Live Your Best Lives
May 18th is an extremely unpopular holiday - International Museum Day. As of the end of 2020, there were 5,788 registered museums nationwide, with nearly 30,000 exhibitions in the past year, receiving more than 500 million visitors. The world's museums will not only include the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the Louvre.
Today, we have sorted out a clear and simple museum check-in guide from the numerous museums in China. From now on, you will no longer be afraid of visiting museums!
(Due to limited space, only some representatives are selected)
▪www.sxd.cn
▪www.jinshasitemuseum.com
The Sanxingdui ancient ruins have a history of 3,000 to 5,000 years. It is the largest, longest-lasting and most culturally rich ancient city, ancient country and ancient Shu cultural site discovered in the southwest region to date.
Sanxingdui is known as one of the greatest archaeological discoveries of the 20th century. It shows that the Yangtze River Basin, like the Yellow River Basin, is the mother of Chinese civilization and is known as the "source of Yangtze River civilization."
Here there are a 2.62-meter-tall bronze standing man, a 1.38-meter-wide bronze mask, and a 3.95-meter-tall bronze sacred tree, all of which are unique and unparalleled masterpieces.
The Jinsha Ruins, discovered in Chengdu in February 2001 and not far from Sanxingdui, cover an area of about 5 square kilometers. It was the capital of the ancient Shu Kingdom, an ancient civilization center in the upper reaches of the Yangtze River from the 12th century BC to the 7th century BC. It was selected as one of the "Top Ten Archaeological Discoveries in China in 2001".
Here you can find the most famous symbol of Chinese cultural heritage, the Shang and Zhou Dynasty Sun Bird gold ornaments, as well as the cute Shang and Zhou Dynasty gold masks.
▪eltxdmuseum.com
The Erlitou culture dates back approximately 3,800 to 3,500 years. It is the earliest dynasty verified by archaeology and historical literature, the remains of the capital of the Xia Dynasty (still controversial in the academic community), and is the largest capital site of the same period.
The Erlitou culture, represented by the Erlitou site, is the earliest "core culture" in China and even in East Asia, and the earliest large-scale monarchy. It houses the "First Tripod of China" - a checkered bronze tripod, and also unearthed a super national treasure - a turquoise dragon-shaped vessel, which is definitely worth a visit!
▪www.bjqtm.com
You may not know that in China, Baoji is known as the "Hometown of Bronzes". Ma Chengyuan, a famous bronze expert, said: "Wherever there are museums in the world, there are Baoji bronzes."
Because Baoji is the place where the Western Zhou Dynasty rose, mankind's bronze casting technology reached its glorious peak in the Western Zhou Dynasty. At present, more than 20,000 bronzes have been unearthed in Baoji. The "Four National Treasures" of the late Qing Dynasty: Mao Gong Ding, Dayu Ding, Guo Ji Zi Bai Pan, and Sanshi Pan were all unearthed in Baoji. The word "China" first appeared in the inscription on the bronze ware He Zun. The most typical difference between the bronzes unearthed in Baoji and the bronzes of the Shang Dynasty is the inscription.
▪www.kzbwg.cn
▪www.sdmuseum.com
Qi and Lu culture has made tremendous contributions and had a profound impact on the formation and development of Chinese culture. Confucius, who was born in Qufu, the capital of Lu, founded Confucianism here, which has become the cornerstone of China's social framework and values for thousands of years. If you want to understand more about it, you must visit the Confucius Museum and Shandong Museum!
In addition to being able to see Confucius' life and cultural relics, this place is also a holy place for domestic Hanfu enthusiasts, because it houses the old collection of the Confucius Mansion - Ming Dynasty clothing. Due to political reasons such as the change of dynasties from Ming to Qing, the number of Ming Dynasty clothing handed down to the present day is very limited. It can be said that it is very precious!
▪www.bmy.com.cn
There is no need to elaborate on the influence behind Qin Shihuang's unification of China. The Qin Shihuang Mausoleum Museum includes the Terracotta Warriors and Horses Museum and Lishan Garden.
Whenever I see these terracotta warriors, I fantasize about that era, as if I were alive again: "I was born in the era of Qin Shihuang. My parents were civilian craftsmen. I was Qin Shihuang's dead servant. I slept under Mount Li for two thousand years. In the spring of 1974, I was awakened by the sound of well drilling. I was reborn. What a lively scene! I went from fragments to terracotta warriors, and stood for more than 40 years. The silent time is suitable for thinking."
China is a vast country with distinct characteristics. It has the Shu civilization in the southwest, the maritime civilization in the southeast coast, the Sino-Western cultural exchanges in the northwest, and the imperial relics in the east China. These top museums have brought national treasures!
▪www.scmuseum.cn
Sichuan Museum was founded in 1941 and has a history of more than 70 years. It currently has a collection of more than 320,000 cultural relics, including more than 50,000 precious cultural relics. It is the largest comprehensive museum in Southwest China.
The most distinctive of these are Bashu bronzes and Zhang Daqian's paintings. The Sichuan Museum has 726 pieces of Zhang Daqian's collection, ranking first in the world. This is the most precious gift Mr. Daqian left to his hometown.
▪www.sxhm.com
The Shaanxi History Museum is located on the northwest side of the Tang Dynasty Big Wild Goose Pagoda in the southern suburbs of Xi'an. It was planned in 1983 and completed and opened on June 20, 1991. It is the first large-scale modern national museum in China.
It houses more than 1.7 million collections, ranging from simple stone tools used by ancient humans to various witnesses of contemporary social life, with a time span of more than one million years. The most distinctive items are the elegant and solemn bronzes of the Shang and Zhou dynasties that bear witness to the civilization of ritual and music, the pottery figurines of various dynasties that show colorful life, the exquisite gold and silver wares of the Han and Tang dynasties that recreate the prosperous era, and the unparalleled and unique murals from Tang tombs.
▪www.njmuseum.com
In today's China, there are only two cities with the word "Jing" ending in their names, one in the south and one in the north. One is Beijing, and the other is Nanjing, the "capital of ten dynasties" and the "ancient capital of six dynasties". As one of the three major museums in China, the Nanjing Museum carries not only the history of Nanjing, but also the history of the entire Jiangsu and Zhejiang provinces, and the history of China.
The predecessor of Nanjing Museum was the National Central Museum initiated by Cai Yuanpei and others in 1933. It is the earliest museum established in China and the first large-scale comprehensive museum built by the state.
The 430,000 cultural relics in the Nanjing Museum's collection are not only numerous but also unique. They include both national and Jiangsu regional pieces, as well as items handed down from the imperial palace and items discovered by archaeological excavations.
The above are the top museums in each major region. In fact, the characteristics of city-level urban museums are more specific, and they often have a very urban style from architecture to collections. However, because the national museums in provincial capitals are too dazzling, they are forced to become "niche destinations."
▪www.cdmuseum.com
Chengdu Museum is the largest city museum in Southwest China. If you don’t know much about Chengdu’s complicated history, this will be a good place for you to get a systematic understanding of Chengdu.
Chengdu Museum houses the earliest round sculpture in the history of Chinese stone carving—the Stone Rhinoceros. It also provides an introduction to various aspects of Chengdu's urban culture. For example, what is Sichuan cuisine? What is a Chengdu teahouse? What is a "baba banquet"? You can find the answers here.
▪www.njmuseumadmin.com
This is a place that is often overlooked by most people. Nanjing Chaotian Palace is also the location of Nanjing Museum. As the saying goes, "One Chaotian Palace represents half of the history of the South."
In the Qinhuai District of Nanjing, where high-rise buildings stand, there is the highest-level, largest, and most complete existing Ming and Qing official ancient architectural complex in the Jiangnan region. The museum collections and ancient buildings best reflect the city characteristics and history of Nanjing.
You will never believe that this municipal museum houses several national treasures. You can see the seven-treasure Ashoka Stupa and discover the thousand-year Buddhist connection of a famous city. There is also a blue and white plum vase with a picture of Xiao He chasing Han Xin under the moon, which is worth ten billion.
▪www.beilin-museum.com
The Xi'an Forest of Steles Museum has a history of 930 years. There is nothing special here except that there are many steles. From the Han Dynasty to the Wei and Jin Dynasties, to the Tang, Song, Yuan, Ming and Qing Dynasties, almost every calligrapher you can think of is here. It is the place with the largest collection of famous steles and epitaphs in the entire known universe.
You are worried about the authenticity of calligraphy, but all the 4,000-plus inscriptions here are authentic, the "Versailles" of the museum world. "The Book of Filial Piety on the Stone Platform" - wherever I am, there is the Imperial College; "The Six Horses of Zhaoling" - they followed Li Shimin in his campaigns and are now far away; "The Stele of the Yan Family Ancestral Temple" - I know the most about Yan Zhenqing's life; "The Kaicheng Stone Classics" - I dare to ask, which Tang Dynasty imperial examination candidate didn't know me?
▪www.szmuseum.com
The internet-famous Suzhou Museum was designed by Master I.M. Pei. I won’t say much about how beautiful it is.
Hidden here is a one-of-a-kind secret-color porcelain lotus bowl, a Song Dynasty relic tower that appeared in "National Treasure", a century-old wisteria planted by Wen Zhengming, and over 800 fine cultural relics, allowing you to experience Suzhou elegance.
After visiting the museums above, everyone’s brain should have been overloaded. The vast historical knowledge cannot be mastered overnight. The following museums, relatively speaking, are lighter on history and culture, but each one has top-notch design. Take your friends to take photos!
▪http://www.szyyjzbwg.com
▪www.chinasilkmuseum.com
▪www.auroramuseum.cn
himalayasmuseum.org
▪www.nbmuseum.cn
Today, we will start with four aspects of domestic museums: Relic museums: historical context, starting from the beginning; national/provincial museums: regional characteristics, understanding the north and south styles; municipal museums: feeling the unique city style; niche museums: easy to take pictures. Visiting a museum requires such a clear context in order to understand and appreciate it.
