Jin Hongnan, a returnee, went to the United States to study in 1977, and studied the art history of Ming Dynasty in China in17th century at Yale University, where he obtained his master's and doctor's degrees. After completing his studies, Jin Hongnan worked as a researcher at the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the Smithsonian Museum, as a curator at the Asia Society Art Museum, as a curator at Ewha Women's University Museum and as a curator at the National Folk Museum. Jin Hongnan's personality is straightforward, but he has the unique care of women. In the concept of museum management, she emphasizes the organic combination of tradition and modernity and international exchange and cooperation. She hopes to develop the National Central Museum of Korea into a world-class museum through wonderful exhibitions and international exchanges. Korean society pays attention to Jin Hongnan not only because she is a woman, but also because of her rich qualifications, aesthetic feeling and excellent working ability.
Not long ago, the reporter interviewed Jin Hongnan on the mission and management of modern museums.
What are your chances of entering this field?
I am a scholar of art history, and now I am the curator of the museum. I like museum management. In the early 1980s, when I was studying for my doctorate at the Metropolitan Museum of New York and the Smithsonian Museum in Washington, I began to work in museums. At that time, by planning some art exhibitions and cultural relics exhibitions, I gradually realized the important educational mission of the museum. I advocate that learning is not for learning, but for the use and practice of learning. This is my philosophy of life. I have been trying to apply my knowledge to museum work. My job is satisfactory.
What is the origin of the name "Jin Hongnan"?
My name is very similar to that of a boy. My parents named me "Red Man" in order to have a son. There used to be a proverb in Korea. Give your daughter a boy's name, and it is possible that this daughter will have a boy in the future. Probably because my parents gave me a boy. I am straightforward and enthusiastic. My father is an industrialist and there are five brothers and sisters in our family. My mother is very kind and has high expectations of me. My mother gives me great spiritual support every time I encounter difficulties. It can be said that my mother is my source of motivation.
As a curator, can you describe your management style to us?
I have to ask myself big and small things, which can be said to be my management style I think this is the principle that museum directors should adhere to. From the macro national cultural policy, budget and personnel management to the specific display, showcase design and lighting. The curator should know. Because culture is ultimately formed by accumulation. Every exhibit in the museum coordinates with each other to form its style and culture. So museums need to be cautious and pay attention to long-term planning. In the specific work, I demand to pay attention to efficiency, and I like a resolute work style.
Is it challenging for you to be the curator of this museum? Why?
The work of the curator is really challenging. I worked in the National Central Museum for three years. I always hope to find and establish the subjectivity of Korean culture through museum work, so that young people in Korea can be proud of their traditional national culture.
World civilization can generally be divided into eastern culture and western culture. Oriental culture includes Korean culture. In this relationship, it is particularly important to carry forward and inherit Korean culture. Looking back at Korean history, before the modern times of 1900, Korean culture was influenced by China culture for a long time. Later, during the Japanese colonial rule, it was influenced by Japanese culture. Later, western culture began to enter Korea. After the Korean War in 1950, the development of Korean culture experienced a rather chaotic period. It is a difficult process to discover the subjectivity of Korean culture. Our museum plays a very important role in discovering the subjectivity of Korean culture.
Where is the subjectivity of Korean culture reflected?
The subjectivity of culture is embodied in the combination of tradition and modernity. Now some Koreans don't pay much attention to traditional culture. They believe that only western culture is modern and Korean traditional culture represents the past obsolescence. Artists, writers and architects who create modern culture are unwilling to work in my museum. They don't care much about Korean traditional culture. It is the historical mission of our library to overcome people's prejudice in understanding, form the integration of traditional culture and modern culture, and graft Korean traditional culture into modern culture to form modern Korean culture.
How does your museum combine tradition with modernity?
For the combination of tradition and modernity, our museum has constantly innovated in the display mode of exhibits and the educational function of museums, and launched some new measures. In my opinion, the more traditional, the more international. We let people know that the traditional culture of the nation is not old and decadent. It is important to change people's minds, which is our responsibility. Museums communicate with citizens and tourists through exhibitions. It's not an old idea to let visitors change our exhibits. We should innovate the way of presentation and change the way of communication. Let visitors feel that ancient things have no sense of distance from themselves. This is crucial. It is said to be the same cultural relic, but its educational effect shows great differences according to different display methods.
In addition, the educational function of museums is also very important. This includes special lectures, experiences and other projects. We should also pay attention to self-promotion. Last year, at the ceremony of the first anniversary of the opening of our new building, I invited the Korean traditional music cappella Group and the rock band * * * to play Korean traditional music together. At that time, the combination of traditional and modern music gave people a refreshing feeling and was widely welcomed by the guests at the scene. Later, these oratorios and rock bands were invited to perform in America.
There is also a children's museum in our museum, where children can experience our traditional culture for themselves. Experiential museums are also very popular internationally. Children's museums attract more and more adults as well as children. We will turn the children's museum into a family museum in the future.
In order to instill a correct view of Asia in the younger generation of South Korea and strengthen international exchanges and cooperation, I set up a new Asia Pavilion after I was elected as the curator. The main purpose is to introduce and carry forward the splendid Asian civilization. China, South Korea, Japan, India and other countries have formed rich and colorful Asian cultures in the long history of communication. There are many exchanges between us and China Museum, and we will strengthen these exchanges in the future. We have established friendly relations with seven museums in China. It can be said that our museum is a treasure house of Korean traditional culture. Therefore, museums should let visitors know that traditional culture is continuous and connected in modern society through continuous innovation. It is my business philosophy and mission to combine tradition with modernity and realize the internationalization of museums. I have made great efforts to this end. I think my idea is gradually coming true in the work of the museum.
What problems are your museum facing now?
The National Central Museum of Korea is under the jurisdiction of 1 1 local national museums. Because museums are scattered, there are some difficulties in manpower and management. There is also a shortage of museum collections, which is also a problem that needs to be solved. Collectibles are the life of museums. At present, many exhibits in our Asia Pavilion are borrowed from foreign museums. This method is not a long-term solution, and we should actively collect cultural relics in the future. But the budget is also a problem, and there are not enough professionals.
There are many collections in the museum. If you had to choose one of the most representative series, which one would you choose? Why?
Our museum has a large collection of Korean national treasures. Among them, gold and copper thinking is like a representative collection. It is the 83rd national treasure of South Korea, and it was a work in the early 7th century during the Three Kingdoms period in South Korea. It is 0.909m high and weighs112.2kg.. Also known as "golden bronze Maitreya bodhisattva half-thinking image" There are three kinds of Buddha statues in the Three Kingdoms period, namely, Nigumi, Bodhisattva and Banbi. "Half squat" refers to squatting, which is the posture that Buddhist believers usually adopt when they meditate. Half-thinking is like a faint smile hanging from the corners of the mouth, with vivid facial expressions, soft clothes lines, coordinated up and down, and meticulous and wonderful hands and feet movements. All the elements combine to create a perfect combination. Half-thinking is a masterpiece that can represent the 5,000-year art history of South Korea, and it is also a landmark work in Asian art history. There are also many rare treasures, such as 170 national treasure, 12 century Korean white porcelain blue-and-white plum bird bamboo pot, 60 national treasure, 12 century Korean celadon lion-covered incense burner and so on.
What do you prefer to do in your spare time besides work?
I like watching movies and swimming. But since I became a curator, I have no time to enjoy my hobbies.
Please write a sentence to our readers and talk about your understanding of the world and life.
We are proud of our country's traditional culture, but we also want to be earthlings.
Brief introduction of Korea National Central Museum;
The National Central Museum of Korea has a history of more than 60 years and is a representative place to display Korean national culture. The museum has a collection of 6,543,800+5,000 rare objects, covering archaeology, history, art and other fields. The museum also has a planning exhibition hall, a children's museum and an outdoor exhibition hall. The first floor is the Archaeological Museum and the History Museum. On the second floor are the Art Museum I and the Donation Hall. The third floor is the Art Museum II and the Asia Pavilion. Visitors can have a clear understanding of Korean culture and history here.
The Archaeological Museum consists of 10 exhibition halls. It has a collection of more than 4,500 cultural relics from Paleolithic to Bohai. According to the origin of national culture and the development process of the times, the museum displays cultural relics with different characteristics of the times to show the unique characteristics of Korean national culture.
Korea's representative and recorded cultural heritage-Korean, metal movable type, inscriptions, documents, maps and other precious cultural relics with historical value are displayed in the History Museum, so that visitors can understand the cultural characteristics of North Korea at a glance. The museum has 10 exhibition halls and more than 2,800 cultural relics.
The first art museum is a space for appreciating Korean traditional art and religious art with lines and colors as the core. There are more than 890 works in four exhibition halls here. Especially in the Buddhist studio, you can also enjoy the outdoor Buddhist paintings up to 9 meters.
Art Museum II is a space to show the essence of Korean Buddhist sculpture and craft culture. More than 630 cultural relics are displayed in five exhibition halls. Here you can see the world cultural masterpieces known as the essence of Korean culture, including the Buddha statue and the "half-thinking statue" (the 83rd national treasure of Korea) and other ceramics.
The Asia Pavilion consists of six exhibition halls with more than 970 cultural relics. Visitors here can not only learn about the diversity and identity of Asian cultures, but also realize the characteristics of various cultural circles in Asia. Especially in the exhibition hall of Central Asia, you can also appreciate the Silk Road culture of the integration of East and West.
The donation museum displays more than 1000 works donated by people with lofty ideals who have contributed to the promotion of human traditional culture. In addition to Korean cultural relics, you can also enjoy the rich and colorful cultures of various countries in the donation hall. The museum has 1 1 exhibition hall.