The China-France Cultural Year 2005 began with a special exhibition at the Meridian Gate. A hundred royal treasures from the reign of French King Louis XIV were on display at the Forbidden City. The exhibit was France's answer to the exhibition on Emperor Kangxi previously held in the Chateau de Versailles.

Louis XIV and Emperor Kangxi

In the 17th century, both Louis XIV and Emperor Kangxi had a common desire to learn about the world, and cultural exchange between the two countries was common. European missionaries brought Western art and science to China. Chinese art and influences made their way around the European artistic and literary circuits.

Both rulers were interested in meeting each other. Although attempts had been made by King Louis to gain an audience with the emperor, fate would keep the two men apart for the duration of their lifetimes. On August 6, 1688, King Louis even wrote a letter to Emperor Kangxi, but the letter never made it into his hands. The mission Louis had intended the letter to travel with failed to materialize, and the letter is now kept in the French Foreign Affaires Archives.

Although during their lifetimes a face-to-face meeting seemed impossible, little did they know that they would meet symbolically in the future under the most extraordinary circumstances, through exhibitions held by their respective countries.

Elaborate Clocks and Access to Emperors

The main goal for the missionaries from Europe was to preach Christianity. They thought the best way was to first reach the Chinese emperors in person. But the rigorous hierarchical system and deep-rooted Confucian culture made it impossible.

The missionaries thought of advanced Western science and exotic foreign art, to attract the attention of China's highest rulers.

It was the elaborate clocks the Italian missionary Matteo Ricci brought that first caught the attention of the Ming emperor, and opened the door to the Forbidden City.