Three cabbages replace the "Meat-Shaped Stone" in exhibition   Public: The Palace Museum's "meat rice" becomes a vegetarian bento

▲ During the period when the Meat-Shaped Stone is abroad, the museum will display three jade works including the Jadeite Baby Cabbage. (Photo / Provided by the National Palace Museum, the same below)

Reported by Chen Rui-zhong / Taipei

The "National Palace Museum—Masterpieces of the Forbidden City—Exhibition" will be held at the Kyushu National Museum in Japan on October 7. The National Palace Museum stated that from September 30 to October 23, when the national treasure Meat-Shaped Stone is on loan to the Kyushu National Museum, three jade artifacts will be displayed in Exhibition Room 302 of the museum’s main building.Jadeite Baby Cabbage,Jadeite Cabbage Flower VaseandGarden Vegetables Jade Brush Pot—together with the renowned Jadeite Cabbage—will allow visitors to view a collection of jade pieces centered on the theme of cabbages all in one go.

The museum’s Jadeite Cabbage is crafted by skillfully using the natural colors of the jade, with the green parts shaped as cabbage leaves and the white parts as the cabbage body. Two vivid katydids are also carved on the leaves, making it one of the most eye-catching works among the museum’s "skillfully carved jades." Some even joke thatthe museum has vegetables (the Jadeite Cabbage), meat (the Meat-Shaped Stone), and even a bowl of rice (the Mao Gong Ding), making a perfect "meat rice" meal. Now with three cabbages on display, the "meat rice" has changed flavor and turned into a vegetarian bento.

▲ Garden Vegetables Jade Brush Pot (left) and Jadeite Cabbage Flower Vase.

According to Hong Rui-lian from the National Palace Museum’s Congressional and Public Affairs Office, the Jadeite Cabbage, Jadeite Baby Cabbage, and Garden Vegetables Jade Brush Pot have been displayed together in the past, while the Jadeite Cabbage Flower Vase has been exhibited alone before. Therefore, this "three cabbages + brush pot" combination is a first for the museum. The National Palace Museum also hopes that through the everyday food of "cabbages," the public can together appreciate the true flavors of life.