A Song Dynasty (960-1279) jar. LIN QI/CHINA DAILY

Wine containers, oil lamps, rice jars and fish plates used for feasts tell stories of domestic routines and shared meals. As Fang Xiaofeng, a professor at Tsinghua University's Academy of Arts and Design who provides academic support for the exhibition, explains, these objects belong to a world far removed from imperial luxury or the refined tastes of ancient intellectuals. "They are brimming with a down-to-earth attitude, the wisdom behind daily life experiences over time, and the longings of ordinary people," Fang says.

Contemporary artists also find beauty in these old vessels, embracing cracks, dirt and other marks of time as traces of lives once lived.