New Pope Offers Taiwan Rare Chance for Diplomacy



In Ma's choice of gift to the new Pope though there was a faint echo, perhaps unintentional, of an era when the Catholic Church had a far better relationship with China's leadership. Ma picked a porcelain vase adorned with a pair of magpies. The same birds are featured in a fantastic 18th century trompe l'oeil mural in the Forbidden City that was likely painted by apprentices of Giuseppe Castiglione, a Jesuit who had served as the Qianlong Emperor’s court painter.

華文部分翻譯：馬挑了一個花瓶上有一對喜鵲。（原文作者認為）同樣的鳥出現在紫禁城一幅18世紀的精工壁畫上，有可能是郎世寧的學徒所畫，他是耶穌會教士，乾隆皇帝的宮廷畫師。