Private Visit to HKPM Special Exhibition & Private Dinner

Private Visit to Hong Kong Palace Museum Special Exhibition “The Forbidden City and The Palace of Versailles: China-France Cultural Encounters in the Seventeenth and Eighteenth Centuries” & Private Dinner

On 07 January 2025, The Légion d'Honneur Club Hong Kong Chapter had organized a private visit for the members to take a walk in the Hong Kong Palace Museum. Leading by the docents, our members participated in a 60-minute exclusive guided tour for the special exhibition “The Forbidden City and The Palace of Versailles: China-France Cultural Encounters in the Seventeenth and Eighteenth Centuries”.

This special exhibition presents nearly 150 spectacular treasures from the Palace Museum and the Palace of Versailles, illuminating the fascinating encounters and exchanges between China and France in science, artisanship, arts, culture, and philosophy during the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries.

The exhibition illustrates Louis XIV's diplomatic policy vis-à-vis his contemporary, the Emperor Kangxi, marked notably by the sending of French Jesuit priests to China in 1688, who joined the court of Peking as mathematicians to the King. Relationships built on mutual trust and esteem, now often forgotten, were thus established and lasted until the end of the eighteenth century, all of which contributed to the birth of modern sinology in France.

Even before Louis XIV sent the Jesuits to China, the sumptuous reception given by the King in 1686 to celebrate the arrival of ambassadors from the King of Siam marked the beginning of the French court's keen interest in the Far East. The diplomatic gifts brought on this occasion, which included many Chinese objects, helped develop the court's and the royal family's taste for artistic creations from the Middle Kingdom.

The exhibition illustrates how Chinese art became an inexhaustible source of inspiration for French artists and intellectuals, in fields ranging from painting, objets d'art, interior design and architecture, to garden design, literature, music and science. The artworks brought together in Beijing also bear witness to the genuine fascination felt by the court of Versailles and by leading French art lovers for all things Chinese. The exhibition also reveals the strong interest of Chinese emperors in French scientific knowledge and know-how during the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. It offers new insights into the expansion of skills, knowledge, and art forms, highlighting a splendid chapter in the history of cultural exchange between China and France among world civilisations.

Besides our Chapter’s members, some members from Confrerie des Chevalier du Tastevin also came to participate in this event. We were enchanted to see many friends in this 2025 kick off gathering. Following the visit, our esteemed President, Mr. Henry Tang, had hosted an intimate private dinner at CVIEW of M+ Museum.

This was a fantastic dinner filled with laughter and joy. Ladies and gentlemen enjoyed hearty laughs and warm hugs over a delicious meal in a beautiful restaurant with the stunning view of Victoria Harbour. Everyone was busy in greeting, toasting, taking photos, reconnecting old friends and meeting new friends.

We wanted to express our heartfelt thanks for all friends who attended and making the evening unforgettable. Wishing all of us a Prosperous, Healthy and Peaceful Year of 2025.