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Hollye HotelProvincial Museum: Art of the Ming and Qing
In China, the concept of separate art galleries and museums has been slow to take off. Except in the very biggest cities, art is collected in the local provincial or local museum, and is often neglected. What art is selected is usually classic pieces, with the same themes. Unfortunately this means that once you have seen the collection of Ming and Qing art in any museum, you have seen the lot. There seems to be little interest in displaying more unusual pieces or trying to explain the subtle differences in regional styles.
So it is that in the Hunan Provincial Museum, the 'standard' Ming and Qing art is shown, albeit in excellent surroundings and well lit. The only notable pieces are two pieces by early 18th Century Yangzhou artists Ji Nong (Dongxin) and Zheng Xie (Banqiao). In the classic style of having to categorise everything so there is universal order, they are two of the official "Eight Eccentrics of Yangzhou". Presumably this was not a badge of merit at the time.
