This silver plaque given to an elderly man by the Chinese Emperor is a rare piece testifying to the Chinese tradition of respect for the aged. One emperor having himself reached a venerable age, gave a reception in the palace for the oldest representatives of his people, paying them attentions together with his sons and grandsons and presenting them with silver ingots. The reverse of the plaque bears the date "the 50th year of the reign of Ch’ien Lung", i.e. 1785, and the weight: "10 liangs".The Hermitage possesses an interesting collection of Chinese coins from the territory of Sinkiang (Eastern Turkistan) that annexed by the Celestial Empire. The collection was sent to Catherine II by that same Chinese emperor, Ch’ien Lung (1736-1796). This diplomatic gift was a tactful reminder to the Russian court of the need to demarcate