A View of Zhenshang Studio by Ming Dynasty artist Wen Zhengming is on display at the museum.[Photo provided to China Daily]

Song-era works are among the most precious on show given the rarity of the pieces still in existence. One highlight is A Scroll of the View of Wangchuan Villa by an anonymous painter. The monochromatic painting is a copy of the same-titled landscape by Wang Wei, the great Tang poet and painter who is recognized for establishing a painting style that emphasized personal expressions over figurative representations.

The Song Dynasty copy measures nearly 10 meters, and it is the first time the public can enjoy a full view of the piece.

Wangchuan Villa, seated on the outskirts of Tang's capital Chang'an－modern-day Xi'an of Shaanxi province－boasts picturesque scenery and was where Wang retired in his later years. He composed poems and made paintings to hail its breathtaking views. Chen Qingqing, the exhibition curator of the national museum, says that the original work by Wang is believed to be no longer in existence and that the shown piece is one of the finer copies produced by painters of later dynasties.

Other known copies include that of another anonymous artist which resides in the collection of Seattle Art Museum and one by Qing Dynasty painter Wang Yuanqi, which is housed at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York.

Other Song works on show include a silk fan painting of flowers and birds, A Fruitful Crabapple Tree, which presents the refined strokes and elegant palette that were typical of the works created at the Song court's painting academy.