Chinanews.com, Ningbo, December 12 (Tong Xiaoyu, Xiang Congying) On December 6, the special exhibition of "Ancient Chinese Civilization Exhibition: Etiquette, Belief and Pluralism" was held in Ningbo, Zhejiang.

An edict issued in the first year of Qin II to reaffirm the policy of weights and measures. Photo by Li Anning

Bronze Owl. Photo by Li Anning

It is reported that this exhibition is a special exhibition for the 15th anniversary of the Ningbo Museum, which is jointly launched by the Ningbo Museum and the Shanghai Museum. A total of 198 pieces of cultural relics were exhibited on site, mainly bronzes from the collection of the Shanghai Museum, as well as Liangzhu cultural jade, Shang Dynasty bone inscriptions, Warring States coins, and a number of Han Dynasty pottery and other cultural relics, expounding the characteristics of Chinese culture from prehistory to the Han Dynasty.

Exhibition view. Photo by Li Anning

The Shanghai Museum is one of the museums with the largest collection of ancient Chinese bronzes, with a collection of bronzes from various periods starting from the Erlitou cultural period, including inscriptions and famous bronzes of great historical value, known as the "half of the country" of Chinese bronzes.

The reason why the Shanghai Museum can collect so many Chinese bronzes is due to a person from Ningbo who is Ma Chengyuan, the old director of the Shanghai Museum and a famous bronze scholar.

Ma Chengyuan is a native of Zhenhai, Ningbo, mainly engaged in the research and identification of bronzes and slips. Over the years, he has rescued a large number of precious cultural relics for the country, and more than 300 pieces of scattered cultural relics such as bronzes, stone carvings, ceramics and jade have been collected in Hong Kong alone.

This exhibition is divided into four sections: "The Kingdom of Monarchy", "Tibetan Rites", "Words in the Universe" and "Worship of Life and Death", with multiple dimensions and complete structure. The cultural relics on display on site are all important in terms of scale, quantity, level of exhibits and academic value.

For example, Fang Ding, a member of the Western Zhou Dynasty, a national first-class cultural relic, the edict issued by Qin II in the first year to reaffirm the weights and measures policy - the edict of Qin II, as well as the bronze Ge Owl with gorgeous and intricate ornaments and slightly cute shapes are all must-see exhibits in this exhibition.

In the exhibition hall, a group of deformed dragon pattern tripods are very eye-catching, five pieces of tripod shape system, the same ornamentation, the size decreases in turn, which proves the "Liding" system of the Zhou Dynasty, that is, the more tripods, the higher the identity status of the user.

In addition to the high academic value, the artistic value of the cultural relics is also remarkable. In the exhibition, you can see many exquisitely decorated and exquisitely made exhibits, and its arc pattern mirror of the descendants of Changyi in the Middle East Han Dynasty shows amazing aesthetics and skills. This bronze mirror is a round button, persimmon-shaped button base, there is an inscription "Changyi descendants" four words between the button base, what is more amazing is that it is still light after nearly two thousand years.

Another piece of Eastern Han Dynasty gilt dragon pattern frame, the whole body is gilded, and the curved groove is used to support the copper mirror, and the frame is perfectly matched with the copper mirror, which is both practical and beautiful, and fully reflects the wisdom and skills of ancient craftsmen. In addition, this exhibition will also display a full set of "bronze mirror + frame", so that the audience can get a glimpse of the real life scenes of the ancients.

It is reported that the exhibition will be held at the Ningbo Museum and will last until March 2024, 3. (ENDS)