Works of famous calligrapher on show

A calligraphy work by Zhao was among the exhibits of A Blessing over the Sea: Cultural Relics on Jianzhen and Murals by Higashiyama Kaii from Toshodaiji, an exhibition which concluded at Shanghai Museum on April 5.

"Zhao played an important role in facilitating cultural exchanges between China and Japan," Ling says.

In the 1950s, Zhao sent a statue of Bhaisajyaguru (the Buddha of Medicine), which symbolizes peace and healing, to Japan. The gesture was reciprocated by the Buddhist community in Japan and this started a continuous exchange among the Buddhists of both countries.

Zhao believed that Jianzhen, the monk who made repeated voyages and eventually took important Buddhist classics from China to Japan, could become a bridge for Sino-Japanese communications. Starting in the 1960s, Zhao promoted showcases of Jianzhen relics in China and facilitated Japanese artist Higashiyama Haii's tours to China, where he created a series of murals for Toshodaiji, the temple with Jianzhen's heritage.

Zhao Puchu's calligraphy exhibition was opened to the public three days after International Museum Day. Shanghai Museum debuted its online streaming of its exhibition on that day, receiving more than 1.4 million views on Xinhua.net. The museum also launched its new account on short-video sharing platform Kuaishou. The first livestream by the museum featured Shanghai-based TV host Cao Kefan introducing a painting from the museum's collection by Wen Zhengming.

"The internet has broken down the limits of time and space and brought to life the cultural relics on display in the museum," says Yang, the director of Shanghai Museum.

Shanghai Museum was one of the first large museums to resume operations on March 13 after being closed for 50 days due to the novel coronavirus outbreak.

During this year's International Museum Day, 87 museums in Shanghai were opened for free to the public. A hundred museums in Shanghai have also announced that Chinese medical workers will get to enjoy free admission through the year.