On the morning of November 13, 2015, I came to Changsha City for the first time and went straight to the Hunan Provincial Museum. At that time, the place was undergoing renovations and was not open to the public, so I was unable to visit. On the afternoon of October 6, 2020, I came to the Hunan Provincial Museum again and was finally able to enter this mysterious place——
During the National Day holiday, the Hunan Provincial Museum was crowded, and it was difficult to reserve tickets within three days. , it is also because of my status as a cultural and museum system worker that I can successfully enter the exhibition hall. The basic display here takes "Hunanese" as the theme, showing the progress of the development of civilization in Hunan, and displaying precious cultural relics unearthed in various periods.
From the perspective of "Hunan people", the natural environment and development outline of Hunan people's lives are explained to the audience in the first person. On this basis, we will refine the spirit condensed over thousands of years, reveal the phenomenon of Hunan’s modern talent spurt, enhance the pride of Hunan people, and encourage everyone to love their country and their hometown.
Hunan people
Ecological changes
1. Where do I come from?
Through the latest archaeological discoveries, combined with anthropological research results, we can trace the origin of today's Hunan people and explore how the Hunan people gradually formed? At the same time, it also witnessed the entire process of China's historical development and national integration.
The earliest traces of human activity in Hunan were discovered at the Huzhaoshan site in Jin City, which dates back 500,000 years ago; in 1982, tooth and mandibular fossils were unearthed at the Yanerdong site in Shimen County, dating back to 16,000 years old, belonging to modern Homo sapiens, and named "Shimen Homo". The animal bones found here have some traces of fire, indicating that the "Shimen people" have learned to use fire.
Stone tools unearthed from the Huzhaoshan site
Teeth and mandible fossils of the "Shimen Man"
2. Dongting Yumi Township
Hunan It has the advantage of natural conditions suitable for the planting and growth of crops. With the further development of the lake area and mountains, the area, output and varieties of grain planting have gradually increased, making it a veritable "land of plenty". From collecting wild rice to artificially cultivated rice, Hunan people have made great contributions to solving the problem of feeding the population.
In 1995, four grains of rice were discovered at the Yuchanyan site in Dao County, dating back to about 15,000 to 13,000 years ago. After identification, these rice plants retain the comprehensive characteristics of wild rice, indica rice and japonica rice. They are the earliest specimens found in the world with characteristics of artificially cultivated rice.
Ancient cultivated rice
Pottery cauldron
In the pre-Qin period, people improved the soil with the help of fallow, reasonably arranged farming according to the season, and gradually mastered the optimal conditions of various crops. growth period. Agricultural production tools continued to change from stone tools, bronze tools to iron tools, and cattle farming began to appear, and farming efficiency was greatly improved.
From the Qin and Han dynasties to the Sui and Tang dynasties, a large number of agricultural-related cultural relics were unearthed from tombs, including models of pottery warehouses, pottery wells, pottery mills, and pottery pestles.
In the historical documents of each period, there are also many written records related to agriculture, which express the importance that rulers of all dynasties attached to the country's agricultural production.
Agricultural production tools
Agricultural cultural relics of Han and Tang dynasties
3. Footprints of life
This part is the core content of the basic display. According to In order of time, the total is divided into six major periods: Southern rituals and music in the Bronze Age, Hunan and Chu customs, small farm households under the unification, social fashion of multi-cultural integration, quality life after the center of gravity moved south, and clan society to modernization. ?
A large number of bronzes from the Shang and Zhou dynasties were unearthed in Huangcai Town, Ningxiang City and surrounding areas. In 1959, at the Tanheli site here, a square tripod with a human face pattern was unearthed, with the word "Dahe" cast on the inner wall. Therefore, some people believe that this place is a Dahefang Kingdom that is independent from the Central Plains Dynasty of Shang and Zhou Dynasties.
Tanheli Ruins
Dahe people’s square tripod
After the Qin and Han Dynasties and into the Six Dynasties, whenever social unrest in the Central Plains occurred, northern residents would move south in large numbers , Hunan became an important place for them to stay. Northerners brought advanced production technology and culture, which promoted the rapid economic and cultural development of Hunan.
On the floor of the exhibition hall, there is a section of blue brick pavement from the Six Dynasties period, which was cut into the Dongpailou ancient city site in Changsha City in 2012. It was very exciting to walk on it; in 1958, many equestrian figurines were unearthed from the Jin Dynasty tomb in Jinpenling, Changsha City, reflecting the equestrian customs brought about by the "southern migration of clothes and clothes" from the Central Plains during the two Jin Dynasties. There are white hairs between the eyebrows of some pottery figurines, indicating that Buddhism has been introduced to Hunan.
Green brick pavement of the Six Dynasties
Horse-riding figurines of the Western Jin Dynasty
In 1998, a German salvage company discovered it near a large black reef in the waters of Belitung Island, Indonesia. A shipwreck from the Tang Dynasty was discovered, which was called the "Black Stone". The structure of this ship is an Arabian stitched merchant ship. It carries a large amount of Chinese goods and transports them to West Asia and North Africa through Southeast Asia.
More than 67,000 ceramic artifacts were recovered from the "Black Stone". Among them, there are about 56,500 pieces of porcelain fired in Changsha kilns. The main shapes are bowls and the surfaces are decorated with paintings. Currently, the cultural relics that emerged from the "Black Stone" are collected in Singapore, but a part of the porcelain bowl and a piece of the ship's hull can be seen in the Hunan Provincial Museum.
Changsha kiln porcelain bowl
The wreckage of the "Black Stone" hull
4. Soul of Hunan
At the end of the exhibition, the theme It is sublimated to display the spiritual outlook of modern Hunan people, reflecting the spiritual temperament of elites in different periods, including "the transformation of worry and optimism", "the inheritance of academy education", "the indomitable feelings of family and country", "dare to renew the sun and the moon" "Heaven" consists of four parts.
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In the exhibition hall, an ancestral temple has been restored, displaying the important ancestral temple culture in Hunan, including plaques, wooden beams, shrines, five offerings, couplets, etc. The Qing Dynasty "Zhu Family Ancestral Hall" plaque above comes from Longguiping Village, where there are more than 100 Zhu family households with more than 500 people. During the Wanli period of the Ming Dynasty, they moved here; hundreds of years later, they abided by family rules and lived in harmony.
Zhu's Ancestral Hall
The water flowing with flowers is tranquil and interesting, and the fish and birds fly to meet the day after tomorrow
Different from the basic display of other large museums, the Hunan Provincial Museum exhibition The theme takes a different approach, putting people first and objects as supplements. Focusing on "Hunanese" as the core, cultural relics have soul and connotation, inheriting history and enlightening the present. After visiting the Hunan Provincial Museum, every tourist will admire the Hunan people from the bottom of their hearts!