The Liaoning Museum is historically one of the oldest and most important museums of China - one of only three national museums founded between the end of World War Two and the foundation of the new republic in 1949. Shenyang, the capital of Liaoning Province where the museum is housed, is also the cultural capital of the northeast. This is reflected in the definitive collections of north eastern art and archaeology. Liaoning also has important works from the old imperial collections originally housed in the Forbidden City. This is the backbone of one of the great collections of Tang and Song painting and calligraphy, including the Tang dynasty Zhou Fang's masterpiece Court Ladies Adorning their Hair with Flowers. There are paintings by Dong Yuan and the Song dynasty emperor, Huizong. There are also spectacular collections of embroidery and tapestry, and of Liao ware ceramics. Housed in a brand new building opened in 2004, this is one of the great collections of China, one that has been relatively unknown to the West - a fault that this beautifully produced and illustrated book will remedy.