth for China after years of war and chaos.
But he was not just a man of action. The emperor was also a poet, a scholar, a man of science and an avid calligrapher.
Dr Frances Wood, 60, head of the Chinese, Manchu and Mongolian Collections at The British Library in Britain, who will visit Singapore for a conference on the emperor, says: 'He was a remarkable man. Not only did he, as a Manchu, have to master Chinese, he went on to demonstrate his commitment in great publishing projects such as the Kangxi dictionary.
'At the same time, he was very interested in Western learning. He had close connections with the Jesuits from whom he learned about surveying and mathematics. He was very much a universal man, yet in his dealings with papal envoys, for example, he made it clear that toleration was on his terms.'
The artefacts on show at the ACM are meant to flesh out the emperor's interests and his life in the Forbidden City.
In the show are 15 artefacts from the Singapore museum and private collectors' collection.
But the majority of the exhibits come from the Palace Museum in Beijing.
The ACM negotiated with the Beijing museum to borrow 80 artefacts and artworks ranging from paintings and porcelain to robes and armour.
Recalling how the selection of exhibits was done, Dr Kenson Kwok, 59, director of the ACM, says: 'Selecting the artefacts was an experience and told us how much China has changed in recent years.
'We were expecting to be shown the storage areas and to see some of the actual exhibits. Instead, we were led to one of the historic buildings within the Forbidden City which, to our surprise, was a spanking new office. We did the entire selection by computer from the online register of the collection.'
Innovator and leader
The museum cannot reveal the insured value of the artefacts as it is bound by terms of a contract not to do so.
Asked why the museum had chosen to focus on the Kangxi Emperor, he said the idea was inspired by the Three Emperors Exhibition on Kangxi, his son Yongzheng and his grandson Qianlong, done by the Royal Academy of London in 2005 and featuring 400 artefacts.
Dr Kwok says: 'Of the three emperors, it seemed to us that the Kangxi Emperor had the most attractive and multi-faceted personality.
'I would like visitors to see how he managed to balance all the demands and requirements of his job so intelligently and successfully.'
He adds that the emperor's innovative way of promoting Western science and technology, as well as the quality of the items made for him by the palace workshops, are impressive.
'Through this exhibition, you get glimpses of a man who deeply respected his grandmother and loved his empresses and was affected by loss and bereavement like any ordinary human being,' he says.
The calligraphic works, elaborate scrolls, magnificent dragon-decorated robes, snuff bottles and ancestor paintings show the various facets of the emperor.
Known for his military prowess, he personally led his troops to battle as the commander-in-chief.
So while visitors can marvel at a detailed silk painting showing him in a grand robe, they will also see his military armour, with crossbow and arrows at the ready.
He was a strong and effective leader who ventured throughout the empire to raise his profile among his subjects and to reinforce his absolute authority.
One of the highlights of the show is the Kangxi Emperor's Southern Inspection Tour, a 22m-long scroll which records his 1689 journey from Hangzhou to Shaoxing in Zhejiang province. Only 10m of it can be shown, in keeping with the Palace Museum's regulations.
But the visible part of the scroll shows the emperor going about his tour with utmost seriousness.
As a patron of the arts, he established imperial workshops in the Forbidden City. These produced rare porcelain vases, exquisite tea cups and snuff bottles. Some of these items are also on show, in temperature-controlled display units.
Ms Tan Huism, 43, the museum's deputy director of curation and collection, says: 'He was everything an ideal leader should be. He respected diverse cultures and learnt from them. He was a tolerant and fair leader. He may have led a kingdom many years ago, but he is a man for our times.'
