Anji County Museum

Anji County Museum

The Anji County Museum was established as an independent institution after separating from the county cultural center in 1984. In September 1986, the Wu Changshuo Memorial Hall was completed, and the two museums shared the same premises. However, with the county’s rapid economic development and a series of archaeological discoveries, the original museum could no longer meet the needs for housing its collection and other functions, making the construction of a new Anji Museum imperative. The museum is located at No. 89 Lianxi Road, Dibu Town, the county seat, adjacent to Changshuo Park. The second phase of the memorial hall project was completed in 1994, with the new museum built within the park. The total floor area of the two museums is 2,000 square meters. The museum currently hosts two permanent exhibitions: “Exhibition of Anji’s Historical Relics” and “Exhibition on the Life and Works of Wu Changshuo.” It also organizes more than ten temporary exhibitions each year, attracting around 50,000 visitors annually. The museum maintains frequent exchanges with Japanese calligraphy and painting delegations. In recent years, in support of infrastructure projects, the museum has conducted rescue excavations at the 6,000-year-old Midun site. Artifacts unearthed include human remains from the Neolithic Majiabang culture period, as well as stone, pottery, and jade artifacts from the Songze and Liangzhu cultures. Extensive excavations were also carried out on Han dynasty tomb clusters in the Gaoyu and Liangpeng areas, yielding glazed pottery, bronze mirrors, and other relics that have enriched the museum’s collection. The county has five provincial-level cultural heritage protection units, twelve county-level units, and five cultural heritage sites. Guided by the principle of “protection first, rescue foremost,” the museum has carried out renovations on the provincial-level Wuzhi Pagoda from the Five Dynasties period and the Ming dynasty Ancheng City Wall, as well as the county-level Songshan Pass from the Southern Song dynasty and the Leping Pavilion from the Qing dynasty. In recent years, the museum has also worked with public security authorities to combat crimes such as tomb raiding and artifact theft multiple times, accepting over 500 cultural relics handed over by the county public security bureau. The museum houses a collection of more than 2,000 items, among which are treasures such as a Shang dynasty bronze tripod and zun vessel, a Warring States Chu gold coin from Ezhou, a bronze sword, a Western Jin celadon chicken-head pot, a three-legged washbasin, a figurative jar, a Northern Song gold-coated pagoda, a Yuan dynasty bronze seated statue of Sakyamuni, Ming dynasty blue-and-white incense burners and vases with ear handles, and Qing dynasty paintings and calligraphy by Wu Changshuo. In 1994, the Collection of Wu Changshuo’s Works from the Museum was published. All staff members hold associate degrees or higher, including one with a senior professional title, four with intermediate titles, and eight with junior titles.

The Anji County Museum was initially established in 1976 and is located within Changshuo Park in the county seat of Anji. In 1986, the Wu Changshuo Memorial Hall was completed, and the museum and the memorial hall shared the same building. It undertakes the comprehensive tasks of protecting cultural relics across the county, collecting and exhibiting them, and researching Anji’s history, economy, culture, and the art of Wu Changshuo’s paintings and calligraphy. For a long time, the Anji County Museum has adhered to the principles of “protection first, rescue foremost, rational utilization, and strengthened management” in cultural heritage work, prioritizing the collection and rescue of Anji’s historical and cultural heritage. It has systematically carried out the collection, organization, research, and exhibition of cultural relics. The museum boasts a large collection of precious artifacts from various eras, especially rare items in Zhejiang such as jade ornaments from the Songze culture unearthed at the Anle site, bronze tripods, gu vessels, and jue vessels from the Shang dynasty tombs at Sanguan Zhouwan, jade bi discs and jade dragon pendants from the Liangzhu culture found in the Longba war-era mound tombs, exquisite lacquer ear cups and wooden figurines from the Chu dynasty tombs at Liangpeng during the Warring States period, and celadon items such as a barbarian riding a sheep flower vase, a washbasin, a chicken-head pot, and a figurative jar from the Three Kingdoms period tomb at Gaoyu Tianzigang. There are also artworks by renowned calligraphers and painters such as Prince Cheng, Zheng Banqiao, Weng Tonghe, Wu Changshuo, Shen Yinmo, Chen Banding, Sha Menghai, Wang Ge, Zhu Lesan, Fei Xinwo, Fang Jiekang, Qian Juntao, Tan Jiancheng, Cheng Shifa, and Liu Bonian.

As an important window for promoting Anji externally and as a base for patriotic and national defense education for primary and secondary school students across the county, the Anji County Museum and the Wu Changshuo Memorial Hall keep their permanent exhibitions open year-round and continuously update them. The temporary exhibition halls focus on supporting the central work of the county party committee and government, presenting healthy and uplifting exhibitions under the principle of being “close to reality, close to life, and close to the people.” These efforts have delivered significant social benefits for the county’s spiritual civilization construction, fostering love for the motherland and hometown, and providing education in historical materialism and revolutionary traditions. In particular, the two permanent exhibitions — “Anji’s Historical Relics Along the Tiaoxi River: Tranquil and Auspicious” and “Exhibition on the Life of Wu Changshuo” — have left a deep impression on visitors and experts with their exquisite artifacts and innovative display methods.

The county government has planned to build a new Anji County Museum, adding another beautiful artistic landmark to the ancient yet vibrant Anji. This will play a fitting role in spreading outstanding national culture, creating a “Culturally Rich Anji,” and building an “Ecological and Cultural County.”

Further Reading:

· National Second-Class Museum of China