This year, the Cleveland Museum of Art (CMA), located in Cleveland, Ohio, celebrated a century of cultural exchange with China, highlighted with the exhibition China’s Southern Paradise: Treasure from the Lower Yangzi Delta (September 10, 2023 – January 7, 2024), a testament to the enduring power of art and culture to transcend geopolitical boundaries and foster mutual understanding between nations.
In 2019, Japan’s former Foreign Minister Yoriko Kawaguchi was asked where she sees China in the Asia-Pacific in 2040. She responded, “Asia in 2040 will be multipolar. India will emerge as a leader alongside China and the U.S. – which will remain an imperative economic partner to the region. Japan will also remain a leader [..].” Whether the prognosis remains valid or not, it indicates that we should be prepared for an evolving global landscape where multiple powers exist, each contributing to a diverse tapestry of diplomatic interactions. In such a multipolar world, the role of cultural institutions like the Cleveland Museum of Art becomes even more critical. These institutions not only foster bilateral understanding but also facilitate broader dialogues that transcend traditional power dynamics, helping to build a more interconnected global community.
Through our exhibitions, collaborations, and acquisitions, the museum has not only showcased the richness of Chinese artistic traditions but also nurtured a dialogue that enriches both American and Chinese societies. This century milestone illustrates how museums and cultural institutions worldwide can play a significant, if not pivotal, role in diplomacy and peacebuilding efforts, bridging gaps and forging connections that governments cannot always achieve alone.
The impact of art and culture in the field of international diplomacy, [in particular during times of political tension and economic crisis] is widely acknowledged. However, rarely is it emphasized that diplomacy’s success is highly dependent on the long-term relationship between two respective countries or partnering institutions. These relationships, built on trust and mutual respect, enable cultural exchanges to flourish even amid geopolitical challenges. The more interaction and collective memory both parties share, the greater the chance of navigating difficult conversations in times of tension. This is important to note as the successful outcome of collaborative efforts, such as international loan exhibitions, will ultimately benefit the greater public and could bring better diplomatic relations long-term with regard to world peace and understanding.
As the Curator of Chinese Art and Chair of Asian Art at the CMA, with many years of experience in and traveling to China, I’ve had the opportunity to witness the impact of art and culture on the broader China-U.S. relationship first hand. As governments have struggled over the last few years to find ways to decrease tensions and increase positive exchanges, museums like the CMA have been actively seeking to both maintain and build on our longstanding relationships with China to transcend these tensions.
The museum’s most recent exhibition, China’s Southern Paradise. Treasures from the Lower Yangzi Delta, is evidence that trust and partnership built over decades between the museum and its Chinese partners have helped the institution through challenging moments in realizing collaboration. As the largest China related show in the museum’s history, it has been the only post-pandemic exhibition worldwide that succeeded in receiving loans from numerous institutions in China. This achievement was highlighted in an article by Enid Tsui in The South China Morning Post, that read, “China show at US museum ‘built on decades of trust’ - Treasures on loan to the Cleveland Museum of Art reveal how cultural exchanges continue even amid times of tension.”
By the end of the exhibition, hundreds of local school children had visited the show. University students throughout the U.S. travelled to Cleveland, a mid-western industrial city on the shores of Lake Erie, and many stayed for as long as a week to view this treasure trove. Local visitors came repeatedly and left enthusiastic comments. A local Chinese, teaching classes in Mandarin wrote:
“[..] my sincere gratitude […] for the captivating exhibition. The experience proved to be truly inspiring for all my students, who thoroughly enjoyed the visit. We consider ourselves fortunate to have had the opportunity to immerse ourselves in the authentic culture showcased.”
An American couple wrote, “We viewed the exhibition and were blown away by the exceptional and extensive content,…. [my wife] ..has Alzheimer's and it has been years since I have seen her more engaged than she was going through the exhibition...!”
Throughout CMA’s history, curators for Chinese art have considered it their mission to inspire curiosity, knowledge, and respect for China, its people and history – all through the arts. It is noteworthy that the museum’s very first and only curator in 1914, Arthur MacLean, was a specialist in Asian art. He said about his role as curator: “China in my estimation is a wonderful nation [..]. It seems to me that it is the duty of those who have been to that land or of those who have given it study to make us realize how important the Chinese nation is.”
At present, as geopolitical tensions between China and the U.S. grow and mainstream media convey an often biased picture of China, the role of museums in addressing this imbalance through the presentation of art and culture becomes more pertinent.
Today, the Cleveland Museum holds one of the most important collections of Chinese art outside of Asia and is known for exhibitions that have enhanced our understanding of its culture. CMA’s national reputation for Chinese Art was firmly established under the directorship of Sherman Lee (1918-2008). For over two generations his books illustrating the Cleveland collection were used by university students around the country. Hence, from the 1950s through the 1970s, when China was mostly closed to foreigners, the museum’s collection was an important resource for research and teaching in the U.S.; and CMA’s artworks became quasi “ambassadors” of Chinese culture in America. In addition, Sherman Lee’s legendary exhibition, Chinese Art under the Mongols in 1968 and his co-curated show, Eight Dynasties of Chinese Paintings in 1980 motivated American audiences to learn more about China.
In 1972, President Nixon's trip to China marked the gradual opening of the country that eventually resulted in the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two nations. Following this, as early as 1973, twelve North American art historians and archeologists traveled to China, led by Sherman Lee, then director of the CMA. The group visited museums, met with colleagues, studied artworks and archeological sites, and enjoyed each other’s company at banquets and ping pong games. Sherman Lee’s tenure at the CMA ended with an international conference in celebration of the Eight Dynasties of Chinese Painting exhibition. Apart from seminal scholarship, most importantly, this unprecedented gathering of art and people, brought scholars from Taiwan, mainland China, Japan, Europe, and the United States together. In the larger political context, the gathering took place after Deng Xiaoping’s open-door policy initiative in the late 1970s, allowing Chinese and Western scholars to travel more frequently between China, Europe and the United States.
Painting specialists from the Beijing and Taipei Palace Museums, the Central Academy of Fine Arts in Beijing, the Liaoning Provincial Museum, together with a curator from the National Museum of Asian Art (Freer Gallery) in Washington and a curator from the Cleveland Museum of Art studying a painting by Dong Qichang (1555-1636) in the collection of the CMA, 1985. ©The Cleveland Museum of Art Year in Review 1985.
At the turn of the millenium, China’s economy boomed. A high point in the history of U.S.-China cultural relations was reached with the exhibition, Masterpieces of Early Chinese Paintings and Calligraphy in American Collections, shown at the 60th anniversary of the Shanghai Museum in 2012. Sixty works of 12th to 14th century Song and Yuan dynasty calligraphy and paintings were displayed, all of them borrowed by the Shanghai Museum from four American museum collections: the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Cleveland Museum of Art, the MFA Boston and the Nelson Atkins Museum of Art (NAMA). This exhibition was not only seen by around 8000 visitors a day, it also had a far reaching impact on U.S.-China relations. In an interview Colin Mackenzie, former curator for Chinese Art at NAMA, said, “The importance of this exhibition is unprecedented,” [..] “The fact that four great American museums were willing to lend Chinese masterworks back to China is a tribute to the excellent relations enjoyed between them and the Shanghai Museum. I am also certain that the Chinese visitors hugely appreciate the opportunity they have been given to see these paintings and that they will hope for more cultural exchanges between China and America.”
Just six years later in 2018, the year the previous U.S. administration began its trade war with Beijing, the Cleveland Museum sent its famous scroll, Qingbian Mountains, by Dong Qichang (1555-1636) to China - where it was enthusiastically received by Shanghai Museum visitors. The CMA’s most recent exhibition, China’s Southern Paradise (2023/24), was realized under more challenging circumstances. The pandemic had upended travel and exchange, and political tension between China and the U.S. increased. Almost all larger exhibition projects planned in the U.S. and Europe in collaboration with Chinese institutions were cancelled or postponed.
Fortunately, when the CMA reached out to its Chinese exhibition partners, the initial response was overwhelmingly positive. All museum directors confirmed their support and saw the exhibition – like their colleagues in the U.S. – as a way to transcend tensions, and to continue their long-standing relationship.
Looking back, the Cleveland Museum of Art has enjoyed a full century of successful U.S.-China relations. Various collaborative initiatives between the CMA and its Chinese partners, such as exhibitions, professional staff exchange, and conservation projects, have helped build trust and confidence over the years that continue to benefit the American and Chinese public through times of geopolitical tension. And as we look to the future, the continued commitment of museums and cultural institutions to international collaboration will be crucial in navigating the complexities of a multipolar world, where cultural exchange remains a vital component of diplomacy and human connection.
