Yichang Museum, Hubei: tracing the source of Xiajiang civilization and appreciating the charm of Ba Feng and Chu
2022-04-19
The Three Gorges of the Yangtze River has attracted worldwide attention. Yichang, known as "Yiling" in ancient times, is known as "the gateway of the Three Gorges" and "the throat of Sichuan and Hubei". "The gorge is open to the sky, the sun rises, the mountains are flat, the water is broad, and the city floats." Guo Moruo once chanted the scenery of Xiajiang River and Yichang city. Yichang today is a modern civilized city. If you want to explore the distant Xiajiang civilization and the unique Bachu culture, you might as well go to Yichang Museum. Yichang museum is a comprehensive museum integrating history, nature, folk customs and ancient buildings. It is the largest among prefecture level museums in Hubei Province and even the central region. Yichang Museum has a main building area of 43001 square meters and an exhibition area of 12988 square meters. There are 58727 collections (sets), including 1623 sets and 2555 precious cultural relics. Mysterious civilization came from ancient times Walking into the hall of the museum, a towering and magnificent huge relief came into view. The green mountains on both sides of the Strait come out relatively, and a bay of clear water rushes forward. Between the mountains and rivers, the four big characters of "gorge to the sky" are surging. The Yangtze River is the mother river of the Chinese nation. Xiajiang civilization came from ancient times. The history of this land has been unfolded from geological evolution, dinosaur age, Paleolithic age and Neolithic Age through exhibitions such as "opening up Hongmeng", "ancient Xiling", "Bachu Yiling" and "Qianzai gorge state" in the museum. Around 540 million years ago, a series of animal species with basically the same form as modern animals appeared on the earth in a relatively short time, which is known as the "Cambrian life explosion". The linjoli fossils displayed in Yichang museum can be traced back to the Early Cambrian period 518 million years ago. Qingjiang River is the first-class tributary of the Yangtze River. In recent years, scientists have found a large number of fossils of "Qingjiang biota" in Changyang, Yichang. They are in the peak period of explosive origin and evolution of fauna together with the "Chengjiang biota" found in Yunnan in the 1980s. Among 4351 fossil specimens of "Qingjiang biota", 109 genera and species have been classified and identified, of which 53% are brand-new genera and species that have never been recorded before. The evolution of life is like the Yangtze River. In the "natural selection" exhibition area of Yichang Museum, you can see the specimens of Chinese sturgeon and white sturgeon. Chinese sturgeon is a miracle of natural selection. They lived in the same period as dinosaurs and lived on the earth for 140 million years. They are one of the oldest vertebrates. Chinese sturgeon is a large migratory fish. It is born in rivers and grows in the sea. It takes at least 10 years from the young sturgeon swimming into the sea to the adult sturgeon returning to the Yangtze River to breed offspring. Due to the changes of ecological environment brought by industrial development, the number of Chinese sturgeon has decreased sharply. In 1982, the Chinese sturgeon Research Institute was established and adopted a series of effective measures for the protection of Chinese sturgeon, such as banning fishing in the whole river, limiting fish for scientific research, and releasing Chinese sturgeon. In recent years, the number of Chinese sturgeon has begun to rise. However, it is sad that the white sturgeon, which appeared on the earth earlier than the Chinese sturgeon, has been declared extinct at the beginning of this century. In Yichang Museum, people can see the simulation model of white sturgeon. The death of the white sturgeon reminds the world that protecting the Yangtze River has a long way to go, and man and nature should coexist harmoniously. Human beings appeared far later than these ancient creatures. About 195000 years ago, Changyang Homo sapiens appeared in Changyang, Yichang. In a cave surrounded by green vines in the museum, the fossils of Changyang people's teeth and the restored sculptures of Changyang people's heads are displayed. From the Paleolithic age to the Neolithic age, more and more sophisticated stone tools show the development of human handicrafts. The stone carvings of "Sun man" more than 1 meter high reflect the increasingly rich and colorful spiritual life of mankind. The stone carving of "Sun man" was unearthed at the Beixi cultural site of dongmentou City, Zigui County, Yichang City in 1998. The front of the stone carving depicts the figure with simple lines, the stars on both sides of the body, and the shining sun on the top of the head. This is the earliest solar totem worship relic of the Neolithic age found in China, which provides extremely valuable data for the study of primitive religion, art, culture and social nature. The original stone carvings of "Sun man" are now stored in Hubei Provincial Museum. Due to the construction of Gezhouba and the Three Gorges water control project, salvage archaeological excavation has been carried out in the project site, and the Neolithic archaeological culture in Yichang area can be clearly and completely displayed to the world. Chengbeixi culture, Daxi Culture, Qujialing culture and Shijiahe culture come down in one continuous line, showing the overall picture of the evolution and development of the early Xiajiang civilization. Unique features of cultural collision Exhibition Yichang is the birthplace of early Ba culture and Chu culture, where the two cultures meet and collide. In the exhibition areas such as "Bachu Yiling" and "Three Gorges", rich cultural relics show the unique historical features of this place. The Qingjiang River Basin, where the Changyang Xianglu stone cultural site was discovered, is considered by the academic circles to be an important area to explore the origin of the early Ba people. Since ancient times, the Ba people have worshipped the tiger and used the tiger as their totem. Up to now, the Tujia people still continue to worship the white tiger. Yichang museum shows a number of tiger buttons with similar shapes in different ages. As a result, ancient military musical instruments with buttons can be hung and sounded with hammers. They are mainly used for commanding advance and retreat in the military, as well as ceremonial celebrations, large gatherings, ancestral temples and other activities. It became popular in the spring and Autumn period, prevailed in the Warring States period, Qin and Han Dynasties, and then gradually disappeared. Because the Ba people worship the white tiger, when Peiyu was introduced, the Ba people followed the shape and musical function of Peiyu. At the same time, they transformed and innovated Peiyu. With the tiger as the button, they prayed for the blessing of the Tiger God. Yichang Zigui is the birthplace of Qu Yuan, an outstanding politician and writer in the history of Chu state. Chu culture has left a deep impression in Yichang. The bronze bell of "Chu season" covered with green rust is the treasure of Yichang Museum. In 2012, 12 Yongzhong bells and 1 bronze tripod were excavated during the construction of Baiyang Industrial Park. One of the Yongzhong clocks is engraved with an inscription: "Chu Jibao Zhong's grandson is presented to his father-in-law for ten thousand years to be blessed", which means that the person who makes the clock is called "Chu Ji". Later, the grandson of Chu Ji presented it to his father-in-law (monarch), so that the "public" can be blessed for ten thousand years. This Yong bell is the first time that China has discovered the Chu national treasure clock engraved with the inscription "Chu season" in the Western Zhou Dynasty. The expert group identified that the bronze tripod, bronze chime bell, inscriptions and pottery unearthed from wanfunao site in Yichang should belong to the middle and late Western Zhou Dynasty, which is a major discovery and breakthrough in Chu cultural Archaeology and fills the gap in the study of early Chu culture. The wooden drum built in spring and autumn, which took nine years to repair and exhibited at the beginning of this year, is known as "the first drum built in China". "Zuo Zhuan" has the record of "Jiangu". Kong lizhan, also known as "Kong lizhan in the Tang Dynasty, explained In ancient times, when the army fought, it was necessary to set up drums to command advance and retreat. Jiangu is also used for banquets. Jiangu drum body is made of wood, which is difficult to preserve. Therefore, most of the Jiangu drums unearthed in the pre-Qin period only have bottom seats or wooden poles. This Jiangu from Yichang museum was unearthed in Dangyang city in 1997. Because the whole drum is chiseled with whole Phoebe wood, and the preservation environment is good, it is the only one with relatively complete preservation in China so far. This drum is painted with black primer and applied with red deformation and stealing song pattern. It has distinct characteristics of Chu culture. It is of great value to the study of Pre-Qin music, military, art and lacquer wood technology. Innovation Exhibition makes the audience stop The cultures of Ba and Chu collided and continued, leaving more than 20 national intangible cultural heritage representative projects in Yichang, including Xingshan folk songs, Yangtze River trumpets, Yichang silk and bamboo, Tujia Sayer Ho, the Dragon Boat Festival custom in Qu Yuan's hometown, dangyangguan mausoleum temple fair, etc. Entering the exhibition hall of "Three Gorges style" seems to enter the immersive experience field of these unique folk customs. The mountain wall inlaid with song and dance, folk performance display screen and full of relevant photos comes out from the left and right, turning the visiting route into "nine bends and eighteen bends". The representative sculpture of the Three Gorges trackers is vigorous and powerful. In front of the antique Tujia stilted building, the red sedan chair and melodious wedding cry song will introduce people to the Tujia wedding scene. Inside the stilted building, the sculptures are lifelike, the parents sit in the high hall, the husband and wife are paying homage to each other, and the Tujia marriage customs with complete "six rites" and accompanying song and dance are introduced on the TV screen. In the exhibition hall, there are Yichang shadow puppets, dragon boat festival dragon boats, etc., which are enjoyed by both refined and popular tastes, suitable for young and old. On another floor, I suddenly felt the sky was high and the clouds were light. I looked up and saw that I had crossed back to the ancient city of Yichang a hundred years ago. In the open-air area on the fourth floor, Yichang Museum has creatively set up the "ancient city memory" Yichang ancient city style exhibition. Mottled wooden boats stop at the side of the relief cliff plank road, and then there are rows of retro streets with houses. Liuguang photo studio, Zou Guoshun blacksmith shop, Wanshun white iron shop, wanchanglong grocery store, etc. condense the memory of the city. "The wall tiles, master chairs, screens, window frames, flower beds, etc. here are old objects; stores, chambers of Commerce, Confucian temples, memorial archways, etc. are also inherent in the old Yichang City, carrying the memory of many old Yichang people. It has become a popular punch in place for Yichang people, and it is also an innovative move displayed in the museum." Xiao Chengyun, curator of Yichang Museum, said, "our exhibition arrangement has both natural landscape and humanistic connotation, both historical relics and modern folk customs, so that audiences of different ages and cultural backgrounds can find places to stop." (outlook new era)
Edit：Yuanqi Tang Responsible editor：Xiao Yu
Source：
Special statement: if the pictures and texts reproduced or quoted on this site infringe your legitimate rights and interests, please contact this site, and this site will correct and delete them in time. For copyright issues and website cooperation, please contact through outlook new era email：lwxsd@liaowanghn.com
Recommended Reading Change it 
Home
