Hunan Provincial Museum

(The museum building)

    Hunan Provincial Museum is the provincial museum of Hunan province in China built in 1951 and opened to the public in July 1956. It is located in the city capital of Changsha at No. 50, Dongfeng Lu next to the Revolutionary Martyr's Park.

It spans a total area of about 50, 000 square metres (12 acres), with a constructed area of 20, 000 square metres (4.9 acres).

The museum has a collection of more than 180, 000 objects, including items found in the tombs of the Marquis of Dai(轪候) his wife and his son in Mawangdui(马王堆).

A GREAT ARCHAEOLOGICAL DISCOVERY

    There were three tombs of the early Western Han dynasty at Mawangdui in Changsha. The tombs were identified as those of the Li Cang(利苍), who was the chancellor to the prince of Changsha State and the Marquis of Dai, Li Cang’ wife and his son respectively. The over 3000 cultural relics unearthed from the tombs not only provide artefacts for studying the politics, economics, science and technology of the early Western Han civilization, but also establish a yardstick for dating the archaeology of the early Han dynasty.


(seal of the chancellor of Changsha state［长沙丞相］)

（seal of the Marquis of Dai[轪候之印]）

（seal of LiCang[利苍]）

Those three seals are very important to identified the tomb's owner.

THE BEAUTY OF LACQUERWARE

    Lacquerware was one of ancient China’s great inventions. The industry of lacquerware reached its pinnacle in the period from the Warring States to the Wester Han. Owing to the complicated procedures and high cost of production, only the wealthy could afford lacquerware. From the three tombs, over 700 pieces of lacquerware were recovered. They are varied in shape and decoration, and well preserved. Most of them are made of wood, while a few of them are of hemp cloth or bamboo. Of various shapes and sizes and with innovative decorations and exquisite patterns, these pieces are representative of the lacquerware production of the early Western Han period.

THE BRILLIANCE OF SILK COUNTRY

    China was the first country to engage in sericulture, silk reeling and silk weaving. During the Han dynasty, silk was continuously exported to West Asia and Europe, thus earning China the right to be called the “Silk Country”. The more than 100 pieces of textiles and clothing unearthed from Tombs No.1 and No.3 are mostly silk fabrics, with the exception of only a few pieces of hemp cloth. A variety of silk textiles were found, including thin silk, fine silk, gauze, damask, brocade and so on. The varied techniques involved dyeing, embroidery, printing, and colour painting. These pieces clearly attest to the accomplishments in textile technology of the early Han dynasty. In particular, the four-season clothing unearthed from Tomb No.1 demonstrates well both the clothing of the noble ladies and the dressing culture of the early Han dynasty.

THE TREASURE ON SILK AND INSCRIBED SLIPS

    The manuscripts and paintings on silk, and the inscriptions on bamboo and wooden slips, were among the most prominent treasures recovered from the Han tombs at Mawangdui. Unearthed from Tomb No.3, there were around 40 manuscripts on silk, written in about 100,000 words. Most of the manuscripts are valuable documents which had been lost for a long time. The contents cover various subjects in politics, economy philosophy, history, astronomy, geography, medical science, military affairs, physical training, literature, art and so on. In addition, 11 pieces of paintings on silk, 722 slips of the “Inventory of Burial Objects” and 200 slips with inscriptions of medical treatises were unearthed from Tombs No.1 and No.3. The contents of these silk pieces and slips reveal many scientific and technological achievements, providing rare and significant materials for the study of ancient science, culture and medicine, as well as the art of painting.