The Li family's ups and downs

But as the old Chinese idiom goes, "serving an emperor is as dangerous and uncertain as being close to a tiger", and even Li family members related to the emperor faced challenging situations.

As the emperor aged, he became more suspicious and cruel. On several occasions, Li Wenzhong admonished him to kill less and be more alert to the over-participation of eunuchs in governance, which ultimately angered the emperor.

Hu says there were 12 generations of the Li family during the Ming era. Besides his military talent, Li Wenzhong was widely read and well-versed in poetry, and both became traditions carried on by his descendants.

By the time of the Qing Dynasty, the family no longer held a prince title, and paid as much attention as possible to education and the pursuit of morality.

Hu says that to give visitors a more vivid experience of the Li family's heyday, four different formal outfits once worn by senior family members have been restored to their original glory.

"The rise and decline of such an eminent family will help visitors to the exhibition to better understand the course of the two dynasties and evolution of history," Hu adds.

Contact the writer at linqi@chinadaily.com.cn