Photo: Chen Xi/GT
A new museum building for the Yin Ruins, a world heritage site known as "the hometown of oracle bone inscriptions," officially opened in Anyang city, Central China's Henan Province on Monday. This is the first panoramic museum showcasing ancient Shang civilization and the prosperous development of the Shang Dynasty (c.1600BC-1046BC).
The design of the new building, boasting an exhibition area of 22,000 square meters, drew inspiration from the ancient book Shang Song in The Book of Songs. It features towering bronze sculptures and layered depths, highlighting the themes of Shang civilization.
Officials said about 3,000 among the 4,000 items or sets of precious artifacts are on display for the first time and they include bronzes, pottery, jade ware, and oracle bones.
The quantity and variety of the artifacts displayed in the new museum are unparalleled in exhibitions of Shang Dynasty artifacts. The panoramic presentation showcases the great achievements of the Shang Dynasty in politics, economy, military affairs, agriculture, handicrafts, and writing.
For example, one oracle bone is the only existing one in a Chinese museum that has a turquoise inlay. It depicts scenes involving a Shang emperor inspecting military hunting activities. The uniqueness of this artifact lies in the turquoise inlay within the inscription, which not only highlights the authority of the Shang emperor but also adds exquisite beauty to the entire oracle bone.
He Yuling, deputy director of the Anyang workstation of the Institute of Archaeology under the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (CASS), told the Global Times on Monday that as a thematic museum, the exhibition does not focus solely on individual artifacts, and also includes groups of artifacts.
The new museum also displays 23 out of hundreds of chariots excavated from the Yin Ruins, with the majority being two-horse chariots. It is the first large-scale exhibition of chariots in China.
Chen Xingcan, director of the Institute of Archaeology under the CASS and curator of the Yin Ruins Museum, told the Global Times on Monday that the Yin Ruins holds undeniable importance in the world of archaeology. It can be said that the Shang culture, represented by the Yin Ruins, was the first highly developed civilization in east Asia.
The Yin Ruins are acclaimed as the cradle of modern Chinese archaeology. The excavation of the ruins, which began in 1928, marked the beginning of historical research into the Shang Dynasty and expanded the field of oracle bone studies, according to the Xinhua News Agency.
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