Stories from Datong Museum.

It is said that understanding a city starts with its museums. Visiting the Datong Museum really gave me the most personal experience. The permanent exhibitions of Datong Museum are divided into four categories: 1. A Place of Change; 2. Pingcheng of Northern Wei; 3. Xijing of Liao and Jin; 4. Important Cities of Ming and Qing Dynasties. After seeing the number and types of cultural relics, you will instantly understand the most glorious time points in Datong’s history - one is Pingcheng of the Northern Wei Dynasty; the other is Xijing of the Liao and Jin Dynasties. 🌟1. "The vicissitudes of life" mainly talks about the period from geological changes to the Qin and Han dynasties. There aren't many artifacts from this period. After all, during the Shang and Zhou dynasties, this place was still the Northern Di mentioned in history books. There were records of the Dai Kingdom established by the "Bai Di" during the Spring and Autumn Period. It was not until the State of Zhao adopted the Hu clothing and horse riding, expanded its territory, and established the Dai County that it was incorporated into the Central Plains. This is in stark contrast to the rich cultural relics and records from the Western Zhou Dynasty in southern Shanxi. There is also a treasure, which is a Han Dynasty ceramic branch lamp, consisting of four parts: base, pillar, plate and lamp. The lamp base is a round plate type, and the lamp post is a round bamboo joint, which gradually becomes thinner from bottom to top. The upper part of the lamp post is surrounded by lamp branches and dragon head top lights. There is also a leaf-shaped decoration in the center of the lamp post, which is very interesting. 🌟2. Pingcheng of Northern Wei Most of the cultural relics in Datong Museum are from the Northern Wei Dynasty, which is also a glorious period in Datong’s history. It served as the capital of the Northern Wei Dynasty for nearly a hundred years and developed into a large city with a population of over one million. Moreover, through the Eurasian steppes on the northern line of the Silk Road, there was a lot of communication with Central Asia and West Asia, and the unearthed cultural relics are full of a mixture of Central Plains civilization and exotic customs. This can be seen from the layout of the museum's hall. A painting called "Travel of Nobles of the Northern Wei Dynasty" was created with reference to the scenes of nobles traveling and banquets in the Northern Wei mural tombs in Shaling Village, Datong. The main cultural relics come from two tombs: one is the tomb of Sima Jinlong; the other is the tomb of Song Shaozu. One of them was a noble of the Eastern Jin Dynasty and the King of Langya of the Northern Wei Dynasty, and the other was the Governor of Youzhou and the Duke of Dunhuang. The most shocking of their unearthed cultural relics is the magnificent terracotta army formation, which shows the military style of the Northern Wei Dynasty when heavy cavalry swept across the north. ✅The most well-deserved treasure of Datong Museum is the lacquer screen in Figure ③, which was unearthed from Sima Jinlong's tomb. It is one of the first 64 cultural relics in the country that are prohibited from being exhibited abroad, which shows how precious it is! What are usually exhibited are replicas, and the originals are reluctant to be taken out. ✅Looking at the cultural relics of the Northern Wei Dynasty, the biggest style is the so-called "Hu Feng". During the Northern Wei Dynasty, there was a northern route from Datong through the Eurasian steppe to Central Asia. The figurines of Hu acrobats, camel figurines, etc. all tell of the Northern Wei Dynasty's inclusive cultural style. 🌟3. Liaojin Xijing Datong was the secondary capital during the Liao and Jin dynasties, and it has a wealth of cultural relics from this period. There are so many Liao and Jin wooden buildings preserved here, so the most eye-catching thing in the exhibition is the accessories of these buildings: the first is the glazed gargoyles on the top of the Bhagavad Gāthāna Hall of Huayan Temple (Figure 2), which is 3 meters high. There is a bigger one on the main hall of Huayan Temple, which is 4.5 meters high. In comparison, the one on the Hall of Supreme Harmony in the Forbidden City is only more than 3 meters high. There is also a pair of glazed lions from the Jin Dynasty, which were previously on the roof of Huiquan Temple. The shape is absolutely beautiful. (The cultural and creative store has their cultural and creative refrigerator magnets, which are very nice. You can buy one if you like them). In the exhibition hall, there are models of Datong’s main wooden buildings from the Liao and Jin dynasties. If you have seen these models and understood their structure and overall appearance, you will have a deeper understanding when you visit the site. Generally speaking, ceramics in places where glass is good will not be bad! During the Liao and Jin Dynasties, Chinese porcelain entered a peak period with free craftsmanship and unparalleled artistic aesthetics. Porcelain making in the north was also very exciting. Several Liao Dynasty white-glazed pots on site were extremely exquisite, and there were also many beautiful Ru kiln, Jun kiln, and Longquan kiln products. ✅This time I learned a little-known fact: cremation was popular during the Liao and Jin dynasties! This is very different from the traditional idea of ​​"resting in peace"! After cremation in the Liao Dynasty, the ashes were placed in a huge soul jar, and then placed in a tomb chamber surrounded by murals. The tomb style of the Liao Dynasty was round, a bit like a yurt. 🌟4. Sanskrit voiceless The Datong Museum has a special exhibition called "Sanskrit Pure Sounds", which displays Buddhist statues, Taoist statues and other religious statues collected from various eras. In fact, the biggest feeling I got from traveling around Shanxi is that almost all the preserved cultural relics are related to religion. Only with awe in your heart can you protect many cultural relics from the bottom of your heart. Many "water and land paintings" that combine Confucianism, Buddhism and Taoism are symbols of the integration of various religions over thousands of years of history. You can say that it is a pragmatism of worshipping gods when you see them, but it should be more of a cultural confidence and connotation that embraces all rivers and seas.