castle treasures on display at the Forbidden City in Beijing

While Chinese President Xi Jinping is on a state visit to Paris, an exhibition on the Palace of Versailles is visible at the Forbidden City in Beijing to recall the relations established between the two countries in the 17th century.

It’s a very diplomatic exhibition. In Beijing, in the heart of the Forbidden City, a major exhibition of the Palace of Versailles is currently taking place. Visible since April, it embodies the desire of France and China to relaunch Franco-Chinese relations after three years of Covid. As Chinese President Xi Jinping begins a two-day state visit to Paris on Monday, May 6, the two countries have therefore focused on culture to embody this renewal, and above all to show that good relations between France and China are on the rise. in a very ancient time, at the time of kings and emperors.

Cultural diplomacy as the spearhead of Franco-Chinese relations is far from being a new idea. Louis XIV had made it one of the bases of policy to establish relations of trust with the Qing dynasty and its emblematic emperor Kangxi. Thanks to several dozen works loaned by the Palace of Versailles (goldwork, porcelain, paintings, etc.), Chinese visitors discover a little-known history.

“I was fascinated by an image of words in Chinese. It explains why the French began to learn Chinese at the time. And then I was pleasantly surprised to see that since Louis XIV, the kings of France really liked certain Chinese objectstestifies a Chinese journalist who came to visit the exhibition.

Fascination of the French court with China

“Visitors are surprised to see that the two countries had such close ties at the time”, explains Le Le for his part. She is a guide and has just given a small group of ten people a tour of the exhibition. “Take for example the small watch of Louis XIV. He mixed the French royal lily and the Chinese dragon on his pocket watch, which surprises us a lot”she confides.

For these Chinese visitors, it is also the discovery of the great interest of the kings of France in China. “Chinese wallpapers are everywhere in Versailles”explains Marie-Laure de la Rochebrune, French curator of the exhibition and general curator of heritage at the Palace of Versailles.

“There was a fascination at the French court for everything that came from China, objects that were not known in Europe, for example fans, wallpaper which did not yet exist in the 17th century in France. “

Marie-Laure de la Rochebrune, French curator of the exhibition

at franceinfo

For some visitors who have not yet had the opportunity to go to Europe, this exhibition is also a way to discover Western culture.. “According to all these objects, Chinese culture and that of the West are still very different. The French objects gave me the impression of being exotic compared to what I usually see in China. It’s really nice to see this here for people like us who can’t visit Versailles”testifies Zzhifeng, a student.

Thanks to this exhibition, the Palace of Versailles is also increasing its notoriety among the general Chinese public by being present on one of the most visited tourist sites in China.