Smart China Trip

Rivers and mountains,read like a scroll

From the jade of Liangzhu to the axis of the Forbidden City, from a cup of tea to a walled garden — landscapes, objects, seasons and customs are all a kind of writing, and all of it can be read.

This issueA Landscape Within Walls: Learning to See the Humble Administrator’s GardenUnroll the scroll
Wang Ximeng, A Thousand Li of Rivers and Mountains (detail), 1113 · Palace Museum, Beijing

Scroll

From Liangzhu to today

  1. c. 3300 – 2300 BCE

    Early civilisations

    Distinct early cultures rose along the Yangtze, the Yellow River and beyond. Liangzhu already had city walls, a palace area and large-scale waterworks.

    One object
    Liangzhu jade cong
    Where to see it
    Liangzhu ruins · Hangzhou

  2. c. 1600 – 256 BCE

    Shang, Zhou & the thinkers

    Shang oracle-bone script is the earliest known system of Chinese writing, alongside ritual bronzes. Later, Confucius and rival schools debated how to live and govern.

    One object
    Oracle bones
    Where to see it
    Yinxu · Anyang

  3. 221 BCE – 220 CE

    Qin & Han

    Qin standardised writing and measures. Han envoy Zhang Qian travelled west, and the exchange networks later called the Silk Roads took shape.

    One object
    The Terracotta Army
    Where to see it
    Emperor Qinshihuang’s Mausoleum · Xi’an

  4. 220 – 907

    Division to the Tang

    Buddhist cave art flourished. The Sui dug the Grand Canal, and Tang Chang’an became a cosmopolitan capital — the high age of Chinese poetry.

    One object
    Mogao murals
    Where to see it
    Mogao Caves · Dunhuang

  5. 960 – 1368

    Song, Liao, Jin & Yuan

    Several states coexisted and traded. Cities thrived, movable type appeared, and porcelain and sea trade boomed. This page’s painting dates from this era.

    One object
    Along the River at Qingming
    Where to see it
    Palace Museum · Beijing

  6. 1368 – 1912

    Ming & Qing

    The Forbidden City was completed in 1420, Zheng He’s fleets sailed the Indian Ocean, the Great Wall was rebuilt in brick, and novels and opera reached city streets.

    One object
    The Forbidden City
    Where to see it
    Forbidden City · Beijing

  7. 1840 – 1949

    Into the modern age

    An age of upheaval: imperial rule ended in 1912, and railways, factories, newspapers and new schools transformed coastal cities.

    One object
    The Bund
    Where to see it
    The Bund · Shanghai

  8. 1949 – today

    China today

    The People’s Republic was founded in 1949, and reform and opening began in 1978. Cities, high-speed rail and museums reshape daily life, while traditions carry on in new forms.

    One object
    National Museum of China
    Where to see it
    Tiananmen Square · Beijing

Images

China, half familiar

Interests

Follow what draws you

All articles

Season

Autumn is a run of days with names

  • 8 Oct

    Cold Dew

    “The dew grows cold and is about to freeze,” as the old almanac puts it. Leaves turn in the north while the south is only just cooling.

  • 18 Oct

    Double Ninth Festival

    The ninth day of the ninth lunar month. Wang Wei wrote of brothers climbing the heights with dogwood in their hair, “and one of us missing”. People climb hills, admire chrysanthemums and visit elders; it is also Seniors’ Day.

  • 23 Oct

    Frost’s Descent

    “The air grows austere, and dew becomes frost.” The last solar term of autumn: first frost in the north, persimmons at their reddest.

Originals

See the real thing

No catalogue replaces the thing itself.

Plan your journey