Digitalpalace

Ancient fuses with modern as the Forbidden City teams up with tech giants to spread its cultural heritage

A video featuring a Chinese emperor dancing, rapping, taking selfies and texting imperial concubines via instant messaging services Wechat and QQ recently went viral online. The commotion was a result of a partnership between Chinese Internet giant Tencent and Beijing’s Palace Museum, otherwise known as the Forbidden City, announced in early July.

Emperor Yongle (1360-1424), the third ruler of the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) and the video’s protagonist, could never have imagined that today’s youth would become so obsessed with the Forbidden City, which was constructed under his reign during the 15th century.

“It’s a bit surprising to see Emperor Yongle singing and dancing and using Wechat. It’s funny and impressive,” said Wang Xinyi, a graduate from Beijing Foreign Studies University. “Historical and cultural figures in the Palace Museum are static and silent, but this video brings them to life in a modern way. Here, history is no longer dull and text-based.”

A collection of creative works based on classical paintings from the Palace Museum was also released, in which imperial concubines play computer games and use virtual reality (VR) headsets.

Mary Lincoln, a senior at the College of Education at Michigan State University in the United States, said that she was thrown off by the mix of styles and that she liked the design and artistic motifs. “It is mixing the old with a new style. The more I look at it, the more I like it. I would like to visit the palace based on these images, and I’d be interested in playing a game based on it,” she said after watching the video several times.

Her schoolmate, Jackson Falkowsk, also expressed interest in the video, saying that he wants to visit the Palace Museum after experiencing the virtual version.

These new takes on the traditional image of the ancient palace, usually seen as solemn and aweinspiring by the Chinese, are actually an invitation for game developers and students to enter the Next Idea Tencent Creativity Competition organized by the company.

Participants are required to design Wechat and QQ emoticons and mobile games based on classical paintings, such as emperors’ portraits, whose intellectual property (IP) rights have been shared with Tencent. Come October, mobile platform users will be able to see palace-themed emoticons created by the competition’s winners.

Historical and cultural figures in the Palace Museum are static and silent, but this video brings them to life in a modern way. Here, history is no longer dull and text-based.