Fudan University Museum

Fudan University Museum

Fudan University Museum, located near the serene West Campus Lawn in the university’s western area, faces east and is housed in an early two-story building of Fudan University. The museum covers a total area of approximately 1,600 square meters. To meet the needs of teaching and internships, and with strong support from the National Cultural Heritage Administration and the university, the College of Cultural Heritage allocated special funds to comprehensively renovate and redecorate the building, as well as to install equipment and hire professional staff, enabling the museum to officially open on New Year’s Day in 1992.

Facilities In addition to sharing facilities such as an audiovisual room, computer lab, darkroom, and library with the Department of Cultural Heritage, the museum has its own dedicated spaces including exhibition halls, design and production rooms, and storage vaults. The exhibition halls are located on the second floor, covering a total area of about 800 square meters, and are divided into one foyer and four display rooms. The floors are fully covered with dark green carpet, and the ceilings are equipped with directional cool-tone lighting fixtures and tracks. Several large vertical heating and cooling air conditioners are placed in the corners of each hall. Glass display cases in six different sizes are all fitted with internal fluorescent lighting. Assembled fabric-covered partition walls are used, and each hall is equipped with multiple infrared anti-theft alarm sensors as well as closed-circuit monitoring equipment, which is controlled by a full-time security office. The design and production room is located on the first floor and can accommodate multiple staff working simultaneously. The storage vault is also on the first floor, consisting of a large shelving room connected to a smaller preparation room. The floor is wooden, and a medium-sized dehumidifier is installed. All windows are sealed, keeping the room in a darkroom state during normal times, while non-ultraviolet fluorescent lights are used when accessing stored items. The preparation room includes a registration desk, collection classification charts, catalog card boxes, photo negative retrieval boxes, tool cabinets, flatbed hand trucks for transport, as well as a work computer and printer.

Staff The museum has a small number of full-time staff. Aside from dedicated curators and security personnel, most other roles are filled by faculty members from the Department of Cultural Heritage. Larger tasks such as inventorying collections and updating exhibitions are carried out in conjunction with the department’s biannual internship programs.

Collections The museum currently houses a collection of over 2,000 items, which include donations from institutions such as the Henan Provincial Museum, the Luoyang Cultural Relics Work Team, and the Shanghai Museum, as well as former collections from the university’s library, College of Cultural Heritage, and Department of Biology. In terms of variety, the collection encompasses various types of ancient art, including ceramics and bronze ware. Among them, the collection of ancient coins through different dynasties is particularly systematic. Over 300 pieces of oracle bone inscriptions from the Shang Dynasty are also highly valuable. The museum also holds a number of works by renowned contemporary Chinese painters and calligraphers, as well as American abstract art pieces. Of special note is the museum’s collection of Taiwanese Gaoshan ethnic cultural artifacts, the largest in mainland China, which has drawn significant attention from both university members and external researchers.