Introduction

Everlasting Prayer:Statues and Beliefs in Meishan Cultural Area

With the collision and fusion with other cultures, Meishan culture has evolved into a cultural form that flows with the genes of the Southern Chu(was a Zhou dynasty vassal state) culture, but also blends elements of Taoism, Buddhism, Confucianism and the influence of other ethnic groups in the south. Meishan culture is not only a cultural phenomenon in the Meishan region of central Hunan in ancient times, but also a living culture that has been inherited to the present day, and is a typical representative of the cultural practices of many ethnic minorities such as Yao and Miao in southwest China.

Ancient pre-Qin Hunan realm, is the location of barbarian tribes such as "Jiu Li" "Three Miao". During the Spring and Autumn and Warring States Periods, the Chu people went to the south of China, and in this fertile land of myths, beliefs and sorcery, the magnificent and brilliant Chu witch culture in the South was nurtured and grown. The Chu culture was gradually assimilated by the dissolution of the Central Plains culture, but the original beliefs of the Chu deities and sacrificial customs were preserved in the ancient Meishan area, which is "not connected with the outside world". The objects of worship may have changed, but the primitive, instinctive and simple desire to seek good fortune and avoid bad luck in real life constitutes the eternal spiritual treasure of the folk beliefs of the Meishan Cultural area.

By selecting more than 100 pieces of wood carvings and archaeological relics from the Hunan Museum and related institutions in the central Hunan province since the Ming and Qing dynasties, this exhibition shows the origin and basic features of folk beliefs in this cultural area, with a view to leading the audience to appreciate the cultural forms with unique local characteristics of Hunan and stimulating the audience to think about historical and cultural inheritance, cultural diversity, and the perception of life.

This exhibition, as part of Hunan Museum's "Hunan Culture" exhibition series, "Treasures Revisited--Hunan Museum's 'Discovery Series' Original Thematic Exhibitions", was awarded the State Administration of Cultural Heritage's "Carrying Forward the Outstanding Traditional Chinese Culture and Cultivating the Socialist Core Values" Thematic Exhibitions Recommendation Project for the year 2023.