The Qing Dynasty considered their emperors’ longevity to be a symbol of impressive governance. The Emperor’s Birthday was taken very seriously, being one of the three most important festivals in the Qing palace along with New Year’s Day and Winter Solstice, and a grand celebration was held each year. The latest exhibition in The Hong Kong Jockey Club Series, entitled Longevity and Virtues: Birthday Celebrations of the Qing Emperors and Empress Dowagers, will showcase these rituals and rich birthday traditions of ancient China. Visitors will be able to see how Qing Emperors took their birthday celebrations as opportunities to advocate respect for elders.

Solely sponsored by The Hong Kong Jockey Club Charities Trust, this exhibition will show 210 rare items (sets) from the Palace Museum collection at the Hong Kong Museum of History between tomorrow and 9 October. 

Today (1 July), Club Deputy Chairman Anthony W K Chow was joined at the opening ceremony by HKSAR Government Chief Executive The Hon Carrie Lam; Minister of Culture of the People’s Republic of China Luo Shugang; Director of the Palace Museum Dr Shan Jixiang; Secretary General of the Liaison Office of the Central People’s Government in the HKSAR Xu Dong; Secretary for Home Affairs Lau Kong-wah; Director General of the Office of Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan Affairs of the Ministry of Culture, Xie Jinying; Chairman of the Museum Advisory Committee Stanley Wong; Director of Leisure and Cultural Services Michelle Li; and Director of Hong Kong Museum of History Belinda Wong.

The Club strives to address social needs by putting emphasis on four areas of strategic focus, namely Youth, the Elderly, Sports, and Arts, Culture & Heritage. “In the arts field particularly, our aim is to build a culturally vibrant Hong Kong, enriching lives and promoting social inclusion,” said Mr Chow. “This year, we have brought over collections from three world-class museums to Hong Kong, namely the Louvre in France, the British Museum in England and the Palace Museum in China, for all of us to enjoy these precious exhibits which represent a mix of different regions, generations and cultures.

The Hong Kong Jockey Club Series: Longevity and Virtues: Birthday Celebrations of the Qing Emperors and Empress Dowagers is one of the major celebrations for the 20th Anniversary of the establishment of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region. Many priceless exhibits associated with the birthday celebrations of Emperor Kangxi, Empress Dowager Chongqing, Emperor Qianlong, Emperor Jiaqing and Empress Dowager Cixi will be on display. Highlights include a plaque embroidered with the four characters ‘Wanshou Wujiang’ (boundless longevity) inscribed by Emperor Kangxi, a birthday gift for his grandmother the Grand Empress Dowager; a large blue-and-white vase with ten thousand “longevity” characters and a ‘Wucai’ dish painted with Magu Presenting Birthday Gifts, specially made for Kangxi’s birthday celebration; a lined dark blue satin surcoat embroidered with four gold dragon roundels with multi-coloured longevity motifs, worn by Kangxi during his birthday celebrations; and a dark green jade seal with entwined dragon knob and the mark ‘Guxi Tianzi Zhibao’ (treasure of the seventy-year-old Son of Heaven) to commemorate the seventieth birthday of Emperor Qianlong.

The Club’s donation also supports the Hong Kong Museum of History to organise a range of educational and public programmes to draw the attention of visitors belonging to different age groups. A number of multimedia programmes will also be presented in the gallery to give visitors a better understanding of the historical and cultural significance of the exhibits. For details, please visit http://hk.history.museum/en_US/web/mh/exhibition/current.html.

The Hong Kong Jockey Club Series is a partnership between the Club’s Charities Trust and the Leisure and Cultural Services Department. Launched in 2012, it supports two to three major exhibitions each year, all of which are complemented by educational programmes. They include Eternal Life – Exploring Ancient Egypt, which is currently being held at the Hong Kong Science Museum and Hall of Mental Cultivation of The Palace Museum – Imperial Residence of Eight Emperors at the Hong Kong Heritage Museum.

Another Club-funded exhibition, Inventing le Louvre: From Palace to Museum over 800 Years can still be enjoyed until 24 July at the Hong Kong Heritage Museum. This exhibition is one of the major programmes supported by the Club’s Charities Trust as part of Le French May, with over 100 priceless art works from Muse du Louvre on display.

The Hong Kong Jockey Club

Founded in 1884, The Hong Kong Jockey Club is a world-class racing club that acts continuously for the betterment of our society. The Club has a unique integrated business model, comprising racing and racecourse entertainment, a membership club, responsible sports wagering and lottery, and charity and community contribution. Through this model, the Club generates economic and social value for the community and supports the Government in combatting illegal gambling.  In 2015/16, the Club donated a record HK$3.9 billion to charity and paid a record HK$20.9 billion in tax. It is Hong Kong's largest single tax payer, one of the city’s major employers and one of the world's top ten charity donors.  The Club is always "riding high together for a better future" with the people of Hong Kong.