Chengdu Jinsha Site Museum. Photo courtesy of Jinsha Site Museum
Chengdu, January 22 (Zhongxin Net) (He Shao List Peng) Burning incense and ordering tea, watching pop-up dramas, and making Rui Rabbit lanterns... For Chengdu citizen Yan Yujin, immersing himself in the Song Dynasty's "simple to beautiful" life aesthetics and modern trends in the Sichuan Museum's New Year collection is his gift for the Year of the Rabbit. "Seeing the cute little rabbit on the artifact, I feel that all my troubles have been cured."
Going to the museum to celebrate the "Year of Culture" is becoming a "New Year's custom" in addition to watching movies, grabbing electronic red envelopes, traveling, and ice and snow sports. In the New Year of the Rabbit, museums in many places in China have launched a number of blockbuster exhibitions and special activities, allowing people to feel the cultural roots of the Chinese nation in a cultural feast.
Citizens print Fu characters at the Chengdu Museum. Photo by Yang Yuyi
Since the end of spring, the blessing has been offered by the jade rabbit. From the joint exhibition of "Da Zhanhong 'Rabbit' - Pictures of Chinese New Year Zodiac Cultural Relics" jointly launched by 52 cultural and museum institutions in China, to the special exhibitions such as "Jade Rabbit Spirit - Shanghai Museum Spring Festival Exhibition of the Year of the Rabbit" @Rui Rabbit Welcome Spring - Yangzhou Museum Zodiac Art Exhibition of the Year of the Rabbit", rabbit culture has become the highlight of the New Year celebration of many cultural and museum institutions.
As soon as the Sichuan Museum's New Year exhibition "Auspicious Rabbit Treasure - Lunar Rabbit Year Zodiac Theme Cultural Relics Exhibition" was launched, there was a long queue. The exhibition not only displays many rabbit culture themed cultural relics such as the Jade Rabbit Pounding Medicine Portrait Brick, the Jade Rabbit Double Sparrow Tattoo Bronze Mirror of the Tang Yue Palace, and the Fifth Dynasty Later Shu King Jiantu Button Treasure, but also sets up 5 interactive exhibition areas, so that illiterate children can also learn about the Chinese zodiac through fun activities.
Chengdu Jinsha Site Museum. Photo courtesy of Jinsha Site Museum
"We specially designed the spokesperson 'Rabbit Treasure Group' for this exhibition, and used the cartoon image of 'New National Tide' to bring the audience closer to the museum." Wei Ziqi, curator of the Sichuan Museum, said that through the blessing of cultural relics such as national tides and science and technology, the sleeping cultural relics in the window gradually "come to life".
The customs of the year change, but the taste of the year does not decrease. Despite the cold weather, self-made national tide welcome activities such as Fuzi rubbing, DIY lanterns, and happiness gyro making in the cultural and creative area of Chengdu Museum are in full swing. Many viewers were keen to "ask Fu to go home", only to see them spread the square red paper on the rubbing-engraved rubbing, gently pressed with the topography and slowly uncovered, and a joyful Fu character was made.
"Printing Fu characters by hand can increase children's interest in exploring traditional culture." Liu Jie, a citizen of Chengdu who came to Tuofu with her children, said.
In addition to the "treasure exposure" and cultural and creative national tide in the museum, this year's Spring Festival Chengdu Jinsha Site Museum also moved the "exhibition" outdoors, using science and technology and archaeology to interpret the new trend of "national tide". The bronze Liren unearthed at the Jinsha site turned into a "science and technology monster", and the sun worship lamp group around the world made a collective appearance, and the "ancient Shu life" lamp group with a span of more than 40 meters reproduced the scenes of the ancients making copper, gold and jade...
Sichuan Museum's New Year Exhibition "Auspicious Rabbit Treasure - Lunar Rabbit Year Zodiac Theme Cultural Relics Exhibition". Photo by An Yuan
"In previous years, during the Spring Festival, the Jinsha Site Museum tended to express traditional folklore, but this year, we deliberately integrated national tide elements and set up a check-in area for Hanfu lovers." Yao Fei, deputy director of the Chengdu Jinsha Site Museum, said that with the development of social and economic level, people's spiritual and cultural consumption needs are more diversified and individualized.
Behind the museum's "Year of Culture" is the rapid development of Chinese museums. According to statistics, during the "13th Five-Year Plan" period, the number of registered museums in China increased from 4,692 to 5,788, and the total number has jumped to the top five in the world. As of May 18, 2022, 5,605 museums in China have been open for free, accounting for more than 90%.
According to Huang Xiaofeng, deputy director of Chengdu Museum, the Spring Festival to celebrate the "cultural year" in the museum is not only closely related to the current social and cultural development, but also related to the "out of the museum" of various museums, closely following the development of the times and close to the people's lives.
"During the Spring Festival, each museum will find ways to hold unique cultural events to attract audiences, so it's a 'two-way approach'." Huang Xiaofeng also said that in order to meet the demands of mass cultural consumption, the museum has injected more thinking into the development of cultural and creative industries, so that traditional Spring Festival elements and contemporary national trends can create sparks across time and space through cultural and creative products. (End)