A river, flowing for thousands of years, stretches for thousands of miles, connecting north and south, passing through the past and the present, carrying countless prosperous scenes and moving stories.
It is called the Grand Canal.
Starting from Hangou in the Spring and Autumn Period, the Grand Canal with a total length of 2,700 kilometers has been expanded and dredged in the Spring and Autumn Period. It is the oldest ancient canal in the world that has been excavated, the longest flowing distance, and the largest.
The "Zhou Qi Thousand Miles-Grand Canal Culture Exhibition", which opened at the National Museum of China a few days ago, vividly tells the past and present of the Grand Canal through carefully selected cultural relic exhibits and ingenious exhibition design.
A magnificent project connecting north and south
Walking through the Progress Hall, the ancient and modern style of the Tongzhou section of the Grand Canal is presented on a huge screen.
As the boats traveled back and forth, there were many shops on the banks of the river, and the prosperous scene of the ancient canal was immediately before you.
Along the winding exhibition line, the 2500-year history of the Grand Canal slowly flows through.
"The Grand Canal Culture Exhibition is jointly organized by the National Museum in conjunction with the Capital Museum, Tianjin Museum and Hebei Museum. It fully and systematically shows the history and cultural connotation of the Grand Canal. This is after the Oracle Cultural Exhibition, the "Dream of Red Mansions" Cultural Exhibition, and the Confucius Cultural Exhibition , Another important cultural exhibition launched by the National Museum.” said Zhao Yong, deputy director of the National Museum’s curatorial work department and curator of the Grand Canal Cultural Exhibition.
The exhibition is divided into five parts: "One River, Thousand Years, Connecting North and South", "Cargo Connecting North and South to the Quartet", "Thousands of Ships Parallel to Ten Thousands of Ships", "Magic Work Should Surprise the World" and "Cultural Prosperity Because of the River", 170 pieces on display/ A set of exhibits, supplemented by multiple digital images and interactive projects, systematically displays the excavation history of the Grand Canal, navigation functions, water transportation management, engineering technology and intangible cultural heritage.
"The design of the exhibition hall is centered on the theme of the'river', using a large number of curved shapes, and using glass panels and lights to create a sparkling effect, giving the audience the feeling of walking along the river bank." Shangguan Tianmeng, graphic designer of the Grand Canal Cultural Exhibition Introduction.
In the first part of the exhibition, a turquoise-inlaid Wu Wangfucha sword tells the original story of the Grand Canal.
In order to advance to the north and fight for hegemony with the Jin, Wu Wang Fucha destroyed the Han country in one fell swoop, built a city in the original place of Han country for military supplies, and dug trenches under the city to pass the Yangtze River and the Huai River.
Wu Guohangou is the predecessor of the Huaiyang section of the Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal, with a history of more than 2500 years.
The Sui Dynasty played an important role in the history of Chinese canal construction.
During the Emperor Yang of Sui Dynasty, a canal was excavated from north to south, with Luoyang as the center, starting from Zhuojun (now Beijing) in the north, to Yuhang (now Hangzhou) in the south, connecting the five major water systems of Haihe, Yellow, Huai, Yangtze and Qiantang Rivers.
The opening of the Grand Canal in the Sui Dynasty promoted the economic and cultural exchanges between the north and the south, and laid a good foundation for the emergence of the prosperous Tang Dynasty.
The gilt-bronze pavilion and jade-zhang unearthed from the tomb of Emperor Yang of the Sui Dynasty in Yangzhou, Jiangsu Province in the exhibition hall are reminiscent of the vast canal construction project in the Sui Dynasty.
In the Yuan Dynasty, on the basis of the North-South Grand Canal in the Sui Dynasty, the Jeju River, Huitong River and Tonghui River were excavated and straightened, so that the Jiangnan canal can directly reach the water pool in the metropolis (now Beijing).
The Ming and Qing Dynasties maintained the basic pattern of the Grand Canal.
"This full map of the canal in the Ming Dynasty is an important exhibit in the National Museum of China. It depicts the general trend of the canal and the Yellow River, water conservancy projects and cities along the way." Zhao Yong introduced.
The picture is bright in color, the Yellow River is painted in yellow, and other rivers and lakes are painted in green. Various symbols are used to represent mountains, cities, towns, temples, and bridges.
Continual economic artery
After the opening of the Grand Canal, it assumed important functions of grain and cargo transportation.
During the Ming and Qing Dynasties, the eight provinces along the canal provided Beijing with 3 to 4 million shicao food for the royal family, officials, people, soldiers and other food.
The building materials and human resources needed for the construction of Beijing City also gather in Beijing through the Grand Canal, so there is a saying of "the floating Beijing city".
"The bricks of Linqing, the city of Beijing, are separated by eight hundred miles and transported for 600 years, and there is Linqing on the Forbidden City." In the exhibition hall, several tribute bricks from Linqing, Shandong have witnessed the history of transporting construction materials to Beijing through the canal .
"The golden bricks fired in Suzhou and the large timbers cut in Hunan and other places are also transported to the capital by the Grand Canal." Zhao Yong said.
The transportation of water and grain is the lifeblood of the country. In order to ensure the smooth completion of water transportation, the governments of successive dynasties have set up relevant management agencies and formed a management system for all links from the collection, transportation and delivery of water and grain.
In the center of the exhibition hall, a model of a Qing dynasty watercraft is displayed, and the memorials and memorials of the officials responsible for water transportation are displayed in the showcases on both sides. It can be seen that the court has paid close attention to the process of water transportation.
“There are strict date regulations for the delivery warehouse of food and grain. If the weather is bad and the boat cannot move forward, the transport supervisor will often go to the gods and worship the temple.” Zhao Yong said.
"Praying on the Ice on the Caohe River" depicts the story of Tao Shu during the Jiaqing period of the Qing Dynasty when the household minister inspected the water transport. He saw the north wind blows strongly and the lake was frozen.
"Gaoming Water Control Map" shows the magnificent scene of officials leading the scholars and people to dredge the Huaiyang Canal during the Shunzhi period of Qing Dynasty.
There are about a thousand laborers in the painting. They are digging and building embankments. The figures, buildings, and tools are all vivid, and it is a rare masterpiece.
"Luhe Supervision of Transport" is a vivid portrayal of the prosperity of water transport during the Qianlong period.
In the early days, it was believed that this picture recorded the water transportation of the Luhe River in Tongzhou. Recent studies have suggested that the picture depicted in the picture should be at the end of Luhe River and Sanchahekou in Tianjin.
The whole picture takes the ship supervising the transportation as a clue, and takes the spring opening of Yantuo as the core, spreading to the left and right sides.
In the picture, wharves, government offices, shops, restaurants, and residential buildings are lined up. There are 64 official ships, merchant ships, cargo ships, fishing boats, etc., and more than 820 people including officials, merchants, boat owners, women and children, and Yantuo.
The characters are of different shapes and full of life.
A fan painted with special symbols attracted everyone's attention.
"This is the military grain broker secret talisman fan in Tongzhou in the Qing Dynasty." Zhao Yong introduced that after the delivery of grain from various places in the Qing Dynasty to Tongzhou, the government appointed brokers to check and accept them. In order to prevent extortion and fraud, a secret talisman system was developed.
Each military ration broker used a good "fu charcoal" to draw his runes in a prominent position on the grain bags that he inspected and transferred.
Supervisory officials randomly check the quality of the grain at any time, and if there is any unqualified, it can be traced back to the broker responsible for the acceptance according to the symbol.
Timeless cultural heritage
As the longest ancient canal in the world, the Grand Canal of China spans 8 provinces and cities including Beijing, Tianjin, Hebei, Shandong, Henan, Anhui, Jiangsu, and Zhejiang, with a total length of 2,700 kilometers.
The Grand Canal water conservancy project solves the problems of terrain elevation, water source control, water depth control, flood control and disaster reduction, system management and other problems faced by the construction of long-distance canals under severe natural conditions. It reflects the outstanding wisdom of the ancient Chinese.
"This "River Defense List" is a national first-class cultural relic, which shows the governance of the Yellow River and the Canal." Zhao Yong said.
This map was compiled by the Ming Dynasty water conservancy scientist Pan Jixun organized to draw the Yellow River and the canal in parallel. The main mountains and towns on both sides of the coast are marked, and the locations of the floods, the years, and the construction of dikes, dams, and gates are noted one by one for the critical areas. , Weirs and dikes, remote dikes, rolling dams and other governance measures provide detailed information for future generations to manage river disasters.
The Grand Canal has brought business opportunities and vitality to the places it flows through, and has spawned a number of towns along the route.
Tianjin, Jining, and Huai'an developed along with the canal.
In addition to business exchanges, the culture and folklore of all places spread along the canal, gathering and blending in places where merchants gathered, bursting with brilliant brilliance.
The last part of the exhibition presents the cultural memories of several representative cities along the canal, including Yangliuqing youth paintings, Huishan clay sculptures, and Taohuawu prints.
"Tianjin Tianhou Palace Guild Map" is a picture scroll about the customs of the Tianjin Imperial Association, which truly records the faith and customs of Tianjin Mazu in the late Qing Dynasty.
With the prosperous transportation of water, the belief in Mazu was introduced to Tianjin since the Yuan Dynasty, and it has developed rapidly there. Mazu has transformed from the original sea god to the all-powerful protector of Tianjin.
In the process of merging with Tianjin’s local culture, Mazu beliefs and customs centered on Tianjin Tianhou Palace Imperial Club have evolved, which integrates various forms of folk literature and art since the establishment of Tianjin, which has a deep local cultural charm.
For thousands of years, the Grand Canal has flowed endlessly, just as Chinese culture has endlessly flowed forward.
Nowadays, the function of the Grand Canal to communicate north and south is no longer, but the historical and cultural value it contains has lasted forever.
"The exhibition includes digital images of'The Grand Canal through time and space', a series of animation short films of the'Grand Canal Culture' and a promotional video of the Grand Canal inscription, allowing the audience to experience the charm of this world cultural heritage from multiple perspectives." Zhao Yong said.
Zou Yating Hu Yao