Tongcheng City Museum

Tongcheng City Museum

The Tongcheng City Museum serves as a patriotic education base.

The Tongcheng City Museum was established in 1984 and is located within the Tongcheng Confucius Temple, a key cultural relics protection unit of Anhui Province, covering an area of approximately 7,000 square meters. The museum houses a collection of more than 4,000 exquisite cultural relics, including a Spring and Autumn period beast-eared zun vessel, a Warring States period bronze spear, a Han dynasty bronze bell, a Western Jin dynasty hu zi, a Six Dynasties lotus society zun, a Tang dynasty bronze mirror, a Song dynasty Longquan celadon washbasin, a Yuan dynasty porcelain incense burner, and a Ming dynasty donggua jar. Notably, it features calligraphy and paintings by renowned literati from the Ming and Qing dynasties in Tongcheng such as Fang Yizhi, Fang Bao, Yao Nai, Zhang Ying, and Zhang Ruocheng, which carry distinctive local characteristics. It also has a substantial collection of modern and contemporary relics, including cursive-style central scrolls, couplets by Li Hongzhang, and handwritten manuscripts by Yan Fengying.

Over the past decade, the Tongcheng Museum has independently organized and hosted over 40 major exhibitions, such as “Exhibition of Fine Porcelain in the Museum Collection,” “Exhibition of Fine Bronze Ware in the Museum Collection,” “Exhibition of Fine Calligraphy and Paintings in the Museum Collection,” “Exhibition of Pan Yuliang’s Paintings,” “Exhibition of Renowned Calligraphy and Paintings from the Taipei Palace Museum,” “Exhibition of Terracotta Warriors from the Qin Mausoleum,” “Exhibition on the History of the Taiping Rebellion,” “Exhibition of Ancient Coins,” “Exhibition of the Eighteen Arhats from the Ming Dynasty Bao’en Temple,” and “Marine Life Exhibition.” These exhibitions, known for their high standards and refined taste, have been very popular among visitors, attracting an average annual attendance of around 40,000. A delegation from the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, including historical and cultural city inspection group members Luo Zhewen, Zheng Xiaoxie, and Shan Shi yuan, once inscribed at the Tongcheng Museum: “In the past, the capital was filled with distinguished figures and literary excellence unmatched under heaven; today, culture rises again to lead the way once more.” In 1991, the Ministry of Personnel and the Ministry of Culture of China awarded the Tongcheng Museum the title of “National Advanced Collective in Cultural Work”; in 1994, the National Cultural Heritage Administration conferred the title of “National Outstanding County-Level Museum.”

The Tongcheng City Museum has four main exhibition halls. The “Fine Cultural Relics Gallery” displays the museum’s premium artifacts, including bronzes, ceramics, calligraphy and paintings, and miscellaneous items. The “Tongcheng School Cultural Relics Exhibition Hall” introduces the origination, flourishing, and decline of the Tongcheng prose school, along with its key representative figures. The “Great Achievement Hall Clay Sculpture Exhibition” showcases clay sculptures of Confucius, one sage, four dukes, and twelve philosophers, as well as imperial plaques and couplets from the Qing dynasty. The “Yan Fengying Artistic Career Exhibition” is divided into four sections — From Artistry, Rebirth, Glory, and Legacy — highlighting the theme “Huangmei Opera created Yan Fengying, and Yan Fengying developed Huangmei Opera.”

Among the precious collections are the Beast-Face Ring-Belt Pattern Beast-Eared Bronze Zun and the Longquan Kiln Washbasin. The Beast-Face Ring-Belt Pattern Beast-Eared Bronze Zun, from the Spring and Autumn period, is round-shaped with a flared mouth, straight neck, sloping shoulders, a slightly tapered belly, and a ring foot. It has a mouth diameter of 22 cm and a height of 41 cm. Each shoulder is adorned with a beast head. The shoulders and belly are decorated with stylized beast-face ring-band patterns. The Longquan Kiln Washbasin is a standard piece from the Southern Song dynasty Longquan kiln. It stands 3.9 cm tall, with a flared mouth, thick lip, straight sloping belly, short ring foot, and an unglazed body. The entire piece is free of ornamentation, coated with bean-green glaze, smooth and glossy like jade.

Further Reading:

· National Third-Class Museum of China