A One-Stop Understanding of the Evolution of Chinese Characters | China Character Museum

The China Character Museum is located in the ancient city of Anyang and is one of the few museums in the country that start with "China". It is also a first-class museum in China. The important cultural relics excavated in Anyang are all national treasures. For well-known reasons, most of them have been transferred to the central and Henan provincial museums, and the local collections are not many. However, in the Character Museum, you can also see some relatively important exhibits. The original intention of the Character Museum is to show the evolution of Chinese characters, and it couldn't be more appropriate to build a museum in Anyang. Oracle bone inscriptions were discovered in the Yin Ruins of Anyang, and the treasured bronze ware, Houmuwu Square Ding, was also unearthed here. The formed Chinese characters originated here. The exhibition hall has three parts. The largest main exhibition hall is four stories high, and the main body of the building is similar to the style of the Shang Dynasty architecture, with a flat roof, thick eaves, supported by large vermilion pillars, all decorated with common bronze patterns such as Taotie, Li Dragon, and Cicada. The main exhibition content can be directly appreciated on the second floor of the exhibition hall. The most important exhibits in the first exhibition hall are a few oracle bones in the central display cabinet. These are all originals and come with explanations to help visitors understand the meaning of the oracle bone inscriptions on them. The second exhibition hall is mainly bronze ware. The most important ones include Jiabo Pot, Taishi Xugui, Boling Qixu, Shanfu Jifu Ling, Shanfu Jifu Ge, and Ring Stripe Copper Pot. There are also a few exquisite bronzes on loan from the Sanmenxia Guo Exhibition Hall. In the third exhibition hall, the more important ones are some bamboo slips and inscriptions. Although I don't have a deep understanding of inscriptions, the fonts on the Zhengzhi Stele and Ziyoubi are strong and powerful, and you can tell they are fine products at a glance. Wen County Alliance Book, although not as famous as Houma Alliance Book, is also a rare Warring States cultural relic. Inside the exhibition hall, you can also see the history of the development of coins, Buddhist scriptures, movable type printing, and the writing of ethnic minorities during the Spring and Autumn and Warring States periods. The content is rich. The entire exhibition does not have many visitors. If you are interested in the evolution of characters, you can quietly watch for three to four hours. The exhibition experience is good. - Travel tips - ▫️Tickets: The main exhibition hall is free and needs to be reserved. The later Bo Wen Hall charges a fee, mainly for some interactive projects, suitable for bringing children. ▫️Tour time: about 2 hours. ▫️Opening hours: Similar to most museums, from 9 am to 5 pm, closed on Mondays.