Museum of Bamboo Slips from the Han Tombs at Yinqueshan

Museum of Bamboo Slips from the Han Tombs at Yinqueshan

The Museum of Bamboo Slips from the Han Tombs at Yinqueshan is a national AAA-level tourist attraction, a cultural tourism site, and a patriotic education base.

The Museum of Bamboo Slips from the Han Tombs at Yinqueshan is located on Yinqueshan Mountain in the southeastern part of Linyi City (currently at No. 219 Yimeng Road, Linyi City). It is a thematic museum built on an archaeological site, with a large-scale cluster of Han Dynasty tombs underground. The museum features classical palace-style architecture, covering an area of approximately 10,000 square meters, with a building area of 2,400 square meters. The museum broke ground in 1981, was completed in 1989, and officially opened to the public. It is now a key cultural relics protection unit in Shandong Province and is the first museum in China dedicated to Han tomb bamboo slips. It receives an average of over 26,000 domestic and international visitors annually (including more than 200 foreign guests). The site has been visited and inspected by —, —, —, —, Zhang Zhen, —, Gu Mu, Hong Xuezhi, Fei Xiaotong, Wu Zuoren, —, Zhao Zhihao, as well as the Romanian Ambassador to China and the U.S. Military Attaché at the U.S. Embassy in China.

The museum has three exhibition halls: the Yinqueshan Han Tomb Hall, the Bamboo Slips Exhibition Hall, and the Cultural Relics Exhibition Hall.

The Yinqueshan Han Tomb Hall is located on the southern side of the museum courtyard. At its center are restored Han Dynasty Tombs No. 1 and No. 2, with all burial objects replicated and displayed inside the coffins as they were originally arranged. The oval-shaped hall is surrounded by walls featuring enlarged photos of the Han tomb excavation site and the unearthed bamboo slips. Over 7,500 bamboo slips were excavated from the two Han tombs, including ancient texts from the pre-Qin period such as "The Art of War" by Sun Tzu, "The Art of War" by Sun Bin, "Six Secret Teachings," "Wei Liaozi," "Guanzi," and "The Thirteenth Chapter on Laws and Ordinances." The long-lost "The Art of War" by Sun Bin and "The Art of War" by Sun Tzu, missing for over 1,700 years, were unearthed together in 1972, solving the historical mystery of whether Sun Tzu and Sun Bin were the same person and whether their military treatises were one or two separate works. This discovery is considered one of the top ten archaeological finds since the founding of the People’s Republic of China. Tomb No. 2 yielded 32 bamboo slips, comprising the "Calendar of the First Year of Emperor Wu of Han's Yuanguang Era," which is the earliest and most complete ancient calendar discovered in China to date.

Bamboo Slips Exhibition Hall: Located to the north of the Yinqueshan Han Tomb Hall, on the first floor of a two-story antique-style building. The central screen in the hall displays a relief sculpture of Sun Wu, flanked by excerpts from "The Art of War" written in seal script, clerical script, English, and Japanese. Enlarged photos of the bamboo slips containing military treatises are displayed on the side panels. On the east and west sides of the main hall are the "The Art of War" Exhibition Room and the "The Art of War" by Sun Bin Exhibition Room, respectively. Large sculptures of “Sun Wu Writing His Book” and “Sun Bin Going to War” are placed in each room. Surrounding them are specially designed glass display cases showcasing bamboo slips of military treatises that have undergone technical treatment. These include 233 slips of "The Art of War" by Sun Tzu, divided into the thirteen chapters of the upper part and five chapters of the lost lower part, and 222 slips of "The Art of War" by Sun Bin, comprising 16 chapters.

Cultural Relics Exhibition Hall: Located on the second floor of the Bamboo Slips Exhibition Hall. It displays selected cultural relics unearthed from over a hundred tombs, including pottery, lacquerware, silk paintings, and more. Among them is a Western Han Dynasty silk painting unearthed from Tomb No. 9 on Jinqushan Mountain, measuring 2 meters in length and 0.42 meters in width. Its content is divided into three sections: heaven, the human world, and the underworld. The human world section depicts scenes from the life of the tomb owner. This is another major discovery following the silk paintings unearthed from Mawangdui in Hunan, and it is the only Western Han Dynasty silk painting found in China north of the Yangtze River.

Address: No. 212, Middle Section of Yimeng Road, Linyi City, Shandong Province

Tel: 0539-8312649

Official Website: http://www.yqszj.com/

Opening Hours:

The scenic area is currently under expansion and is temporarily closed to the public. Completion is expected by the end of 2018, with opening hours to be determined.

Ticket Price:

30 RMB

Further Reading:

· National Third-Class Museum of China