(From left) Lucy, Lee, Priscilla, Zhang and Tang at the press conference at the China Cultural Centre in Kuala Lumpur.
A CHINESE cultural exhibition from July 26 to Aug 10 in Kuala Lumpur called “The Miracle of Chinese Culture – Historical and Cultural Exhibition of Yunju Temple in Fangshan, Beijing” will be the global event’s second stop.
The first show took place in Hong Kong in April and will continue to Thailand, Singapore, Japan and some European countries.
Held for the first time in Malaysia, the exhibition in Taman Tun Dr Ismail (TTDI) will be open to the public for free.
The Yunju Temple in Fangshan district of Beijing, China, is famed for its collection of 14,278 stone slabs inscribed with Buddhist scriptures.
During the two-week event at Menara Ken TTDI, 17 original stone sutra rubbings will be on public display for the first time since their discovery.
The stone, wooden and paper sutras are known as the “three wonders” of Yunju Temple.
The event, organised globally by Good Fortune and Wisdom International Charity Fund and the Chinese Western Culture Arts Association, is co-organised in Malaysia by China Culture Centre Kuala Lumpur and Purple Cane Group to promote and showcase China’s culture and history.
“We hope that through this exhibition, we can shed light on these artefacts that have thousands of years of history, and also take the opportunity to make more people have a deeper understanding of China’s culture,” said Good Fortune and Wisdom International Charity Fund founding chairman Dr Priscilla Wong in a press conference at the China Cultural Centre in Kuala Lumpur.
“Thousands of years later, through these stone sutras, we can understand China’s culture, history, calligraphy and arts,” said Priscilla in explaining the stone sutras used to create the rubbings.
Meanwhile, the director of Cultural Relics Management Office of Fangshan Yunju Temple in Beijing, Wang Dejun said in a recorded address, “These classic collections are especially important in Buddhist history, apart from being a precious treasure of world cultural heritage.”
The event will also feature interactive workshops that give visitors an opportunity to learn and participate in traditional wood sutra rubbing besides a VR experience of the Leiyin Cave, where the Fangshan Stone Sutras were found.
Also present at the press conference were Chinese Western Culture Arts Association founding executive committee director Adeline Lee, China Culture Centre Kuala Lumpur director Zhang Jiexin, Purple Cane Enterprise Sdn Bhd general manager Joyce Tang and Rimbamama Farm director Lucy Wong.
The Yunju Temple has the world’s largest collection of stone sutras, in addition to more than 30,000 cultural relics from the Sui, Tang, Liao, Jin, Yuan, Ming and Qing dynasties as well as modern periods.
The inscription of Fangshan Stone Sutras began during the Daye Period of the Sui Dynasty (605AD to 618AD).
The first inscription was by a monk, Master Jingwan, who observed that many paper and wood-carved Buddhist scriptures had been destroyed during the Northern Wei and Northern Zhou dynasties.
