"Exquisite Feast. The History of Food in Ancient China" is the delicious title of the exhibition that has adorned the exhibition halls of the Patriarch's Palace and the Assumption Belfry. For the first time in Russia, it presents items from the collection of the National Museum of China.
"Exquisite Feast" is a response to "Russian Feast: Traditional Food, Drinks and the Art of Serving," an exhibition from the collection of the Moscow Kremlin Museums that was held in Beijing from November 2024 to March 2025. Both projects are being implemented within the framework of the official events plan for the "cross-cultural" Years of Culture between Russia and China 2024-2025 and are dedicated to a crucial part of human culture – gastronomic traditions and their national characteristics. The worldwide interest in exotic Chinese cuisine, its ancient traditions and merits, is not surprising. A Chinese proverb says: "The people regard food as Heaven" – and this is true: for seven millennia, meals and related rituals have been a significant part of life, everyday and sacred rites, philosophical concepts, and even state symbolism.
This theme has served as a constant source of inspiration for artists – painters, musicians, and literary figures. "This unusual exhibition was proposed to us by our Chinese colleagues quite a long time ago – back during the pandemic," said Elena Gagarina, Director General of the Kremlin Museums, at the opening. "Since it was impossible to implement the project then, we spent a long time contemplating what to show our visitors and negotiating what kind of items would be in this exhibition. And as a result, a project was born that describes in great detail and interest the Chinese culture of food preparation, the use of food for various ceremonies, which you can now see." Elena Gagarina introduced the guests to Zhang Weining, Deputy Director of the National Museum of China, Yan Yue, the curator of the exhibition from the Chinese museum, as well as the curators of the exhibition from the Moscow Kremlin Museums, Ekaterina Shcherbina and Nina Pavlova.
Zhang Weining noted the popularity of "Russian Feast" in Beijing and wished the current exhibition success: "It is taking place in the very center of Moscow and tells about food, food consumption, and our tradition of banquets: the tea ceremony, the making and consumption of wine, the selection of tableware, some of which has a ritual character. The exposition fully represents both the museum's collection and Chinese culture. Despite the silence of the exhibits, they quite eloquently tell about the gradual rise of culture from utilitarian kitchen utensils to its exquisite examples." Chinese curator Yan Yue expressed hope that the project "will become a bridge between Russia and China, and through it, Russia will be able to better understand Chinese culture." The exhibition, which brings together 145 precious exhibits from the National Museum of China, is divided into five thematic sections: "Food from All Directions," "The Aroma of Wine and the Charm of Tea," "The Evolution of Kitchen Utensils," "Precious Tableware," and "Ritual Begins with a Meal."
The exposition in the Assumption Belfry presents China to visitors as a land of abundance, where the rich diet of the Chinese since ancient times included grains, vegetables, fruits, and meat; it introduces them to ancient culinary techniques and traces the evolution of kitchen utensils. The ancient Chinese principle – "to serve the dead as the living" – formed the basis of the ancient Chinese burial cult, and objects from burials allow us to imagine in detail the daily life of the Chinese in different eras.
A special section of the exhibition is dedicated to the main drinks of China – wine and tea. Since ancient times, the Chinese have strived for tableware to provide not only functionality but also aesthetic pleasure. Thus, the Chinese proverb that "exquisite food is served on exquisite tableware" perfectly corresponds to the ceramic, porcelain, bronze, gold, silver, and jade items presented in the Patriarch's Palace. These are magnificent examples of dining and ceremonial tableware made from various materials: ceramics and porcelain, lacquer and jade, bronze and precious metals. A centuries-old tradition in the Celestial Empire was also the concern for combining meals with an exquisite setting and spectacles – dances, music, acrobatics, theatrical performances, and table games. The exposition in the Kremlin Museums also includes unique archaeological monuments: a ceramic model of a Han Dynasty (202 - 220 AD) granary – evidence of a well-thought-out grain storage system, a bronze tripod ding in the form of intertwined square spirals from the Spring and Autumn period (770-476 BC) – the presence and number of such tripods could determine a person's status in society: for example, a ruler-king was supposed to have nine ding, while representatives of the service class had only three.
The theme of drinks is revealed by exhibits such as a porcelain plate with the inscription "Good Wine" from the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644), probably made for a wine shop or drinking establishment, which reached the highest level during this period; porcelain ashi bowls with gaiwan lids in the "famille rose" style from the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911) – typical tea utensils of their time, whose lids were used to stir tea leaves. The rituals of meals, to which the exhibition is dedicated, have remained unchanged for centuries, if not millennia – it is surprising that many of them are observed to this day.
The exhibition acquaints visitors with the customs and traditions of China through "the most valued traditional forms of kitchen utensils in Chinese culture, items of original everyday and ceremonial tableware, wonderful painted scrolls, costumes, and musical instruments." "Exquisite Feast" is table etiquette and the evolution of the ancient Chinese gastronomic tradition, the aesthetics of the Celestial Empire, and philosophical ideas reflected in the dining culture. As part of the exhibition project, the Moscow Kremlin Museums present a lecture program "I Offer Wine and Sauce Seasoned with Pepper. Everyday and Ceremonial Meals in China: Traditions of Five Millennia" and a lecture series "Meals in Ancient China: History, Traditions, Myths."
The exhibition will run until August 17, 2025.
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