Heping County Museum (Yangming Museum)

Heping County Museum (Yangming Museum)

Yangming Park (Yangming Museum): Situated on Dongshan Ridge in Heping County, the park is home to the Yangming Museum, spanning 3,000 square meters. It exhibits historical sites, cultural artifacts, and folk tales associated with Wang Yangming and Heping. The park's stone staircase features 666 steps, earning it the name “Heavenly Stairs” and also the auspicious meaning of “six sixes bring great fortune.” From the top, visitors can enjoy a sweeping view of Heping County.

The museum covers a land area of 1,500 square meters, with a building area of 2,973 square meters and a two-story frame structure. The construction cost was 3.52 million yuan. Designed in the style of Ming Dynasty architecture, it fully reflects traditional ethnic building aesthetics; the overall exterior resembles a Ming palace, while the interior combines modern architectural elements.

The museum’s exhibition halls cover an area of 2,600 square meters and include four display areas: one temporary exhibition hall (comprehensive exhibition) and three thematic exhibition rooms (covering historical relics, revolutionary relics, and folk customs). The museum houses a total of 10,370 cultural relics. Among them, seven sets have been registered as Grade II relics with the National Cultural Heritage Administration, and 124 sets as Grade III relics with the Provincial Department of Culture. Notable relics include 23 items unearthed from Western Zhou Dynasty tombs such as jade ornaments, bronze axes, bronze axes, and bronze halberds, as well as Neolithic stone tools, pottery jars, Western Zhou proto-porcelain, and celadon ware from the Shuiche Kiln (an official kiln) of the Tang Dynasty.

The Wang Yangming Memorial Hall, themed around “Serving the People, Being Pragmatic, and Maintaining Integrity,” focuses on the core essence of Wang Yangming’s philosophy of the “unity of knowledge and action.” It has been successfully established as a historical education base for clean governance in Heyuan City.

The museum is divided into two special exhibitions. The first explores in depth the dramatic life of Wang Yangming and his practices in inspection and law enforcement. The second is organized into three sections: Serving the People, Being Pragmatic, and Maintaining Integrity. These sections summarize Wang Yangming’s ethical principles and conduct as a person, an official, and a public servant. They offer significant insights and positive energy for today’s anti-corruption efforts. The exhibition employs图文 explanations, physical displays, sculptures, and modern technologies such as holographic imaging to recreate historical scenes, making the clean governance culture more relatable and impactful. Visitors are subtly inspired and influenced as they explore the exhibits.

Further Reading:

· National Third-Class Museum of China