Collecting and Displaying China’s “Summer Palace” in the West

Over a million objects from the Yuanmingyuan, or Summer Palace—a significant imperial Chinese palace complex—were looted during the Second Opium War and dispersed globally. This study reveals how Western museums, including the Royal Engineers Museum in Kent, the National Museum of Scotland, and the Musee Chinois at Château de Fontainebleau, shaped the display of these artifacts over 150 years, reflecting European cultural, political, and aesthetic biases rather than the original context of the Yuanmingyuan. By analyzing museum practices, the research offers insights into Western representations of China during this period.

Tythacott, L. (Ed.). (2017). Collecting and Displaying China’s “Summer Palace” in the West. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315113395