陕西历史博物馆讲解材料.

Interpretation of New Exhibitions (Electronic Version)1. Distinguished guests, welcome to Shaanxi History Museum!Shaanxi History Museum is the first large modern museum in our country, and it was open to public visitors on June 20th, 1991. This museum has a total space of 70,000 square meters, including a construction space of 56,000 square meters. With the bronze wares, pottery figures, and mural paintings in Tang tombs as its distinctive collections, it boasts 370,000 pieces of cultural relics unearthed in Shanxi Province, including nearly 20,000 pieces of rare and precious ones, and 18 pieces of cultural relics of state. Since the opening of the museum, it has exerted the advantage of the Tang style agriculture, many historical relics, and conducted relic’s displays of various styles. With the best display, excellent order, high quality service, elegant surrounding, and special charm, the museum has attracted tourists home and abroad and meanwhile gained the reputation of "bright pearl of ancient city, treasure house of China."Shaanxi History Museum has three exhibition halls in a space of 11,000 square meters, including the Main Exhibition Hall, the Monograph Exhibition Hall and the Temporary Exhibition Hall. In the Main Exhibition Hall, there is the excellent exhibition of “the Ancient Culture of Shan x i”, which was developed on March 26, 2008 after our gallery’s 17-year development. It exhibits over 3,000 precious cultural relics, including previous treasures and recent acquisitions unearthed in the significant archaeological discovery, systematically displaying the fruitful achievement of Shanx i’s ancient civilization as well as its contribution to China. The exhibition is divided into seven parts: Prehistoric, Zhou dynasty, Qin Dynasty, Han dynasty, the Wei, Jin, Northern and Southern Dynasties, the Sui and Tang dynasties, and the dynasties after Tang.The Monograph Exhibition Hall is the exhibition of special topic held irregularly. Our gallery has held a dozen of these exhibitions, by which the advantage of Shanxi cultural relics is represented comprehensively. Therefore, they are well received by visitors and experts home and abroad. Now, Exhibition of the Bronze Mirrors of all Dynasties and Exhibition of Ancient Sports and Amusements in Shanxi' are showing.The Temporary Exhibition Hall is the supplement to the Main Exhibition Hall and the Monograph Exhibition Hall. The abundant content, distinctive design and usefulinformation included here help to produce an influential display system at home.Now please follow me and let’s see the part of preface.Please look around and you will find there is no written preface in this spacious and bright hall. Instead, it’s composed of a giant relief and a stone lion with no words. What the giant relief portrays is the surging Yellow River Hukou Waterfall. Yellow River, known as Chinese nation's mother river, is one of the birthplaces of ancient Chinese civilization. This walking stone lion was originally located in front of the tomb of Empress Wu Zetian in Tang Dynasty. It reaches as high as 3.5 meters, and weighs approximately 15 tons. Being the largest one in china’s h istory, it is honored as the Chinese First lion or the East First. The lion is native to Africa and western Asia. As Zhang Qian, a famous Chinese envoy, went to western region, the lion and the craft of carving lions spread to Shanxi along the Silk Road. The Tang Dynasty's walking stone lion in front of us, massive and powerful, is the integration of both Chinese and foreign cultures, reflecting the breadth and the standard of the history and culture of Shanxi. Dear visitors, speaking of it, I have one question for all you. Do you think it is a kind of preface, the one with no words? Well, after reading the preface part, we will read the main body of this “book”.Please enter the first Exhibition Hall with me, the Shaanxi Ancient Civilization Exhibition, to savor this immortal works that records the progress of human culture.2. Prehistoric Inhabitants-- Restored Lantian People’s Fossil SkullsThe first part of Shaanxi Ancient Civilization Exhibition is prehistoric civilization, which represents the history of humankind in the period before recorded history. The unearthing of the Lantian people’s fossil skulls is of great significance for the exploration and study of human origins. Based on the Lant ian people’s fossil skulls, paleoanthropologist restored this head statue. According to scientific testing, it is an around 30-year-old woman’s head. From the outlook of the Lantian people, we can see that they have facial features as primitive, the low flat forehead, the wide eyebrow bone and the large mouth with projecting jaw. Their brains are no more than 780 ml in volume, about half of modern humans’. The Lantian people lived about 115 million years ago, and they are the ever known earliest Homo erectus that lived in China.3. The Dali People’s Fossil SkullsAfter the Lantian people’s skull, a complete fossil skull of Palaeohuman was discovered in Dali County in Shanxi Province in 1978. The Dali People’s Fossil Skulls are the ever known oldest and completest in our country until now. According to scientific testing, the Dali people lived about 200,000 years ago, and their brains are around 1120 ml in volume. In addition, their physical characteristics are between upright and early Homo sapiens, so they are the oldest in the Early Homo sapiens.4. Three-legged Bowl, Three-legged PotThese artifacts are typical of Laoguantai culture (the earliest Neolithic culture in Shanxi Province up to now). The emergence of pottery is the first use of fire by human to change one material into another, that is, from the soft clay to the solid pottery. This transformation makes cooked food available to human, which not only greatly improves the human diet habit, but also promotes the evolution of human physique and people’s ability to think.5. Man's Face-Like Colored Pottery (Separate Display Case)The Yangshao culture is the important Neolithic Age culture in the Huanghe River valley with a long history of about 6000-7000 years, and it’s named after its site of Yangshao Village Mianchi County, He’nan Province, existing in the prosperity of matriarchal clan culture. The Yangshao culture is also called "colored pottery culture." The colored pottery uses a high iron pigment to paint various drawings, mainly animals and some geometric figures without intention, on the inside and the outside of the pottery. Man's Face-Like Colored Pottery is the representative of the colored pottery--- human’s face is combined with fishes skillfully. The person, wearing a tapering ornament, has a round face, a triangular nose and a mouth carrying two small fishes. As for its meaning, experts hold different views, and there are three generally acknowledged opinions as follows:1. Man's Face-Like Colored Pottery is the product of totem worship;2. It is the Wizards’ masks, and the Man's Face-Like pattern can take the place of Wizards to preside over sacrificial rites;3. People hope that they can multiply generation after generation like fish. Here, wecan see the close relationship between human and fish.6Pottery ZengZeng is the earliest utensil for cooking food by steam. Pottery Zeng is applied with the clay jar and lid when steaming food. First, put pottery Zeng with food inside into the clay jar containing water, and then cover it with the lid. Second, set on a fire and boil the water to steam. And finally, the food will be cooked by the vapor, which goes through the holes at the bottom of Zeng to heat the food. In fact, this is the prototype of the present bamboo steamer. With the appearance of Pottery Zeng, the history of eating grilled and boiled food comes to an end.7Red Pottery Bottle with Pointed BottomRed Pottery Bottle with Pointed Bottom is one of the typical artifacts in Yangshao culture, as well as one of the most commonly used utensil for Banpo people to draw water. It features a shape of small top, bulging body, two ears and pointed bottom. Its usage is as follows: first, attach a rope to the two ears, and then drop it into the water. When the pointed bottom touches water surface, it will be turned upside down automatically. After the red pottery is filled, it will stand up instantly. The two major advantages of the pointed bottom bottle are: first, water hardly overflows because of its small top; second, it’s convenient for people to carry by hand or sling over one shoulder, for the two ears on both sides of the bottle can be attached with a rope. This wonderful phenomenon of drawing water is exactly the earliest application of the two principles of modern physics. Although it is pr obably a coincidence, it reflects the Banpo people’s wisdom and creativity.8Potteries with Carved SymbolsMany late Yangshao culture potteries are carved with some regular and common symbols, among which 38 symbols are found in Jiangzhai Site and 27 in Banpo Ruins. Obviously, these symbols are not left unconsciously. Archaeologists believe that, similar to the inscriptions on oracle bones and bronze objects, they are the embryonic form of Chinese characters, and of great significance to the study of the origin of Chinese characters.9Divinating ScapulaNow let’s see the second part of the exhibition—Zhou Dynasty. It displays not only the civilization of Western Zhou Dynasty but also the development progress of Zhou, from a small and weak nationality, to a kingdom and eventually a powerful Western Zhou Dynasty. It is of the same period with Xia, Shang and Zhou Dynasties respectively.Here is the display of a cattle scapula used for divination by the ancients. At that time, people believed that gods in the heaven dominated the world, so divinations must be practiced on important occasions. The method is as follows: first, twist wormwood into a string, and ignite it. Second, burn the round pit on the back of the divinating scapula until it cracks. According to t he cracks’ thickness, length, direction and straightness, the ancients carved all the information on the bone. Consequently, China's earliest text, Oracle bone inscriptions, comes into being. Oracle bone inscriptions matured in the Shang Dynasty, and were widely used in the Western Zhou Dynasty, providing us the access to precious historical information.10. Bag-like Pottery LiLi is a common cooking utensil, similar to the present pot for cooking food and boiling water. Its bag-like body and three hollow legs form a single unit, which enlarges its volume as well as the bottom area when being heated.11. Bronze YanYan is the container for steaming food, similar to the present pan containing hot water to keep food warm. The appearance of Yan went back to the early Shang Dynasty, and it had been in use until the late Spring and Autumn Period. There are two shapes of Yan, rectangular and round. Each Yan consists of two parts: the first part of Yan is Zeng for holding food, while the second part is Li for holding water, and there is the copper grate between these two parts. In an early stage, it is shaped into a single unit, and later it is divided into two parts, which turns out to be more practical.12. Hollow BrickHollow Brick is a very useful building material, which is not only light, easily produced, saves labor and material, but plays the role of soundproofing and warmth. In the early stage, it often serves as the steps in a staircase, and was gradually in wide use later.13. Pan Tile, Plain TileIn the period of Zhou Kingdom, the climate in Guanzhong was warm, moist, and rainy. Considering the drainage of rain, people prefer to build the house with a sloping roof or hipped one from which the tiles are likely to slide, and used tile nails to affix them. At that time, tiles are divided into two types: pan tiles and plain tiles, serving different purposes.14. Open-work Spear with Feathery PatternThe spear, an aggressive weapon of the Shang Zhou Dynasty, contains openings in its middle part, and its sharp front part curls up. Judged from its outlook, we can easily conclude that it was not an applied item. Some scholars believe that this is associated with the religious beliefs of that period. This spear’s triangle Edge is typical of early Shu Culture in the Southern Shanxi Province, while its decorating feathery pattern is commonly used in the items in the northern area, so it should be the mergence of the Northern Area Culture and the early Shu Culture.15. Phoenix Wine CupPhoenix Wine Cup, used to warm up wine, is named after its two columns, on which standing one phoenix each. Phoenix is a common decorative pattern on the Bronzeware of the Shang Dynasty. Compared with the various plane patterns, this three-dimensional figure is relatively rare.16. Horse’s Head-like Knife, Snake’s Head-like BiThese are two weapons of the late Shang Dynasty, typical of the northern nomadic culture. Bi is a relatively rare short weapon in Shang and Zhou Dynasty, resembling the early dagger for stabbing and cleaving. This long, flattened, thin Bi has a ridge in the middle and a round point, so it is probably a cutlery or an item in daily use. Its handle has the shape of a snake’s head, on which the projecting mouth is half open, and the two hole-like eyes seem rather scary. Famous for its vivid image, Snake’s Head-like Bi is the most precious of the bronze daggers.Horse’s Head-like Knife, wide at the top and narrow at the bottom, has a bow-like blade and a horse’s head-like handle. Its mouth is slightly open, and its lower jaw was put on a semicircular loop, with which it carries easily.17. Sheep’s Head-like SpoonThe spoon was used to take wine in Northern Shanxi Province in the ancient time, generally applied with a drinking vessel. Its end has a shape of a head of a sheep whose horns are large and down-curving. The sheep opens its two eyes widely, and seems to be neighing like a horse with his mouth open. What attracts the eye most of all is a tiger-and-goat casting on its handle. The tiger has a slightly crouching body with a wide open mouth, a ridged back and a long up-curling tail, to take on the appearance of springing on something. The goat, having erected tail and ears, makes desperate efforts to escape, which is a vivid expression of the law of the jungle.18. Four-legged Ge (a kind of caldron)This Ge, carved with clear patterns and fine casting, is of the middle Shang Dynasty and unearthed in the Chenggu County in Southern Shanxi Province. The design, on each foot of the Ge, is a distorted ferocious mythical animal named taotie, whose eyes are in high relief, which has a highly decorative effect. In comparison with the three-legged, this Four-legged Ge is unique and designated as Grade One cultural relic of the state.19. Tripod Bearing InscriptionTripod Bearing Inscription, cultural relics of the state. A total of 207 characters were engraved on the tripod in 19 lines, recording a land transaction event in the Middle Western Zhou Dynasty. During the reign of King Gong of the Western Zhou Dynasty, a man named Qiu Wei attempted to exchange the land with his neighbor Bang Junli, and reported it to three ministers. After inquiries, Bang Junli agreed to trade lands and made a promise. The ministers ordered some officers to survey the land boundary and go through the land alteration registration procedure. This engraved inscription reflects that a part of lands was private property in the Western Zhou Dynasty, but the transfer, exchange and sale of land should be approved by main ministers. Simultaneously this inscription records the year of the event accurately, and thus it is an important measure by which bronzes of Middle Western Zhou Dynasty can be judged.20. Ci Gui BronzewareIn 1975, 37 bronze wares were unearthed at Dong in Qishan County, Shanxi Province, among which there are eleven vessels named Ci---three tripods and eight Guis,a bronze vessel for holding food in ancient time. The vessels of one kind have the same shape, design and inscription, but only slightly differ in size. 112 characters engraved on each bronze are one of the most complete writing systems to record Ceming system of Western Zhou Dynasty.Ceming system is an important regulation of appointing and rewarding officials. It dated from the Cheng-Kang period [Chou], and was well established until the reign of Lord Mu. Some specific names and titles and ranks of official positions are found in these inscriptions, which provide us with a valuable access to the study of Ceming system.21. Horse-and-chariot Burial Pit (Model)The model of a Horse-and-chariot Burial Pit in Chang’an District, Xi’an City, consists of two carriages and six horses. On the south is a four-horse chariot, and on the north is a two-horse one. Judged from the number and the shape of the carriages and the horses, it can be the grave of a slave owner only subordinate to feudal prince. Seashells on the ca rriages are as many as 2000, which reflects its owner’s abundant wealth. Under the carriage, there should be a skeleton of a human sacrifice, which is possibly a personal slave of the owner, because a phalanx of one’s left foot was found.22. Ding, GuiIn the very beginning, dings were used for cooking meat, and guis for containing cooked food. With the increasing development of the system of rites and music in Western Zhou Dynasty, dings and guis changed their functions to become sacrificial vessels and the symbol of their owners' power and wealth. Western Zhou had a strict rule to manage the arrangement of dings and guis, which reflects master's rank or status. Anyone that breaks the rule will be punished severely. This is the general idea of the row gui system of the Western Zhou Dynasty.After King Wu of Chou set up the Zhou Dynasty, he ordered Jidan, the Duke of Zhou, to establish rites and music system, to maintain his rule over the feudal lords. The rites and music system of Zhou Dynasty is very complicated, which has various rules according to different political status.23. Ta PlateWe may see there is a Chinese character Ta, the craftsman’s name, at the bottom of this plate, and thus it is called Ta Plate. On the four legs of the plate are the designs of the naked men whose lower legs were cut as a punishment, kneeling with both hands on the knees and the plate on the shoulders.The combination of gift and punishment is a characteristic of the legal system of the Western Zhou Dynasty. In reality, bureaucrat's noble can be exempted from punishment by paying a certain amount of fines, which mainly emphasizes the social reality of inequality between bureaucrat's noble and common people. The Gift is used to deal with the contradictions within the ruling classes, while the Punishment is to handle the ones between the rulers and the ruled. This cultural relic has reflected the criminal law of the Western Zhou Dynasty vividly.24. Zuo BellsZuo Bells, with similar designs, consist of eight parts, which are arranged in an order of continuously decreasing size. Zuo is the name of the bells’ master.Each of the former four parts bears one inscription; and the latter four bears one together. The five identical inscriptions is to the effect that Zuo was very honored to be appointed and rewarded by the King of Zhou, so he made the bell in commemoration of the date. As for the playing of Zuo Bell, you can beat the middle or the two corners. The sound from beating the middle is called Sui, and the sound from beating two corners is called Gu. There is an interval of three notes or seminotes between Sui and Gu. Zuo Bell’s inside wall is carved with a slot for tuning. In ancient times, there was a 5tone system. They are Gong, Shang, Jue, Zhi and Yu, respectively equal to 1, 2, 3, 5 and 6 in the present tone system. In the Warring States Period, the complete 7tone system came out, and this bell’s range is three-eighths.This musical instrument is one kind of bronze ware, playing an important role in the past social life. Noble lords in the past eat with tripods in array while servants playing bells. Therefore, a Chinese four-letter phrase describing this luxurious scene was coined. Accordingly, bells become a crucial vessel when noble lords offer sacrifice or give a great dinner.25. Duo You Ding (tripod)Duo You Ding, cultural relic of the state, and its inside inscription has 279 characters. It recorded a war happening during the reign of King Wu of Chou. In October, Xianyun invaded the capital of Zhou, and King Wu of Chou ordered Xianyun to lead an army, to pursue westward. As a result of the war, Xianyun’s battle culminated in total victory, killing 356 people, taking 28 captives and 127 chariots, as well as much recaptured territory. After the war, King Wu of Chou awarded Xianyun more than 1,500 kilograms of bronze, with part of which Xianyun made this ding to record the war.26. Primitive Porcelain JarThis jar was made of kaolin and fired to 1200℃. Its unsmooth coating is apt to spalling. Therefore, it is called the primitive porcelain. It’s the product with the transition from pottery to porcelain, holding an important position in Chinese porcelain history.27. Five-hole Jade TabletThis jade tablet was an important sacrificial vessel in ancient times. Because it is the biggest one up to now, so it is called “the jade tablet king”.It was used as a sacrificial offering for mountains. Though following the style of Shang Dynasty, its design and carving is more simple and lifelike, which represents a high level of artistic achievement?28. Jade Bi Disc、Jade CongJade Bi Disc and Jade Cong are the earliest jade articles used in sacrificing. When people offer sacrifices, Bi symbolizes not only heaven, but also the sun, fathers and the male. In comparison with Bi, Cong symbolizes the earth, the moon and the female.29. Locking PinNumerous burial objects, real chariots and horses, are unearthed, and reflect noble lords’ status and developed traffic of the Western Zhou Dynasty.The parts of chariots here were made of copper, reflecting the advanced technology of manufacturing. The locking pin was in common use, inserted in the end of a shaft, to prevent a wheel from slipping off. However, the its design is very unique: on the upper front is a man’s head, and on the under-part is a striking animal’s face; on the back is crouching-frog-like person in shorts, whose hair hung loosely about his shoulders, and back wearing a deer-like design, which can be a manifestation of tattoo according to scholars.30. Shell CurrencyValue comes from scarcity. The shells we saw were quite rare in an inland area then. In addition, it’s easy to carry, save and preserve, becoming a kind of currency after the barber system. A string of ten shells is called “one Peng”, a basic Unit of account. That explains why Chinese characters having the meaning of money often consist of “贝” that means shell.31. Tripod with Taotie Design (Separate Display Case)Tripod with Taotie Design of early Western Zhou Dynasty, unearthed in the area of Chunhua in Shanxi, is also called Chunhua Tripod. This tripod is 122 centimeters high, 83 cm in diameter, weighing 226 kilograms. Its overall modeling is pretty liberal with exaggerated design. Chunhua Tripod is the largest and heaviest among all the bronze wares of the Western Zhou Dynasty. What’s more, the wall of the Chunhua Tripod’s body is decorated with three big semicircular ears, which is also rare up to now.32. Riyi GongGong is one of the uniquely shaped vessels for scooping and containing wine in the Zhou and Shang dynasties. Two inscriptions on the Riyi Gong and its lid are identical, having 18 characters each, a description of a person surnamed Jitian casting sacrificial utensil for his late father in the hope of his blessings given to descendants. In their remains, some other bronze wares, including rectangular Riyi Yi and Riyi Zun, were also unearthed. Riyi Gong was unearthed in Fufeng, Shanxi province, the birthplace of the prosperou s Zhou Dynasty, where the Western Zhou Dynasty’s noble lords and courtiers inhabited. Quan Rong, a barbarian tribe, invaded Zhou Dynasty, in face of which noble lords fled and hid some heavy bronze wares in the earth. In early 1963, these gorgeous bronze wares were brought to light after all, and become fine collections in the museum.34. Die Plate (Separate Display Case)Die Plate is engraved with an inscription in 21 lines, resulting in a total of 372 characters. It records that eight generations of the S han’s family successively assisted twelve kings of the Western Zhou Dynasty in fighting, dealing with political affairs, and administrating Linze area. It also records that they were in the kings’ favor. In addition, the record of the patriarchal lineage of the Kings of the Western Zhou Dynasty is almostthe first unbroken line of descent that we have known, which lends some support to Shiji (historical Records) and the chronological table of the reign of Emperor Xuan of the Western Zhou.35. Ta He (Separate Display Case)Ta He, a vessel for containing water or wine. Its lid is engraved with“它” pronounced Ta, and it is therefore called Ta He. On the top of He is a figure of bird with a pair of bright eyes, wings outstretched. The forward part is in a shape of an animal’s head and its long neck, allowing the passage of liquid. The rear part is shaped like a dragon, looking backward, served as the handle. He is commonly used with plate: He is for adding water; plate is for holding the used water.36. Bull-Like Zun (Separate Display Case)Bull-Like Zun, a wine container, is designated as Grade One cultural relics of the state. On the back of the bull stands a tiger, under whose feet is a lid, connected with the body of the pot by a snap fastener. Bull-Like Zun ingeniously takes the advantages of every part of a bull. For instance, the bull’s tail served as a handle, the abdomen used for holding wine, and the mouth used for pouring wine. Therefore, this wine container of Middle Western Zhou Dynasty claims to be not only practical but also artistic.37. Bronze GangA total of 64 Gangs, a kind of bronze building material, originally hidden in three storage pits separately, were unearthed in Qin Yong City. Bronze Gangs fall into four categories, mainly used for connecting building frames of wooden houses, vertically or horizontally, to reinforce and decorate houses.38. Eaves TilesEaves Tiles is an ancient building material. To prevent rafters from being weathered, Eaves Tiles were used in wooden houses that are common in ancient times. Consequently, the life of wooden houses is prolonged under the protection of hanging parts of Eaves Tiles. As early as in the Western Zhou Dynasty, the people started to use eaves tiles, mostly round and some semicircular. In Qin Dynasty, eaves tiles became more widely used, playing a double role of protection and decoration. According to designs, eaves tiles can be divided into three categories: eaves tiles with pattern, image and charactersrespectively. Many bronzewares of the Qin Dynasty was decorated with the pattern of an animal named Kui, and the animal images including deer, badgers and leopards. This group of eaves tiles of Qin Dynasty, in the color of steel gray, results in a texture of stiffness and thin density. Besides, its pictures are simple but exaggerating, demonstrating people’s good wishes for auspiciousness and happiness in Qin Dynasty. For instance, the character “鹿” (deer in English) and “禄” (handsome salary in English) sound the same. These pictures on the eaves tiles bend realistic painting skills with free sketches, and therefore it claims to be a rare artwork.39. Stone DrugA total of ten Stone Drugs were unearthed in Yong City in the Tang Dynasty, which once created a stir. On each stone drum is engraved with one four-word poem, approximately 700 characters, among which 272 characters are preserved, mainly recording the hunting activity of the Qin royal family. The characters on the stone drum, named Zhou inscription, are the oldest in existence in our country. The inscriptions on the stone drums are the precious material for studying the evolution of Chinese characters, and they are also the authentic works of the earliest ancient poetry up to now.40. Gourd-like Pot with Bird-like LidThis bronze wine pot of the Warring States period is Grade One cultural relics of the State. Because of its bird-like lid and gourd-like body, it is called Gourd-like Pot with Bird-like Lid. The ring-like fastener on the lid makes it easy to be opened and closed. The pot is decorated with two exquisite broad lines and six coiled snake-like lines from its neck down to its body. The bird’s tail on the lid is connected with its handle by a chain formed by four links, and every link is decorated with a design of a snake, with its head upward and its tail in a curl. Gourd-like Pot with Bird-like Lid is found at a salvage station in Suide County, Shanxi Province accidentally. If the experts didn’t have a sharp eye for cultural relics, it had been melted in the furnace, because its features were unclear at that time.41. Pottery QunQuns were used to store gains in ancient times. Generally speaking, there are two kinds of grain storage methods, above ground and underground. Above ground storages。