[Cultural Analysis] What is the secret to the popularity of museums?

【Cultural Analysis】

　　"Anyang in the Huanshui River is well-deserved. It was the imperial capital three thousand years ago." The State Administration of Cultural Heritage held a press conference recently to introduce that the new Yinxu Museum will be opened to the public on February 26, displaying bronzes, pottery, jades, oracle bones and other cultural relics from recent times. There are 4,000 sets of cultural relics on display, with a large number and various types. More than three-quarters of the precious cultural relics are on display for the first time.

At the same time, the museum’s exhibitions focus on diversified integration, highlighting the interest of the story, and enhancing the immersive experience.

　　As experts say, the Yin Ruins inherited the trend of gathering civilizations from all directions and initiated the pattern of continuous, pluralistic and integrated civilizations. It is a very important link in the process of Chinese civilization.

The opening of the new Yin Xu Museum is related to the unparalleled status of the Yin Ruins, the long history of Chinese civilization, and the roots of cultural confidence. From a historical and cultural perspective, it is of great significance.

At the same time, it should also be noted that the reason why a museum is a "museum" is that it is public and open, and it should have connections, interactions and even resonance with thousands of ordinary people.

　　Museums in the modern sense are not closed-door meetings of professionals or private collections of a few enthusiasts, but public service institutions established for the people.

Therefore, under the grand narrative of collections, exhibitions, cultural relics and their historical relevance, special attention should be paid to individual feelings, proactively cater to the needs of the public, and strive to achieve sincere communication with the audience.

　　General Secretary Xi Jinping wrote back to veteran experts from the National Museum of China, emphasizing: "Museums are important places to protect and inherit human civilization, and cultural and museum workers have a glorious mission and a heavy responsibility. I hope that comrades will adhere to the correct political direction, strengthen cultural self-confidence, and deepen academic research. Innovate exhibitions and displays, promote the revitalization and utilization of cultural relics, promote exchanges and mutual learning among civilizations, protect, inherit and display the outstanding achievements of Chinese civilization, and continue to make new contributions to the development of cultural and cultural undertakings and the construction of a powerful socialist cultural country." In recent years, the party The country attaches unprecedented importance to China's excellent traditional culture and historical cultural relics carried by museums, and museums have also ushered in a new situation of "a hundred flowers blooming and competing for beauty".

They are all museums, and different museums have different levels of audience recognition and active participation.

Some museums are hard to get a ticket for, and you need to grab tickets in advance during holidays; some museums are crowded, and even in peak season they are deserted.

The reason for this coldness and hotness is whether the audience's consciousness is strong or not.

If we only focus on "talking to ourselves" without taking into account the feelings of the majority of the audience, how can we possibly see the bustling cultural scene?

　　Why is the Palace Museum so popular?

Not only because it is an "old imperial home", but also because it attaches great importance to closeness to the public.

Abandoning the aloof style, Yongzheng played "Scissorhands", sold magical artifacts for royal cats, launched the popular lipstick tape, and started making palace meals... Keeping up with the times and walking with young people, this kind of Forbidden City Of course it is more popular and the display of cultural relics in the Forbidden City is certainly more dynamic. This is probably what a good public museum should be like.

　　Although the new Yinxu Museum has not yet officially opened, it has clearly begun to highlight publicity and proximity in terms of its opening concept and curatorial ideas.

Media reports show that in order to make cultural relics "alive", the museum focuses on diversified integration, highlights the interest of stories, and enhances immersive experience. It targets teenagers and develops high-standard research courses such as "Cute Treasure Hunting" and "Words See Yin Shang" ... I believe these people-friendly efforts will receive positive responses from the public.

He is obviously very "high-ranking", but he is willing to have long conversations with you and me; he is obviously very serious and upright, but he is always willing to show gentleness and intimacy to the public - the positive response from the public is a response to this sincerity.

　　Facts have proven time and again that only when public museums become "alive" can they become "popular" and get rid of the trap of being too high-minded and too few.

The more important the museum and its collections are, the more important they are to accumulate knowledge; the more profound the museum and its collections, the more important it is to take care of things lightly.

Otherwise, where would the equal dialogue, the exchange and interaction, and the cultural resonance come from?

In this sense, our various museums should pay more attention to individual feelings under the grand narrative, try their best to avoid rigidity and conservatism, and enter public life with a more relaxed, lively and approachable appearance.

　　(Guangming Daily author: Li Sihui, a distinguished researcher at the News Commentary Research Center of Huazhong University of Science and Technology)