Chinese dragons

Detail of a dragon on a panel in the Forbidden City, Beijing, China. In Imperial China, only the emperor’s family could possess depictions of dragons. Five-fingered dragons, like the one seen here, were specifically for the emperor. Photo by Renée DeVoe Mertz.

Four-fingered dragon on the Nine Dragon Screen of Datong, China. While five-fingered dragons were only for the emperor, four-fingered dragons were for other members of the imperial family. In this case, the dragon screen was built in the late 14th century at the palace of Zhu Gui, thirteenth son of the Ming dynasty’s first emperor, Zhu Yuanzhang. Photo by Renée DeVoe Mertz.

The emperor’s five-fingered dragons on a wooden panel at Da Ci’en Temple, Xi’an, China. Photo by Renée DeVoe Mertz.

Four-fingered dragon on the Nine Dragon Screen of Datong, China. Screen-walls were constructed within palace gates to protect homes from negative energy and unwelcome spirits. Dragons—as symbols of luck and power—were particularly potent protectors, always appearing in odd numbers, from one to nine. Built in the 14th century, Datong’s Nine Dragon Screen is the largest and oldest extant glazed screen, outlasting even the palace it was built to protect. Photo by Renée DeVoe Mertz.

The emperor’s five-fingered dragons bracketed by phoenixes, symbols of the empress, at the Summer Palace, Beijing, China. Photo by Renée DeVoe Mertz.

Detail of one of the four-fingered dragons on the Nine Dragon Screen, Datong, China. Photo by Renée DeVoe Mertz.

Dragons in the Forbidden City, Beijing, China. Photo by Renée DeVoe Mertz.

Four-fingered dragon on the Nine Dragon Screen in Datong, China. Photo by Renée DeVoe Mertz.

Dragons on a decorative panel in the Forbidden City, Beijing, China. Photo by Renée DeVoe Mertz.

Detail of the Nine Dragon Screen in Datong, China. Photo by Renée DeVoe Mertz.

Da Ci’en Temple, Xi’an, China. Photo by Renée DeVoe Mertz.

Salvaging otherwise terrible photos from the Capital Museum, Beijing

Detail of Arhats Crossing the Sea, Anonymous. Capital Museum, Beijing. Photo by Renée DeVoe Mertz.

I love museums. I love them so much, I once planned to spend my life in them. And, for several years, I essentially did.

I also love photographing those things I want to remember later and better focus on in the moment, so spending hours taking pictures of objects in museums is pretty much a staple of every trip I take. Fortunately for me, I married someone who likes to do the same.

Of course, a museum’s job is to balance the contrasting tasks of preserving its collection and making the objects of that collection available for public view. This dual desire to display and safeguard typically results in the use of low light, protective glass, and the creation of physical distance between the object and viewer. For those of us taking pictures, this all-too-often translates into awkward angles, reflections, glare, and blurriness.

Those objects that beat the odds and photograph well are the ones I feature on my website and remember best as time passes. Those that don’t are the ones I rarely share and frequently forget about, no matter how much they may have impressed me in person.

Going through my photos from Beijing’s Capital Museum again reminded me how many items really deserve a second look. To better appreciate the original objects, I set about salvaging some of the not-so-great images by reframing and refocusing on their more redeemable features. Those revised pictures are the ones featured in this post.

It’s been fun to rediscover these objects for myself, to have them surface like both an old memory and something completely new. And the exercise has also been a good reminder of the potential usefulness of revisiting former experiences with a new perspective and willingness to dig a little for some of those experiences’ best, if forgotten, parts.

Double-badger-shaped jade pendant. Capital Museum, Beijing. Photo by Renée DeVoe Mertz.

Detail of Flowers in Ink Monochrome by Sun Zhaojing. Capital Museum, Beijing. Photo by Renée DeVoe Mertz.

Jade washer engraved with a poem by the Emperor (1736–95). Capital Museum, Beijing. Photo by Renée DeVoe Mertz.

Detail of Plum Blossom in Ink Monochrome, Anonymous. Capital Museum, Beijing. Photo by Renée DeVoe Mertz.

Vajradhara statue in the Capital Museum, Beijing. Photo by Renée DeVoe Mertz.

Detail of Birds and Flowers hanging scroll by Yuan Jiang (d. 1746). Capital Museum, Beijing. Photo by Renée DeVoe Mertz.

Nephrite belt buckle in the shape of a lion. Capital Museum, Beijing. Photo by Renée DeVoe Mertz.

Detail of Arhats Crossing the Sea, Anonymous. Capital Museum, Beijing. Photo by Renée DeVoe Mertz.

Maitreya Bodhisattva from c. 1403–24 in the Capital Museum, Beijing. Photo by Renée DeVoe Mertz.

Bamboo in Ink Monochrome by Zhao Ziyong. Capital Museum, Beijing. Photo by Renée DeVoe Mertz.