The list of China-themed exhibitions in Szeged is expanding with a new exhibition unit: an exhibition presenting the Franciscan mission in China is opening in the Black House.
Since May 26, the Palace of Culture in Szeged has been showing an exhibition of clay soldiers guarding the tomb of the first Chinese emperor, Qin Shi Huang-ti, and on the Night of the Museums, an exhibition about the Han Dynasty was opened with the cooperation of several Chinese public collections, in which a statue used during the burial of the emperors, full body jade armor is also introduced.
The Franciscan Mission in China exhibition is on display in the Fekete ház from Friday and is the third unit of the Szeged exhibitions presenting the history of China. The exhibition guides visitors to the first half of the 20th century, when the Hungarian Franciscans took over a mission center in the Chinese Hunan province in 1929. The missionary work was made difficult by the storms of history, until finally, after Mao Zedong came to power in 1952, all the Hungarian Franciscans were expelled from China.
The mission was started by seven Franciscans, who learned the language in one year and then prepared a Hungarian-Chinese dictionary with two thousand words.
They also operated a hospital, an orphanage, a school and a religious education institute. In the course of their work, they collected various useful and ornamental objects, from which exhibitions were organized in Hungary.
The exhibition opening in the Black House features a selection of objects from this Chinese mission - this collection is currently guarded by the Franciscans of Szeged. At the exhibition, visitors can meet porcelain, Chinese footwear, musical instruments, abacus and other interesting household items. The most beautiful pieces of the exhibition are undoubtedly the paintings of Lukács Czen, the leading figure of Christian Chinese painting.
MTI
