Palace Museum rolls out fun products to boost image

The promotion photo of the online store of the Palace Museum. [Photo/the Southern Metropolitan Daily]

A fan with words of Emperor Yongzheng. [Photo/the Southern Metropolitan Daily]

(ECNS) -- In line with the Taipei Palace Museum creative tapes, a batch of fun Beijing Palace Museum products have been drawing online fans.

A design combining an earphone with an imperial court necklace was posted on Sina Weibo via an account with 1.89 million followers on Tuesday, subsequently reposted nearly 20,000 times.

The design came from the Palace Museum online store hosted on China's e-commerce marketplace Taobao. The store, opened in 2008, sells souvenirs and products such as T-shirts, Manchu dolls and luggage tags.

It now features an academic creation team to bring ancient culture to life. A fan with the words "Zhen jiu shi zhe yang han zi" (I am what I am, a tough and unyielding emperor) inscribed on it has become a hit among the youth.

A cultural service center staff member at the museum said the words are a copy of authentic calligraphy written by Emperor Yongzheng (1678-1735).

The staff member denied the idea was plagiarized from Taipei Palace Museum adhesive tapes featuring the words "zhen zhi dao le" (I, the emperor, know it"). The team "has been working on these for eight years," he added.

The Palace Museum is making strides to change its solemn and dull image with fun and cute products. In August, it released a group of nine flash animations of Emperor Yongzheng accompanied by illustrations.

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Adhesive tape covered in handwriting by a Qing Dynasty emperor, on sale at gift shops at Taipei's Palace Museum, has become a hit among people on both sides of the Taiwan Strait.

Flash animation's 'living' emperor goes viral

A group of Flash animations that bring the Emperor Yongzheng (1678-1735) to "life" has gone viral online. Internet users say the emperor is "cute".