UPDATE: Please note that since publication, the venue of this exhibition has now changed. See here for information.
One of only four remaining original charters of the Magna Carta arrives in Beijing next week, as part of a tour to celebrate its 800th anniversary. From Tuesday October 13 to Thursday October 15, you can catch a glimpse of the celebrated historic text (and the only surviving copy of the King’s Writ, signed 1215) at a special Renmin University exhibition.
This is not just any old dried sheepskin parchment. Created as a peace settlement between King John and a band of rebellious feudal barons, Magna Carta curbed the power of the crown and laid the foundation for concepts such as individual liberty and the rule of law.
The only original copy still in private hands was sold at auction USD21.3 million in 2007, though this one is simply on loan from Hereford Cathedral in the UK. After Beijing, the display will head to Guangzhou and Shanghai, before continuing its world tour in Singapore, Malta and Portugal.
The British Ambassador to China, Barbara Woodward – who was understandably “delighted” by the text’s arrival – said: “I would like to take this chance to invite our friends across China to visit this important piece of our cultural heritage during this golden year of UK-China relations, and for it to spark further cooperation on rule of law and legal services.”
The exhibition is completely free and what’s more, we’ve got five pairs of tickets for an invite-only Q&A and guided tour with a panel of experts. That’s a money-can’t-buy prize right there. You can enter via WeChat. Follow us @thats_beijing and keep an eye out for competition details before the end of the week.
For those interested in how Chinese academics view the text’s implications for government and the individual in the context of the PRC’s own constitutional arrangements, we recommend you read The Diplomat’s excellent article China and the Magna Carta.
> October 13, 11am-5pm; October 14 & 15, 9am-5pm; Free; Renmin University Museum 59 Zhongguancun Dajie, Haidian 海淀区中关村大街甲59号
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