"China: 5,000 Years explores innovation and transformation in Chinese art over a period of five millennia, from neolithic jades of the third millennium BCE through the modern era. While the very length of this continuous cultural tradition may suggest a profound conservatism, China has in fact produced Daring, transgressive, and stylistically and technologically innovative art for a longer period of time, and at a higher level of sophistication, than any other civilization in history. This exhibition, which is designed to confirm that assertion, results from the timely convergence of two distinct factors: a wealth of newly excavated objects and artifacts of stunning beauty and significance, and an increased appreciation in China of cultural achievements of the twentieth century. As a consequence, the juxtaposition of modern Chinese art with its traditional counterpart in an exhibition mounted by a major Western museum has been made possible for the first time ever. " --From the introduction.