Cultural exchange

In 1768, the emperor was given a pair of exotic jade plates as gifts. Amazed, he wrote about their origins, and over the ensuing decades, ordered the purchase of many similar jade artifacts from outside China, and had his poems carved on them as well. His Islamic-style "Hindustan Jades" included items not only from northern India, but also from the Ottoman Empire, Central Asia, and even Eastern Europe, says Xu Lin, a jade researcher at the Palace Museum.

"He loved Hindustan Jade so much, he ordered artisans to make duplicates," Xu says.

Both the duplicates and the originals are on display at the exhibition, so visitors may decipher the variations in artistic style from one culture to another.

Xu says that material analyses demonstrate that most of the Hindustan Jade in the Palace Museum collection is made of stone from Xinjiang.

"Hetian Jade became a link for interaction between China and the world," she adds. "That highlights the openness and inclusiveness of Chinese civilization."