Ji’an Museum

Ji’an Museum

The museum is located at No. 88 Yingbin Road, north of Ji’an City, covering an area of 1,082 square meters. It was established on September 15, 1958. A major expansion was carried out in 2003. The museum is divided into the West Hall, East Hall, and Main Hall.

The West Hall displays labor tools, weapons, and various daily life items from the Neolithic Age around the founding of the Goguryeo Kingdom, including stone ware, jade ware, gold ware, gilded ware, bronze ware, iron ware, and pottery. The East Hall exhibits various tombs from the Goguryeo period as well as the kingdom’s colorful murals. In the early Goguryeo period, people applied white plaster to the stone tomb walls and then painted on the plaster. The paintings depict scenes such as processions, banquets, singing and dancing, hunting, and battles. There are also images of houses, deities, and celestial bodies. The later murals were painted directly on the stone walls of the burial chambers, mainly featuring the Four Symbols, supplemented by net patterns, human figures, serpent-dragons, celestial musicians, and lotus flowers. The Main Hall showcases a full rubbing of the Haotaiwang Stele, with all four sides complete and clearly visible. It also displays photos of the stele from different periods, rubbings of those photos, and research findings from both China and abroad.

The museum exhibits a total of 353 cultural relics, divided into 8 units. Unit 1: Farming, Fishing, and Hunting. Unit 2: Stone Cities and Pottery Tiles. Unit 3: Burial Mounds of Stone. Unit 4: Rubbings of the Haotaiwang Stele. Unit 5: Iron Horses and Weapons. Unit 6: Banquets and Music. Unit 7: Culture and Arts. Unit 8: Clothing and Gold Ornaments. Through these 8 units, visitors can appreciate the splendid material culture created by the Goguryeo people and understand the significant impact this ancient ethnic group from northeastern China had on the development of civilization in Northeast Asia.

In 37 BCE, the Goguryeo Kingdom was established with its capital at Heshenggu City (present-day Huanren County, Liaoning Province). In 3 CE, the capital was moved to Guonei City, today’s Ji’an City. In 427 CE, it was relocated to Pyongyang, and in 668 CE, the kingdom was destroyed by the Tang Dynasty. From its founding in 37 BCE to its fall in 668 CE, the Goguryeo Kingdom existed for 705 years and had 28 generations of kings. During its 425 years in Ji’an, it left behind a wealth of relics. These ruins and artifacts serve as irreplaceable physical evidence of this historical period and hold unparalleled historical and cultural value.

Further Reading:

· National Third-Class Museum of China