I’m Yingjun Li from Guangdong, China. My internship at The Box was a fascinating experience. I never imagined I would have the opportunity to intern at a museum. In China, such opportunities typically require students to major in fields like museology, archaeology, or cultural heritage studies. As an MA Curation student with a keen interest in ancient artefacts, I eagerly anticipated this new journey. After a brief email exchange with my mentor curator, Tabitha, I learned that I would be involved in reorganising the '100 Journeys' exhibition, displays, with a focus on decolonisation.

The Start of the Journey

The Box is located in Plymouth, an hour's train ride from Exeter. On the first day of our internship, fellow MA Curation student Kourtney Chu and I boarded the train to Plymouth at around half past eight. The scenery along the way was beautiful, especially when the weather was fine. Through the train window, we could see cattle and sheep on the hillsides and the deep blue sea in the distance. We met Tabitha at the staff entrance. We had visited The Box twice before on previous field trips, but I never expected to return as an intern.

It was a Monday when the museum is usually closed for routine maintenance. Tabitha took us on a tour of The Box, including the offices, exhibition halls, and artefact storage rooms. She also led us to the St Luke's exhibition hall, which is separate from the main building. It was my first time entering a museum when it was closed and seeing behind-the-scenes. This experience unveiled part of the museum's operations, revealing that only about one-third of the space is open to the public. Behind every exhibition, many hardworking staff ensure everything runs smoothly and is well-organised.

Research Work: Discovering Qing Dynasty Garments

My main task at The Box was to create archives for five artefacts from China, including three dragon-related garments and two soldiers' garments which has been on loan to the British Museum. Tabitha also tasked me to determine with determining which of these dragon-related items might hold the greatest cultural interest or significance during the Year of the Dragon. Due to numerous errors in the existing Chinese Costume Collection Reviewer Report, I had to start my research from scratch.

Dragon-Related Garments

All five artefacts originate from the Qing Dynasty, making them relatively easier to research due to their proximity to modern times. The official website of the Palace Museum (The Forbidden City) features numerous similar garments and portraits, providing insights into the identities of individuals wearing different types of clothing and the occasions they were worn. By cross-referencing these descriptions with scholarly articles on Qing Dynasty clothing and related lectures by researchers at the Palace Museum, I determined that one garment, initially identified as a Qing Dynasty male official's coat, should actually be classified as a high-status female garment.

In my feedback to Tabitha, I also provided a detailed description of the dragon motif's significance to the Chinese people and how dragons are associated with ancient Chinese imperial authority. Additionally, I mentioned that the term "loong" has been used instead of "dragon" in translations for Chinese New Year events and reports in China. In the early 19th-century book "Elements of Chinese Grammar" by British missionary Joshua Marshman, the Chinese dragon was phonetically annotated as "loong," indicating that "loong" is not a recent Chinese term. Western dragons are often depicted negatively, with attributes like fire-breathing, large wings, and aggression. In contrast, Chinese dragons symbolise luck and auspiciousness, depicted with features such as horse heads, eagle claws, fish scales, deer horns, and snake bodies, devoid of wings. Translating Chinese dragon as "loong" is closer to the original symbolism of Chinese dragons, while "dragon" is inaccurate given the historical precedent for "loong." Using the original English vocabulary to translate Chinese culture may introduce implicit biases.

Soldiers' Garments

The two soldiers' garments lent to the British Museum's "China’s Hidden Century" exhibition included a soldier's jacket and a pair of trousers. The documentation provided by The Box suggested that the jacket "might be related to the First Sino-Japanese War" and that the trousers "are brightly coloured and might be women's trousers." I carefully reviewed the British Museum's catalogue, but due to the relatively low status of the clothing's owners, there is not much information available.

My interest in Chinese antiquities and archaeology had previously led me to consult various related books as part of my research. I learned that for artefacts without a clear provenance, textual information is the most revealing, followed by patterns. The soldier's jacket had circular cloth sewn onto the chest and back, bearing the soldier's name, the name of the troop he belonged to, and the name of the commanding officer. By researching the name of the commanding officer, Zhao Huaiye, I discovered that in 1894, during the First Sino-Japanese War, Zhao was stationed in Dalian, Liaoning Province, in northeastern China. When the Japanese army approached, Zhao fled, abandoning his post, leading to the Japanese occupation of Dalian Bay. This coat may have been captured on the battlefield during that time.

Finding this information was incredibly rewarding. It allowed me to apply knowledge I had acquired long ago, affirming that no learning is ever wasted. It also gave me a sense of pride that my unique cultural background and bilingual skills could help Chinese artefacts be correctly understood and appreciated.

Conclusion

My internship at The Box has been an enlightening journey filled with invaluable experiences and lessons. Besides the research work mentioned above, we also had the chance to participate in various tasks across different departments, such as turning pages of books in display cabinets to prevent light damage, digitising old glass negatives photos and tapes. Each task deepened my understanding of museum operations and the preservation of cultural heritage.

I am truly grateful for this opportunity from MA Curation and for encountering so many friendly and genuine staff members whose passion and dedication to their work have been truly inspiring. Their dedication has been a source of motivation throughout my internship. It has been a pleasure to contribute to uncovering the origins of five artefacts from China and to play a part in the reorganisation of the '100 Journeys' exhibition. Seeing my name appear in the references of The Box's collection archives fills me with pride, reflecting the effort and dedication I have invested in my work. This internship has been an invaluable experience that has not only broadened my horizons but also allowed me to contribute meaningfully to the preservation and interpretation of cultural heritage.