Treasures of British Library exhibited in east China

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Original manuscripts from some of the greatest writers from English and Irish literature have traveled to Wuzhen, the water town in eastern China's Zhejiang Province, and are on display at the Mu Xin Art Museum, dedicated to the famed Wuzhen-born artist, author and poet Mu Xin.

Entitled "In Mu Xin's Words: Treasures of the British Library", the exhibition celebrates his love affair with English literature.

Visiting China for the first time, these valuable treasures demonstrate the creative processes of some icons of literature.

"In Mu Xin's Words: Treasures of the British Library" opens at Mu Xin Art Museum. /CGTN Photo

They include the original manuscript of "The Hours" by Virginia Woolf; a handwritten manuscript of Lord Byron's poem "Love and Gold"; a typewritten and extensively corrected manuscript for act one of Oscar Wilde's play "Lady Windermere's Fan" and original letters by Charles Lamb, co-author of "Tales from Shakespeare".

Mu Xin once described Lord Byron as "the strongest voice in human civilization...for absolute freedom of the individual."

Of Charles Lamb's impact on him as an adolescent, Mu wrote: "It was love at first sight."

Original manuscripts of famed writers from English and Irish literature are on display at the Mu Xin Art Museum. /CGTN Photo

Recalling a lifetime's reading of Virginia Woolf, Mu commented: "Age really matters. I read her when I was in my thirties, forties, even fifties. In my sixties, I understood where she had been right, and where she had been wrong."

Kristian Jensen, head of Collection and Curation at the British Library, said the team is excited to be able to bring works by four of the greatest writers to China.

He expressed the hope that it can show authors' dialogue with one another between countries and across time.

The event is part of a wider three-year program of cultural exchange – The British Library in China: Connecting through Culture and Learning.

Mu Xin Art Museum. /CGTN Photo

"During his stay in New York, Mu Xin spent 5 years teaching over 20 Chinese artists there the world history of literature, philosophy and art including music and painting. We can see that since a young age he had been really cosmopolitan," said Chen Danqing, curator of the Mu Xin Art Museum.

"It's hard to find another scholar in contemporary China who had such wide-ranging dialogues with the world. That's why such an exhibition could be held in his museum. It's a rare opportunity for people here to see the original drafts bearing the very marks of their creation. This is being realized mainly due to Mu Xin's open-mindedness in his artistic achievements," he added.

The exhibition coincides with the 2017 Wuzhen Theater Festival, which runs from October 15 until mid-January next year.

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