Since the documentary Masters in the Forbidden City was broadcast in China last year, more and more young people have started paying attention to the protection of cultural relics.

The documentary Masters in the Forbidden City introduces a number of palace museum art restorers with unique skills. Precious cultural artifacts recover their original appearance in these great masters’ hands and come alive in exhibitions.

Clock restorer Wang Jin
Clocks are one of the largest collections in the Palace Museum. Emperors in the Qing Dynasty, like Shunzhi, Kangxi and Qianlong, were very fond of collecting clocks. After the industrial revolution, Western missionaries came to China. They discovered the emperors’ hobby and sent the newest and best clocks to the palace, which later formed a unique collection of clocks.

An intangible piece of cultural heritage, the technology involved in clock and watch restoration in the Forbidden City has continuously been passed down from generation to generation for more than 300 years. Now, Wang Jin and his apprentice Qi Haonan are the only two restorers of royal clocks in the Palace Museum. Wang indicated: “Others always say that repairing cultural relics seems like communicating directly with the ancient people. I’m not a fan of this idea, but I indeed feel that when I repair a clock, I can find out that some of the previous restorers were perfunctory in their work and some were elaborate. It’s a means of communication with them.”

Bronze restorer Wang Youliang
The Palace Museum has more than 16,000 bronzeware items, making it one of the largest bronzeware collections of museums in China. In 1952, the Palace Museum established the Department of Bronze Restoration. In 1983, Wang Youliang joined the department at the age of 19. When he was young, he was lively and had an outgoing personality. But repairing bronzeware requires that restorers control their temper and polish them again and again.

Painting restorer Shen Wei
Paper can last 1,000 years and silk can last 800. Even without the damage of wars and battles, calligraphy and painting scrolls can only be preserved for 800 years. So tracing paintings or calligraphy has become a significant way to prolong the longevity of the originals from the Eastern Jin Dynasty and popularized in the Tang and Song dynasties. After the founding of the People’s Republic of China, the Palace Museum carried on a systematic plan to trace ancient calligraphy and paintings. Painting restorer Shen Wei said that his master taught him that tracing has vitality and isn’t equal to duplication, so the top priority for painting restorers is to follow the rules.