Page 10 - The Golden Age of Chinese Archaeology: Celebrated Discoveries from the People’s Republic of China

T H E W H I T E H O U S E
W A S H I N G T O N

June 24,1999

I am delighted to extend warm greetings to all those attending the National Gallery of Art s
new exhibition, The Golden Age of Chinese Archaeology: Celebrated Discoveries from The People's
Republic of China.

Twenty-five years ago, the government of China presented to the American people the first
major exhibition of Chinese archaeological treasures unearthed since the 1949 founding
of The People's Republic of China. That epochal cultural exchange, Archaeological Finds of The
People's Republic of China, opened at the National Gallery of Art in 1974 and vastly enhanced
our knowledge and understanding of China s art and culture.

The works exhibited in 1974 were selected to represent many of the most significant discoveries
made in the first quarter-century of the PRC. Working with their Chinese counterparts, the
organizers of that exhibition were the National Gallery of Art in Washington and The Nelson-
Atkins Museum in Kansas City. It is appropriate, therefore, that these two institutions have
once again joined forces, this time with colleagues at the State Administration of Cultural
Heritage and Art Exhibitions China, Beijing, to organize this latest superb exhibition, one that
will bring to the American public some of the remarkable archaeological discoveries made in
China over the past 25 years.

Hillary and I remember with great pleasure our 1998 trip to China, where we had the oppor-
tunity to see some of these archaeological finds in their native land. We are grateful to the
organizers of this exhibit and to the Chinese government for sharing these treasures with the
American people.

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