西漢南越王博物館 | |
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| Established | 1988 |
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| Location | Yuexiu District,Guangzhou, Guangdong |
| Coordinates | 23°8′25″N113°15′20″E / 23.14028°N 113.25556°E /23.14028; 113.25556 |
| Type | Mausoleum |
| Museum of the Mausoleum of the Nanyue King | |||||||||||
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| Chinese name | |||||||||||
| Traditional Chinese | 西漢南越王博物館 | ||||||||||
| Simplified Chinese | 西汉南越王博物馆 | ||||||||||
| Literal meaning | Western Han Nanyue King Museum | ||||||||||
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| Vietnamese name | |||||||||||
| Vietnamese | Tây Hán Nam Việt Vương Bác Vật Quán | ||||||||||
TheMuseum of the Western Han Dynasty Mausoleum of the Nanyue King, now part of theNanyue King Museum, houses the 2,000-year-old tomb of theNanyue KingZhao Mo inGuangzhou.
Zhao Mo ruled from 137 BC to 122 BC, and his tomb was discovered in downtown Guangzhou in 1983. The museum, which opened in 1988, showcases the tomb and its complete trove of artifacts. It was named aMajor National Historical Site in 1996 and is renowned for its rare assemblage of funerary artifacts representing the diffusion of cultures throughout theLingnan region during theHan dynasty.
The mausoleum and museum complex occupies an area of 17,400 m2 (187,000 sq ft).[1] Hidden 20 meters (65.6 feet) underground, the tomb is made up of 750 huge stones with colorful murals. The over 1,000 pieces of cultural relics,bronzeware andterra cotta ware in particular, feature the Yue Culture ofLingnan (Nanyue Culture). Represented also are traces of central Chinese culture, the Chu culture of south China, the Bashu culture of southwest China, the culture from the northern grassland, and even foreign cultures.
The mausoleum was discovered in 1983 and excavated by archaeologistsMai Yinghao andHuang Zhanyue.[2] The museum opened in 1988.[3] It is 20 meters under Xianggang Shan (Elephant Hill,Jyutping:zoeng6 gong1 saan1) in Guangzhou on a construction site for a hotel, and was excavated. The tomb is nearly 11 meters long and over 12 meters wide. It is divided in seven parts, with a front chamber, east and west wing rooms, the main coffin chamber, east and west side rooms, and a back storage chamber.
The tomb has yielded more than 1,000burial artifacts; a chariot, more than 50 cooking implements, among which gold, silver and bronze vessels,trivets, 10 metal swords,musical instruments, such as a set of eight bronze bells,chime bells, stone chimes and azither with its components, an armoredbreastplate containing 709 metal plates, shields and spears, andhuman sacrifices were found (15courtiers were buried alive with him to serve him in death). It is also among the only tombs of the earlyWestern Han period that hasmurals on its walls.
The tomb also excavated a unique imperialseal, belonging to that of "Emperor Wen" (Văn Đế), indicating that he styled himself emperor domestically as opposed to a king externally. The large scale ofjade pendants worn by the deceased and his wives also amounts to imperial rank.
Alongside Chinese artifacts, pieces from the steppes, and Iranian andHellenistic Central Asian regions have been found: aPersian silver box found in the tomb is the earliest imported product found to date in China. There were artifacts that were found in which belonged to theĐông Sơn culture ofnorthern Vietnam.
A silk-jade garment made up of 2,291 pieces of jade is the spotlight of the mausoleum. It is acknowledged that jade garments with pieces connected by gold, silver, or copper are not uncommon. But this garment is unique for its jade pieces connected by silk which makes it the only one of its kind in the world. Nor are historical records available to verify other jade garments connected by silk thread. In addition, the style of buttons down the front is unique among unearthed jade garments. This silk-sewn-jade garment shows the early development of jade garments as well as development of the Nanyue culture.[4]
The museum is located at 867 Jiefang Rd. inYuexiu District in central Guangzhou.[1] It is accessible by bus routes 7, 29, 33, 203, 211, 273, 543, and 552, and byMetroLine 2 to theYuexiu Park (Exit E).[1]
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