A Comprehensive Collection of Ancient Chinese Paintings: An Exemplary Case of Global Cultural Heritage Preservation and Curation Through Cross-cultural Collaboration and Communication

Museums are more than repositories of cultural treasures; they actively collect, preserve, andexhibit cultural heritage for local and global audiences, reflecting shared values and serving asimportant institutes for cross-cultural exchange. Within this chapter, we will explore “中国历代绘画大系”, A Comprehensive Collection of Ancient Chinese Paintings, an impressive printedseries of Chinese artworks dedicated to preserving and presenting ancient Chinese cultural heritagein all of its glory. This unprecedented collection, along with its curation and communication,emerged through intensive global exchanges, cross-cultural dialogues, interdisciplinarycollaborations, and technological innovation, positioning it as an exemplary case for museums ofthe future. The Collection has been documented in an encyclopedic multi-volume book series,which has been donated to universities worldwide, and it has also been exhibited in museums bothwithin and beyond China, communicated through digital media platforms, and has even inspiredthe creation of a dedicated Collection Hall complex building, “中国历代绘画大系典藏馆”, at the Yuhang District in Hangzhou.Within this chapter, we approach this collection through two complementary disciplinary lenses.First, from an art historical perspective, we trace the story of the collection’s formation, thechallenges of gathering and preserving Chinese paintings dispersed across global institutions, andthe essential role of digital mediation in this process. Second, from the fields of media studies andcommunication sciences, we examine the establishment of the Collection Hall by YuhangMunicipal Government and Zhejiang University, and its innovative use of technology and spatialdesign to curate and communicate art across cultural and geographic borders in and beyond themuseum.Together, these perspectives reveal how museums can evolve into dynamic, digitally mediatedspaces for cultural dialogue and heritage preservation in a globalized world.Keywords – Chinese paintings, cultural heritage, preservation, art communication, cross-culturalcollaboration, digital mediation, interdisciplinarity