Baoying Museum

Baoying Museum

The Baoying Museum is a patriotic education base.

The Jiangsu Baoying Museum is a comprehensive county-level cultural relics protection unit museum that integrates functions such as collection, research, exhibition, and education, and is permanently open to the public. The Baoying Museum was established in the autumn of 1958. In October 1960, the Baoying Museum shared offices with the county cultural center and the county library, with museum work overseen by the county cultural center. In early 1980, the county library separated from the county cultural center and became an independent institution, with cultural relics and museum work transferred to the management of the county library. In early 1997, construction began on the new building of the Baoying Museum, located at No. 89 Anyi East Road, Baoying County. On June 28, 2001, it was completed and opened to the public. The museum covers an area of 4,400 square meters, with a building area of 2,800 square meters, and houses a collection of over 4,000 cultural relics, including more than 200 national third-grade or higher relics. The collection features unearthed artifacts from the Han and Song dynasties. The Baoying Museum is a municipal-level cultural relics protection unit and a patriotic education base.

(1) Basic Exhibition: "Baodi Liuyun—A Glimpse of Baoying’s Historical Culture"

"Baodi Liuyun—A Glimpse of Baoying’s Historical Culture" is divided into three sections: the prelude hall, the east hall, and the west hall. The prelude hall interprets the theme comprehensively through seven units: "The Land of Rivers and Lakes, Administrative Milestones, A Brief History of the County, Eminent Figures of the Ancient Town, Scenic Highlights of Baodi, Timeless Treasures, and Gems Selected." The east and west halls highlight key content from the Pre-Qin to the Sui-Tang periods and the Song-Yuan-Ming-Qing periods, respectively, combining the museum’s distinctive collections and unearthed relics to enrich the historical and cultural significance of Baoying. The exhibition highlights include the display of the “First Ivory in China,” a fossilized ancient ivory, and a multimedia animation showing the “Thirteen Changes of the Ancient Han Canal.” Recreated scenes of prehistoric life in Baoying, along with ancient streets, alleys, and canal docks, offer visitors an immersive experience. Source: www.yztpdq.com

In addition, the Baoying Museum has set up a calligraphy and painting exhibition hall and a multi-functional temporary exhibition hall. It frequently hosts various thematic exhibitions, including calligraphy and painting, children's science education, and folk collections, while also introducing special exhibitions from other regions to enrich its display activities.

(2) Collection Management and Protection

The Baoying Museum currently holds a total of over 3,200 collections, including 3 national first-grade relics, 14 national second-grade relics, nearly 300 national third-grade relics, and over 1,000 rubbings from various dynasties. The collections mainly come from four sources: ① archaeological excavations, ② public solicitation, ③ donations from all sectors of society, and ④ confiscation. The categories of the collections include: jade and stone, pottery, porcelain, metalware, bamboo, wood, ivory, calligraphy and paintings/rubbings, stone carvings, currency, and revolutionary relics. Among these, there are 253 jade and stone items, 373 pottery items, 795 porcelain items, 341 metal items, 61 bamboo, wood, and ivory items, 1,075 calligraphy and painting rubbings, 78 stone carvings, 228 currency items, and 56 revolutionary relics. The Baoying Museum stores collections by material type in separate repositories, divided on www.yztpdq.com into internal storage, external storage, and paper relic storage. The storage rooms are equipped with specially made iron shelves and wooden enclosed cabinets for displaying collections, with valuable items stored in brocade boxes and safes. Dedicated personnel monitor humidity, ventilation, and regulation in the storage rooms. In recent years, the museum has carried out batch restoration and preservation of its collections, including ancient ivory, Song dynasty lacquerware, porcelain, Han dynasty pottery, and Qing dynasty calligraphy and paintings.

(3) Scientific Research

Since its establishment, the museum has consistently emphasized academic research. Currently, there is one senior professional technical title holder, one intermediate title holder, and three junior title holders. The museum has achieved certain results in academic research, with over 30 research articles published in newspapers and journals above the provincial cultural relics protection unit level. Research articles on Han dynasty jade, Song dynasty lacquerware, porcelain, inkstones, and more have been published in publications such as China Cultural Relics News, Hong Kong's Wen Wei Po, Shanghai's Xinmin Evening News, Beijing's Collector and China Collectors, Nanjing's Southeast Culture, and Taiwan's Purple Jade and Golden Sand.

(4) Publicity and Education

The Baoying Museum has published Baoying Museum Collection Essence, a publication rich in knowledge and reference value, and produced a set of booklets including Cultural Relics Descriptions and Baodi Liuyun, providing audiences with easy access to understanding relics and achieving good social benefits. To enhance academic exchanges, the museum has invited Professor He Yun’ao, director of the Institute of Culture and Nature at Nanjing University, to deliver two lectures on “Cultural Relics Protection and Collection.” It also co-publishes the Baoying Cultural Relics newsletter with the Baoying Cultural Relics Research Association, regularly inviting experts from the provincial and municipal levels to conduct free collection appraisal events, which have been well received by people from all walks of life. The Baoying Museum has become an important window for promoting and showcasing both the ancient culture and modern civilization of Baoying. In September 2002, it was named a municipal patriotic education base by the Municipal Party Committee Propaganda Department, and in 2009, it was designated as a national AA-level tourist attraction.

(5) Exchange and Cooperation

The museum maintains close ties with the Gaoyou City Museum, Huai’an City Chuzhou Museum, and Anhui Tianchang Museum, regularly conducting academic exchanges and collaborative research on Han tombs and their unearthed relics. In addition, the museum frequently invites experts from the provincial and municipal levels to give various specialized lectures, such as the Canal Cultural Heritage Protection Report hosted by city experts from the Cultural Relics Bureau.