Macao Daily News
Golden Eminence: Treasures from the Palace Museum and the Tashi Lhunpo Monastery is currently being presented at the Macao Museum of Art, offering an invaluable glimpse into the treasures from the Buddhist realm of Tibet. It is a privileged opportunity for the audience in Macao to witness these rare cultural relics that have been passed down through history.
My late father, Lok Cheong, a veteran Macao painter, dedicated himself to fostering cultural exchange between Macao and Tibet for many years, thereby creating a new and brilliant chapter in the history of Macao art. Indeed, the Tibetan cultural relics in this exhibition remind me of my father.
Under his tenure as the president of the Macau Artist Society, the society collaborated with the Tibetan branch of the China Artists Association in 1992 to present an exhibition of paintings illustrating the Tibetan Plateau. The show marked the beginning of the Tibetan painters’ exhibitions outside the Chinese mainland.
In 1993, my father, who reached the age of 70, received an honorary award from the first edition of ‘Mount Everest Arts Awards’ of the Tibet Autonomous Region and was invited to visit Tibet. The following year, he created the painting ‘The Mysterious Potala Palace’, depicting the magnificent palace adorned with colourful prayer flags beneath a gorgeous blue sky with clouds. The artwork was featured in the eighth edition of the National Exhibition of Fine Arts of the National Art Museum of China.
My father visited Tibet nine times in the following decade. He absorbed the beauty of the Tibetan Plateau and created many paintings of the magnificent landscapes. The artworks not only expressed his love for the motherland, but also conveyed his bond with his Tibetan peers. He made tremendous efforts to connect Tibet and Macao, resulting in a profound relationship between the two places.
Through the precious collections of the Palace Museum and the Tashi Lhunpo Monastery, the large-scale exhibition Golden Eminence reveals the connection between successive Panchen Lamas, the Qing court and the central government. It showcases the unity of the multi- ethnic groups within the country and demonstrates the diversity and inclusiveness of Chinese culture. The exhibition also forges a sense of community in China. In accordance with the Buddhist philosophy that advocates ‘adorning magnificently the realm and benefiting all sentient beings’, when we protect our country, maintain stability for our people, and embrace the inclusive coexistence of all ethnic groups, the rejuvenation of Chinese nation is promising.
Lok Po
Director of Macao Daily News