Museum of Nanyue King's tomb

Discovered in 1983, the tomb of Nanyue King is the mausoleum of Zhao Mei, the second generation of Nanyue King in the Western Han Dynasty (the grandson of Zhao Tuo, the general who unified Lingnan in the Qin Dynasty). It has a history of more than 2100 years. In the chamber of an ancient tomb, the owner of the tomb, Zhao Zhen, was dressed in jade clothes. His remains were placed in the middle of the rear part of the chamber, with a large number of exquisite jade carvings on both sides. There are also 15 remains of martyrs, such as Ji concubines and Li servants of Zhao. There are more than 1000 pieces of cultural relics unearthed from the tomb, among which the most precious are all kinds of jade and bronzes with the characteristics of Han, Chu and Yue cultures. After the excavation of Nanyue King's tomb, the Nanyue King's Tomb Museum of the Western Han Dynasty was built in situ. The museum has two parts: the ancient tomb protection area and the comprehensive exhibition building.

Nanyue King Museum of the Western Han Dynasty

synonym

The Museum of Nanyue King's tomb generally refers to the Museum of Nanyue King in the West Han Dynasty

The Nanyue King Museum of the Western Han Dynasty is the tomb of the second generation king of the Nanyue state, Zhao Zhen, discovered in 1983. It is the only painted stone chamber Tomb of the Han Dynasty discovered in Lingnan area. More than 10000 pieces of cultural relics were unearthed from the tomb. Among them, the gold seal of Emperor Wen Xingxi, the jade horn cup, the tiger festival of gold inscription, the printed copper plate mold and the flat glass bronze plate decoration are of great historical, scientific and artistic value, reflecting the political, economic and cultural contents of Lingnan two thousand years ago. Nanyue King's tomb is one of the major archaeological discoveries in China in the 1980s. It was listed as a national key cultural relic protection unit in 1996. In 2004, it was selected as national AAAA scenic spot, and in 2008, it was named "national first-class Museum". The remains of Nanyue and the maritime Silk Road are included in the preparatory list of China's world cultural heritage.

The Nanyue King Museum of the Western Han Dynasty, which was officially opened to the public in 1988, has a construction area of more than 17400 square meters. It mainly displays the original site of Nanyue King's tomb and its unearthed cultural relics. Taking ancient tombs as the center, the museum is built close to the mountains, organically connecting several different sequences of spaces, including the comprehensive exhibition building, the ancient tomb protection area and the main exhibition building, highlighting the group style of the Ruins Museum. It is a brilliant representative of Lingnan Modern Architecture and has won six architectural awards at home and abroad. The museum also has a special display of ceramic pillows donated by Yang Yongde and his wife and an occasional temporary exhibition. There are more than 400 ceramic pillows in the museum. They were made from the Tang Dynasty to the Republic of China, mainly in the song and Jin Dynasties. The large quantity, excellent quality and wide kiln mouth are rare in similar domestic collections.

Historical evolution

In 1983, after the excavation of Nanyue King's tomb was completed, Guangzhou municipal Party committee and government made the decision of "building Nanyue King's special museum on the spot, protecting ancient tombs and displaying unearthed cultural relics".

In March 1984, the Nanyue King Museum of the Western Han Dynasty was officially approved by the municipal government and the land was expropriated. Then the scheme design, demonstration and selection were started. Finally, the design scheme of Mr. Mo Bozhi, academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and chief engineer of the Municipal Planning Bureau was adopted.

On December 27, 1986, a foundation laying ceremony was held, and the first phase of the project was to reinforce and repair the ancient tomb.

On February 8, 1988, the comprehensive exhibition building was completed and officially opened to the public.

In 1989, the Nanyue King Museum of the Western Han Dynasty carried out the maintenance and reinforcement of the tomb chamber, the construction of the light shed of the tomb chamber and the East corridor.

On February 8, 1993, the main exhibition building of the second phase of Nanyue King Museum of the Western Han Dynasty was completed. On the same day, the exhibition of cultural relics unearthed from the tomb of Nanyue King of the Western Han Dynasty and the special exhibition of pillow donated by Yang Yongde and his wife opened, marking the full completion of Nanyue King Museum of the Western Han Dynasty.

In 1995 and 1997, a large-scale Shigou pool and a 150 meter long Shigou curved canal were successively cleared in cooperation with the construction project. Both of them belong to a whole and are the artificial waterscape of the Royal Garden of the king's palace of South Vietnam. In the second half of 1996, a well of drinking water brick was found 50 meters to the west of dashichi in Gongyuan.

architectural composition

The overall layout of Nanyue King Museum of the Western Han Dynasty is centered on the ancient tombs, covered with a glass protective shed with a bucket shaped steel frame, symbolizing the bucket shaped earth sealing of the mausoleum of the Han Dynasty emperors.

The east side of the tomb is a three story comprehensive exhibition building, and the north side is a two-story main exhibition building. The three buildings are connected as a whole by the surrounding corridor.

The museum also shows originality in appearance, decoration and materials. Because the stone used in the stone chamber of the mausoleum is mainly red sandstone, the exterior walls of the three components of the exhibition hall are also lined with red sandstone.

The Nanyue King Museum of the Western Han Dynasty is the main scenic spot of the yixianggang cultural and historical relics tour line in Yuexiu mountain, Guangzhou. The buildings are arranged symmetrically along the axis, built according to the tour route and up the stairs, connecting the exhibition hall, the tomb room and the expanded exhibition room into an organic whole.

Collection

A summary of cultural relics

As of 2017, more than 1000 pieces (groups) of precious cultural relics have been unearthed from the Nanyue King's tomb, including 15 martyrs. It is the earliest, largest and most abundant ancient tomb of the early Han Dynasty found in Lingnan area up to 2017. It is also the only painted stone chamber tomb built entirely of stones with murals for the first time. Among the cultural relics unearthed from the tomb, bronze and pottery are the most characteristic of the Southern Yue culture. There are three sets of bronze chime bells and musical instruments, 36 bronze tripods, 39 bronze mirrors, and three gold seals. More than 240 pieces of jade were unearthed. The jade clothes worn by the tomb owner have been restored. It is the earliest and only "silk jade clothes" among the complete jade clothes of the Western Han Dynasty found in China up to 2017. The blue flat glass, the world's first set of colored printing copper mold and African ivory unearthed from the tomb are all valuable treasures. Many cultural relics unearthed from the tombs of Nanyue kings are known as "the light of Lingnan culture" and "national treasure".

Collection quality

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Exhibition Profile

Cultural relics exhibition

The tomb of Zhao he, king of Nanyue, is one of the most important archaeological discoveries in China in the 1980s. More than 10000 pieces of various funerary objects were unearthed from the tomb. The "silk jade dress" worn by the owner of the tomb is the first discovery in Chinese archaeology. Jade horn cup, eleven sets of jade accessories and fifty-eight jade sword accessories are all important discoveries in Han jade. The tripod engraved with "Panyu" inscription, the bucket engraved with warship pattern, and the Ju Chu engraved with "the ninth year of Emperor Wen" Inscription are all very important. There are also a large number of treasures such as ancient Persian silver boxes and blue flat glass plate decorations. The gold seal of "Wen Di Xing Xi" and jade seal of "Zhao Min" on the tomb owner confirmed that the tomb owner was the second generation of Nanyue King. Fifteen martyrs were also found inside and outside the tomb. The exhibition is divided into five units: the gold seal of Emperor Wen, the treasures in the main room, the martyrs in the tomb, the treasures in the imperial treasury, and the bell Ding food.

Porcelain pillow Exhibition

There are more than 400 ceramic pillows in the collection, of which more than 200 are donated by Mr. Yang Yongde, a famous collector in Hong Kong, and Ms. Yang zhangruizhen, his wife. From the Tang Dynasty to the Yuan Dynasty, most of these pillows were in the song and Jin Dynasties, with colorful glaze and various shapes. There are Gongxian kiln, Cizhou kiln, Dengfeng kiln, Baofeng Qingliangsi kiln, Ding kiln, Yaozhou Kiln, Changsha kiln and Jingdezhen kiln in the south. This batch of ceramic pillows is rare at home and abroad because of their large quantity, many kinds and wide kiln mouth. In recognition of the patriotic feelings of Mr. Yang Yongde, a famous collector of cultural relics in Hong Kong, the museum also set up a special exhibition hall in 1993 to display more than 200 pieces of ceramic pillows donated by him, which were classified and displayed according to the age and kiln entrance, reflecting the origin and prosperity of ceramic pillows.

Cultural relics protection

As of 2017, the tombs of Western Han emperors have not been excavated. Among the more than 40 tombs excavated, only the tombs of Liu Sheng and his wife, King Jing of Zhongshan in Mancheng City, Hebei Province, the tombs of King Ji Bei in Shandong Province and the tombs of Nanyue King in Guangzhou have not been excavated. When the Han Tombs in Mancheng were discovered, the burial objects were moved, but the tombs of Nanyue kings were never stolen, so its scientific research value is self-evident.

Most of the discovered tombs of princes and kings are located in the Central Plains, only the tombs of Nanyue princes are located in the remote southern border. This discovery is conducive to exploring the unity and particularity of funeral etiquette of the tombs of princes and kings in the Central Plains and remote areas of Han Dynasty, and is conducive to a comprehensive understanding of the great changes in the burial methods and funeral concepts of Han Dynasty. This discovery provides valuable information for the study of the shape and structure of the tombs of Nanyue kings and the funeral customs of Nanyue Kingdom, and provides clues for the search for the mausoleum of Zhao Tuo, the first generation king of Nanyue kingdom.

Through the investigation and scientific identification of the materials used in the tombs, the unsettled mining history of Lianhuashan ancient quarry has been solved, and the mining history has been pushed from the Ming Dynasty to the early Western Han Dynasty, about 1500 years in advance.

The 15 martyrs in the tomb and more than 1000 pieces (groups) of precious funerary objects unearthed are of great historical, scientific and artistic value for the study of the economic, political and cultural development of Guangzhou and the whole Lingnan region during the Qin and Han Dynasties, as well as the exchange and integration of Han and Yue cultures It is the yardstick of dating archaeology.

Celebrity visit

In August 1987, Jia Lanpo, a famous scholar, was appreciating the unearthed cultural relics.

On February 8, 1988, Mr. Shang chengzuo visited the museum.

In February 1988, Professor Rao Zongyi of the Chinese University of Hong Kong visited the museum.

On September 21, 1988, Singapore Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew visited the museum.

30 March 1989, outside New Zealand

Chinese PinYin : Nan Yue Wang Mu Bo Wu Guan