Song Dynasty Porcelain Themed Museum

In 1991, a village named Jinyu in Suining, Sichuan, discovered a huge and well-preserved hoard of Song Dynasty porcelain. A total of 985 pieces (sets) of Song Dynasty porcelain were unearthed, which is the largest scale of Song porcelain hoard found in China to date. Such a sensational treasure has led to the establishment of the only specialized Song Dynasty Porcelain Museum in China—the Sichuan Song Dynasty Porcelain Museum. The third floor of the museum features the 'Song Rhythm: The Song Dynasty Life Behind the Porcelain' exhibition, which is a thematic exhibition of the Jinyu village Song porcelain hoard in Suining. The Song people's activities such as flower arranging, tea drinking, painting and calligraphy, feasting, incense burning, and offering sacrifices were all related to porcelain. Therefore, combining this discovery with the life of the Song Dynasty and restoring the elegant events of the Song people is a very natural and harmonious curatorial approach. The batch of porcelain was likely hurriedly buried underground during the Song-Mongol wars, showing little signs of use. The collection is dominated by Qingbai porcelain from Jingdezhen Hutian Kiln and celadon from Longquan Kiln, with a light and fresh color, crystal clear and pure. Various cups, plates, bowls, dishes, vases, jars, and incense burners all exude an air of exquisite living. The first floor is a general historical and cultural exhibition of ancient Suining, which can be briefly visited. The 'Brief History of Chinese Ceramics Development' exhibition on the second floor serves as an appetizer for the third-floor exhibition, where one can roughly understand how ceramics took root, grew, and flourished in China, eventually becoming a representative product of China. In addition, there is a freshly released exhibition of archaeological survey results from the Fujiang River Basin (Suining section), which is actually the first time I have seen such an exhibition. Although the artifacts collected from the survey are not numerous and are mostly stone tools, they can still help us understand the latest dynamics of archaeologists and cultural heritage professionals in various regions, which is quite good.