Consul Li explaining to his consular staff about the different meanings behind the color found on Song Dynasty ceramics.

The new Chinese Consul General of China in Cebu, Hon. Jia Li, visited the USC Museum Thursday, January 10, 2019, following an invitation from the museum’s curator late last year. Spending over an hour in the museum, Li said he was impressed with its collection of Chinese ceramics and expressed his desire for possible exchanges and cooperation in the near future.

A collector of Chinese ceramics back home, the consul readily explained many of the nuances and changes in Chinese ceramic design through the centuries. Showing a deeper understanding of Chinese craftsmanship not necessarily expected of a consul, he also discussed the reason for the differences in the sizes of the plates on display as well as the jarlets and covered powder boxes and their uses in every day life in China from the Song to the Min dynasties.

At the end of the visit, Consul Li presented the museum curator, Dr. Jose Eleazar R. Bersales, with a replica of a bronze figure considered lucky, an animal with the body of a lion and the head of an eagle dating to the Warring States Period, mid-4th century BC. Dr. Bersales in return presented the consul with a copy of the book “Handumanan: The Rosita R. Arcenas Collection of Bisayan Santos.”

Consul Jia Li (right) presenting Dr. Bersales with a gift to the museum.The consul thanked USC for displaying in the Museum artefacts showing over a thousand years of trading between China and the Philippines and said he would be bringing to the museum Chinese officials who will be visiting Cebu.

Tags: Museum