Till death do us apart: Everlasting love stories hide within relics

A file photo shows a piece of Yangzhou lacquerware from the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911) on display at a museum in Nanjing, Jiangsu Province. The artwork depicts the romantic folktale of "The Cowherd and the Weaver Girl" – one of China's "Four Great Folktales." The story tells of their forbidden love and the family opposition that kept them apart. /VCG

A file photo shows a pottery bowl from Romania on display at a museum in Chengdu, Sichuan Province. At the center of the piece, a couple sits on a bench, tenderly embracing each other. /VCG

A file photo shows a pair of jade parrots on display at a museum in Guangzhou, Guangdong Province. The relic was unearthed from the tomb of Fu Hao, China's first female general and the wife of an emperor of the Shang Dynasty (1600 BC - 1046 BC). Its design is believed to symbolize clan continuity. /VCG

A file photo shows a jade pot from the Qing Dynasty on display at a museum in Wuhan, Hubei Province. The design features a pair of conjoined phoenixes intertwined at the neck. /VCG