The new exhibit of the Museum of Chinese Art and Ethnography of Parma begins to be shown to the public on Saturday June 18th.
A new exhibition project enlivens the summer of the Museum of Chinese Art and Ethnography of Parma. Thanks to the exhibition of Chinese paintings of exemplary stories, it is possible to examine the very essence of the great Chinese religions.
Eleven traditional paintings are exhibited as in Ancient China and, thanks to the educational example method, they illustrate the great virtues that every Chinese subject has within itself in a particular dynastic period.
Love and respect for parents and ancestors are the very essence of living with virtue, according to the most ancient Chinese culture.
These values shape the education of children who, through exemples, learn the most fruitful codes of conduct, authentic ideals of life, as well as fundamental guidelines in leading the human being to transcend the ephemeral world as to reach a new and sublime way of living.
By its very nature, the human being learns through imitation, an original pedagogical principle that unites all secular cultures and which, in the Chinese tradition, finds its maximum expression in the role models.
The role models to follow are men and women who, since childhood, have distinguished themselves for the respect and kindness given to their parents; models who come alive with their fragility and quality, so as to bring the teacher closer to the student.
A person who dedicates time and knowledge of these exemplary stories assumes and internalizes the most ideal virtues which leads along the path of completeness. A well-known journey followed, with similar teachings, by the two great philosophical currents that animate Chinese religious thought: Confucianism and Taoism.
The exhibit, open from June 18th to October 30th 2022, shows a series of colorful paintings depicting traditional Chinese examples, the absolute devotion that must be reserved for parents, as well as sculptures which testify the aspiration to universal harmony.
Chiara Allegri, vice-director of the Museum of Chinese Art and Ethnography, states: "This exhibition aims to affirm the preciousness of ancient Chinese culture, not only in artistic production, but also in the constitution of a religious cultural apparatus which, thanks to the high value assumed in this millenary civilization, it breaks down every barrier between the individual's inner conduct and social aspiration.”
Father Alfredo Turco, Superior of the Xaverian Missionaries expresses his enthusiasm for this project: “The production of this project extends what our Museum and our missionary congregation has been carrying out for more than a century. Love and respect for other cultures cannot transcend the profound knowledge of every form of expression present in the various countries we live."
The Museum opening hours: from Tuesday to Saturday 9am-1pm and 3pm-7pm. Sundays 11am-1pm and 3pm-7pm. The entrance ticket is €3 which includes a visit to both the permanent collection and the temporary exhibition.
Exhibit curated by: Father Alfredo Turco, Maurizio Salvarani, Chiara Allegri and Laura Ferrari.
