Shaanxi History Museum

History background:

Shaanxi History Museum is located in the northwest of the Dayan Pagoda in Xi'an. It is one of the landmark attractions of Xi'an. The museum was planned in 1983, started in the summer of 1986, and officially opened on June 20, 1997. It was named Shaanxi History Museum. In 2016, Shaanxi History Museum was selected as "China's 20th Century Architectural Heritage" by the Chinese Cultural Relics Society and the Chinese Architectural Society.

Museum Features:

Shaanxi History Museum is a large modern museum, and its completion marks a new milestone in the development of China's museum industry. This museum is a Tang-style building complex with a "central hall and four corner towers". The main and secondary buildings are well-organized, the heights are staggered, and the momentum is solemn. It integrates national traditions, local characteristics and the spirit of the times.

The museum covers an area of ​​65,000 square meters, and houses more than 380,000 cultural relics ranging from simple stone tools used in the initial stage of ancient humans to various artifacts in social life before 1840, covering a time span of more than one million years. The cultural relics are not only numerous and diverse, but also of high quality and great value. The collections in the museum are dazzling and exquisite. It is an art hall that showcases the history and culture of Shaanxi and ancient Chinese civilization, and is known as the "Pearl of the Ancient Capital, the Treasure House of China."

There are many treasures in the museum, including bronzes from the Shang and Zhou dynasties, pottery figurines from various dynasties, gold and silver utensils from the Han and Tang dynasties, and murals from Tang tombs. Most of them are treasures from the prosperous periods of the Han and Tang dynasties, and some of them are fine items that are prohibited from leaving the country.

Collection treasures:

There are three exhibition halls in the center of the museum. The first exhibition hall displays cultural relics from the prehistoric civilization of Lantian ape-man 1.15 million years ago to the Qin Dynasty; the second exhibition hall displays cultural relics from the Han Dynasty and the Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties; and the third exhibition hall is mainly cultural relics from the prosperous Tang Dynasty. Each exhibition hall has its own treasure.

There are special exhibition halls on the east and west sides of the central hall. On the west side, there is a "Special Exhibition of Tang Dynasty Treasures (Treasure Hall, Cultural Relics Unearthed in Hejiacun)", where many fine gold and silver wares from the heyday of the Tang Dynasty were transferred to be exhibited. On the east side, there is a "Treasures of Tang Dynasty Murals Exhibition", which exhibits a number of authentic Tang Dynasty tomb murals.

The tripod

The tripod is placed in the first exhibition hall at the entrance of the museum, and it can be said to be the treasure of the first exhibition hall. The replica is placed here, and the original is kept in the warehouse. Inscription on the outer wall: The inscription "All under heaven is the king's land; all the people are the king's subjects" reflects the land ownership system in the Western Zhou Dynasty.

There are four lines of inscriptions with 28 characters on the inner wall of the Yi Ding. The general meaning is: In early August of a certain year, Wang Jiang took back the land originally given to Shi Lu and gave it to Yi, who then made this tripod to commemorate it.

Queen's Seal:

One of the treasures worth seeing in the second exhibition hall is the jade seal of the empress of the Han Dynasty, which is displayed separately. The seal is made of Xinjiang Hetian mutton-fat jade and is engraved with a Chihu, symbolizing royal power.

Three-color camel figurines carrying music:

This world-famous tri-color camel figurine carrying music is located in the third exhibition hall of Shaanxi History Museum. Its overall appearance and color are well preserved. There are seven men sitting on the camel's back, holding different musical instruments in their hands. Among them, the figurine holding the clappers is listening attentively, as if intoxicated by the wonderful music. The woman in the middle is performing, and the camel opens its mouth wide and looks up to the sky, as if it is also singing with its master.

Gold-inlaid animal head agate cup:

This cultural relic, which is located in the special exhibition "Tang Dynasty Relics Special Exhibition", is one of the first 64 national treasures listed by the State Administration of Cultural Heritage that are never allowed to be exhibited abroad.

There are also many other treasures such as black-glazed oil-drip bowls, green-glazed porcelain pots with handles, gilded silver bamboo-joint copper incense burners, gold bowls with mandarin duck and lotus petal patterns, etc.