The Palace Museum and Chengde Mountain Resort highlight a collection of imported and domestic antique clocks, Wang Kaihao reports.

While the Palace Museum, China's imperial palace in Beijing from 1420 to 1911, also known as the Forbidden City, houses myriad artifacts that showcase traditional Chinese craftsmanship, it also boasts some 1,500 unique antique timepieces.

Most of these clocks, in various sizes and with dazzling ornaments, were made in Europe, mainly in the 18th and 19th centuries. Nonetheless, even in their home countries, it might be difficult to find such an ornate extravaganza of horology in one place, considering the wealth of their buyers-Qing Dynasty (1644-1911) emperors.

The emperors loved these ticking devices so much that they even took some to a mountain resort in Chengde in Hebei province, where they often spent their summers. More than 200 kilometers to the northeast of the Forbidden City, the resort was, back then, another center of governance.

Now, with 60 antique timepieces from the two UNESCO World Heritage sites-40 from the Palace Museum and 20 from the Chengde Mountain Resort-on display in one exhibition, visitors will get a broader view of the imperial times by admiring the clocks' state-of-the-art craftsmanship.

The exhibition, Sounds of a Prosperous Age: Timepieces in the Collections of the Forbidden City and the Mountain Resort, opened in late January in the east gallery of the Hall of Heavenly Purity (Qianqing Gong) at the Palace Museum. The unprecedented display will run through May 8 before moving to Chengde.

"Timepieces are a unique and precious category in the vast royal collection of the Qing Dynasty, and maintain an important position in the world," says Guo Fuxiang, a researcher with the department of palace life and imperial rituals at the Palace Museum. "Visitors may appreciate these fine pieces and enjoy a voyage through time and artistic grandeur."

If wound, some exhibits become miniature stages, with delicate performances taking place, as decorations come "alive". Flowers rotate, birds tweet and cascades fall, presenting a magical dance. However, visitors will find the aged items silent in the exhibition, as a measure to avoid mechanical wear and tear.

Qing emperors did not treat the imported timepieces merely as tools that could tell time, but also admired them as quintessential artworks.

"The luxurious clocks would only be made when there were orders," explains Guo, also the curator of the exhibition. "To feed the Qing emperors' preference for auspicious signs, European artisans spared no effort to create a flamboyant artistic style, which could be hardly seen elsewhere."

The United Kingdom played a leading role in offering these precious timepieces to the Chinese royal court. For example, British watchmaker James Cox's name is frequently mentioned on the exhibits.

According to Guo, British clocks were mainly made of gilt brass, of which color echoed the trends of interior decoration among the UK aristocracy. They demonstrate outstanding techniques in handling gems, enamel, glass and various materials used in the making of the clocks.

Switzerland and France were two other major sources of imported clocks. Some exhibits are examples of top-tier Rococo art and metal sculpture. Following the Industrial Revolution, shapes of many French clocks were inspired by new inventions, such as locomotives, submarines and stream engines.

Royal fancy

The ongoing exhibition includes 10 "pairs" of identical timepieces. Some were originally housed in one institution-either the Palace Museum or the Chengde Mountain Resort-while some were "reunited" after being separated for a long time.

"Many European artisans wondered why their clients would order clocks in pairs, as recorded in historical files," Guo says. "They speculated it was because Chinese emperors were rich or farsighted. After one was broken, it could be immediately replaced.

"The misunderstanding shows that China and the West should have known each other better then. In traditional Chinese culture, it's a common saying that good things come in a pair, but such a simple wish turned out to be a puzzle in Europe."

Nevertheless, it is the timepiece that helped to reestablish links between the Chinese royal court and Europe after the decline of the ancient Silk Road as a trade route in the 14th century, says Lou Wei, deputy director of the Palace Museum.

In 1601, Matteo Ricci, an Italian Jesuit, presented two mechanical clocks as gifts to Emperor Wanli of the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644), which then was lukewarm toward communication with the outside world. That successfully hooked the emperor's interest, and the foreign priest was later bestowed an official position in China and started a wave of Sino-Western cultural exchanges.

"They knocked at the door of the Forbidden City and got an answer," Lou says. "With the first two mechanical clocks ever collected by the palace, the nearly 300 years of history of Western timepieces in Chinese royal courts started."

The reign of Qianlong (1736-95) marked the peak of the royal timepiece collection. Following the emperor's passion for fine art, local Chinese studios making mechanical clocks also appeared in Guangzhou, Guangdong province, and Suzhou, Jiangsu province, and some such products that entered the royal collection are also on display in the ongoing exhibition.

Guo says these products feature strong characteristics of local cultures. For example, in Guangzhou, watchmakers preferred shapes of traditional architecture like pavilions and towers, and auspicious totems were often used. In Suzhou, wood clocks in the shape of folding screens were popular.

With the booming scene of watchmaking, the Qing royal court was not satisfied with simply being a collector. The Forbidden City had its own clock workshop during Qianlong's reign to not only fix components, but also make its own products. This period of history also explains why the exhibition is set in the gallery of the Hall of Heavenly Purity. That was where the imperial workshop once was.

The timepieces represent not only the glorious days of the imperial age, but also its decline. When Emperor Guangxu (1871-1908) was under house arrest by the powerful Empress Dowager Cixi, and helplessly witnessed the deep social crisis that led the monarchy toward its end, fixing antique timepieces was probably all the puppet ruler could do to feel the flow of time, according to legend.

New life

This is the second time the timepieces from the Chengde Mountain Resort have left in sets. As the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression (1931-45) was approaching, key cultural relics were moved out of the former imperial resort and sent to eastern and western China to avoid being seized by the enemy.

In 1956, after leaving Nanjing, Jiangsu province, the items returned to Chengde. Though the aging timepieces were in need of a comprehensive restoration by then, the lack of restorers postponed the project until recently.

Since 2018, Qi Haonan, a restorer at the museum, and his tutor Wang Jin have led a comprehensive restoration of timepieces at the mountain resort.

"We have solved the same problems in the Forbidden City that we found in Chengde," Qi recalls. "But structures of some mechanical pieces are very complicated. You cannot run against the clock when fixing a clock."

Patience is all they needed. A joint laboratory for antique timepiece restoration was officially set up by the two institutions in 2020, with seven restorers in the team.

"But we can only repair a few large pieces a year to ensure quality," Qi says.

More than 20 timepieces at the mountain resort have been fixed, and the ongoing exhibition is also a demonstration of the team's achievements in recent years. Qi says their goal is to finish checking dozens of other timepieces in Chengde.

The technique used in the restoration of the antique timepieces at the Palace Museum was listed as a national-level intangible cultural heritage in 2014, but Qi and Wang used to be the only regular restorers at the museum.

An online documentary on the restoration of cultural relics in 2016 changed everything. The praise for Masters in the Forbidden City made Wang a celebrity overnight, and since then, numerous young people have applied for the once lesser-known position.

The seven restorers at the Palace Museum are lending a helping hand to institutions nationwide in keeping the former royal timepieces running, and more local restorers are being trained for the future.

"Accidentally or not, we have a growing team and I also have my own apprentices now," Qi says. "More items are displayed after being 'cured', and their charm can be continuously admired."