National Museum of China
| National Museum of China | |
|---|---|
 The National Museum of China |
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| Established | 1959 |
| Location | Beijing |
| Type | Art museum, History museum |
| Website | http://www.chnmuseum.cn/ |
The National Museum of China (simplified Chinese: 中国国家博物馆; traditional Chinese: 中國國家博物館; pinyin: Zhōngguó guójiā bówùguǎn) flanks the eastern side of Tiananmen Square in Beijing, China. The mission of the museum is to educate about the arts and history of China. It is directed by the Ministry of Culture of the People's Republic of China.
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[edit] History
The museum was established in 2003 by the merging of the two separate museums that had occupied the same building since 1959: the Museum of the Chinese Revolution in the northern wing (originating in the Office of the National Museum of the Revolution founded in 1950 to preserve the legacy of the 1949 revolution) and the National Museum of Chinese History in the southern wing (with origins in both the Beijing National History Museum, founded in 1949, and the Preliminary Office of the National History Museum, founded in 1912, tasked to safeguard China's larger historical legacy).
The building was completed in 1959 as one of the Ten Great Buildings celebrating the ten-year anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China. It complements the opposing Great Hall of the People that was built at the same time. The structure sits on 65,000 ㎡ and has a frontal length of 313 meters, a height of four stories totaling 40 meters, and a width of 149 meters.[1] The front displays eleven square pillars at its center.
After four years of renovation, the museum reopened on March 17th, 2011 with 28 new exhibition halls and more than triple the previous exhibition space and state of the art exhibition facilities and storage. It has have a total floor space of nearly 191,900 square meters to display the over one million national treasures in its collection.[2][3] The renovations were designed by the German firm Gerkan, Marg and Partners.[4]
[edit] Collections
The Museum of Chinese History, covering Chinese history from the Yuanmou Man of 1.7 million years ago to the end of the Qing Dynasty (the last imperial dynasty), has a permanent collection of over 620,385 cultural items,[5] with many precious and rare artifacts not to be found in museums anywhere else in China or the rest of the world.
Among the most important items in the National Museum of China are the "Simuwu Ding" (a form of food vessel) from the Shang Dynasty, cast over 3,000 years ago and the heaviest piece of ancient bronzeware in the world at 832.84 kg;[6] the Shang Dynasty square bronze "Zun" (wine vessel) decorated with four sheep heads,[6] a large rare inscribed Western Zhou Dynasty (11th century BC - 771 BC) bronze Pan,[6] a gold-inlaid bronze tally in the shape of a tiger from the Qin Dynasty,[6] a Han Dynasty (206 BC - 220 AD) jade burial suit sewn with gold thread,[6] and a comprehensive collection of tri-colored glazed sancai of the Tang Dynasty and ceramics from the Song Dynasty.[6]
[edit] Countdown clocks
Because of its central location in Tiananmen Square, the front of the museum has been used since the 1990s for the display of countdown clocks relating to occasions of national importance, including the 1997 transfer of sovereignty of Hong Kong, the 1999 transfer of sovereignty of Macau, the beginning of the 2008 Beijing Olympics, and the opening of the 2010 World Expo in Shanghai.
[edit] Criticism
Some critics have alleged the museum's historiography focuses on the triumphs of the Communist Party and the narrative of China's ethnic groups uniting for a common cause, while ignoring politically-sensitive subjects such as the Great Leap Forward or the Cultural Revolution.[7]
A three-month exhibition of the luxury brand Louis Vuitton led to some complaints of commercialism, with Peking University professor Xia Xueluan stating "hosting such an exhibition is harmful to a State-level public museum that should in fact only be dedicating itself to non-profit cultural promotion."[8] Museum vice-director Chen Lüsheng defended the exhibition as “present[ing] exquisite classical Italian design to Chinese audiences, and boost[ing] cultural exchanges between Italy and China.”[9]
[edit] See also
- List of museums in China
- Forbidden City
- National Palace Museum
- State Administration of Cultural Heritage
- Ministry of Culture
[edit] Notes
- ^ China.org
- ^ http://english.cntv.cn/20110301/111608.shtml
- ^ http://english.cntv.cn/20110217/110226.shtml
- ^ Hanno Rauterberg, Aufklärung in eigener Sache, Die Zeit, April 1st, 2011 (in German)
- ^ Highbeams Research
- ^ a b c d e f "The National Museum of China". China Culture. http://www.chinaculture.org/gb/en_museum/2003-09/24/content_29769.htm.
- ^ Ian Johnson (April 3, 2011). "At China’s New Museum, History Toes Party Line". The New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/2011/04/04/world/asia/04museum.html. Retrieved 2012-01-17.
- ^ "National museum, LV reject criticisms of design exhibition". Global Times. June 1, 2011. http://www.china.org.cn/china/2011-06/01/content_22689523.htm. Retrieved 2012-01-17.
- ^ "National Museum of China under fire – again!". Global Times. September 14, 2011. http://www.globaltimes.cn/NEWS/tabid/99/ID/675301/National-Museum-of-China-under-fire-again.aspx. Retrieved 2012-01-17.
[edit] External links
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