Hunan Provincial Museum, located in the city of Changsha, Hunan Province, has five permanent exhibitions in its permanent collection, among which the Mawangdui Han Tomb exhibition is the driving force of the museum's permanent collection. The museum also exhibits: bronzeware crafts dating from the Shang (BCE 1700-1027) and the Zhou (BCE 1027-221) Dynasties; celadon porcelain wares (celadon is a type of Chinese pottery finished with a pale green glaze) produced in the kilns of the villages of Xiangyin and Yuezhou during the Eastern Han (CE 025-220), Sui (CE 581-617), and Tang (CE 618-907) Dynasties; underglaze porcelain wares, with hand-printed motifs, that stem from the kiln in Changsha during the Tang Dynasty and the Five Dynasties (CE 907-960) period; and masterpieces - or copies thereof - by famous Chinese artists and thinkers from the 4th century CE down to the beginning of the Qing (CE 1644-1911) Dynasty.
The following cultural relics unearthed in Mawangdui Han Tombs are highly recommended because of the amazement they have brought to people. The first one is the tomb and corpse of Xin Zhui, circa 2,000 years ago, which is well preserved. Her skin is moist and her organs are still well protected, even after having been unearthed for more than 30 years. The second relic is a T-shaped colored silk painting. It is not only still intact but also has gorgeous color. The contents of this painting are various, giving you a full picture of lives in the Western Han Dynasty (206 BC - 24). The third one is a plain gauze garment. It is about 128 centimeters (about 4.2 feet) long but only weighs 48 grams (about 1.7 ounces). This garment is perhaps the most significant, because it proves the existence of very advanced textile technology in the Han Dynasty (206BC - 220) when China was called 'the country of silk'.
Mawangdui Han Tombs
Collections of the Mawangdui Han Tomb are gems of the provincial museum. The tombs were unearthed from Mawangdui in the east suburb of Changsha city near Liuyang River between 1972 and 1974. The female corpse excavated form No one Han Tomb has a history of over 2100 years. It is well-preserved and similar to fresh corpse: the whole body is lenitive; some of the joints can be moved; the parenchyma is still flexible. It is different from mummy or cadaver tanned in peat hog. It is a miracle in antisepsis. When the tomb was first discovered, it shocked the world and has attracted many scholars and tourists. After anatomization, the body and entrails of the corpse are displayed in a special designed basement.The Mawangdui Han Tomb, which was opened for the first time (the grave robbers apparently hadn't gotten to it) by a team of archeologists in 1972, yielded up a mother lode of artifacts, most of which were in a near-perfect state, including numerous articles of clothing such as coats as thin as the wings of a cicada, floral-print gowns as fresh as if they were made yesterday, and a wide variety of items displaying delicate needlework.
The tombs also yielded up bright lacquer works with illustrations in color, silk paintings in black & white and in color, exquisite silk books with rich contents, musical instruments, instruments of war, royal seals, and numerous tomb figures made of wood.
Tomb No. 1, which is the largest of the three tombs (it measures 19.5 meters in length, 17.8 meters in width, and 16 meters in depth) also contained an abundance of precious silk objects, yarn, and brocade. One of the most outstanding objects from Tomb No. 1 is a long-sleeved silk coat of 1.28 meters length that is as fine as gossamer (it weighs a mere 49 grams), yet is woven to be strong. Again, a tribute to Chinese technology that textiles of this sophistication could be produced at such an early period in time.
The coffin excavated from Tomb No. 1 is decorated with peculiar images of animals - and what appears to be gods - on its lacquered surface, the degree of craftsmanship of this imagery being very high.
A map excavated from Tomb No. 2 provided another surprise: its drawing technique is very advanced, the method of annotation being quite similar to that of a modern map. It was praised as 'a striking discovery' when exhibited in foreign capitals in Japan, in Poland, and in America, as well as in many other cities around the world.
The large quantity of silk books unearthed from Tomb No. 3 reveal records and literature of immense cultural and historical value. There are books that cover topics such as ancient philosophy, history, and science. In sum, there are 28 different categories of books, containing a total of 120,000 words. There are also several books with illustrations, most of which are "lost" ancient books in the sense that no other references, or cross-references, to these works exist.
Tombs Nos. 1 and 2 have now been sealed off (their contents can of course be seen in Hunan Provincial Museum), while Tomb No. 3 has been reinforced and left open in order to provide tourists a glimpse of the real thing. A new cover permitting light inside has been built for Tomb No. 3 in order to make it easier for visitors to view the tomb.
More than 3000 objects have been unearthed from the Mawangdui Han Tomb complex. Among the objects mentioned above are some 500 lacquer works that are as luxuriant and shiny today as when they were first created, as well as numerous silk paintings that are the earliest works hitherto discovered depicting daily life as it was lived in the China of the period in question. The physical surroundings of the museum as well as its tasteful mix of old and new architecture contribute to the overall positive impression that a visitor takes away on a visit to Hunan Provincial Museum. Indeed, the museum has become the landmark of the city of Changsa. Moreover, the Mawangdui Han Tomb collection has put the city of Changsa not only on the map of China, but also on the world map, as foreigners who have visited China - or who plan to do so - mention Mawangdui Han Tomb, together with the Great Wall and the Terracotta Army (the Terracotta Warriors and Horses of the city of Xi'an, in Shanxi Province), as absolutely must-see sightseeing visits.
