Past Exhibitions

Youth is Meant for Striving: An Exhibition of Youthful Mao Zedong’s Cultural Relics Themed Exhibition Hall, 3F 2024.01.30 - 2025.01.30 Over the past century, with every forward stride of the era, the figure of the youth has been reflected, promoting the victory with their beliefs, suppressing the turbulence through diligence, and composing the anthem of the times with their youth. Youthful Mao Zedong harbored lofty ideals, sought knowledge, tempered revolutionary skills, pursued truth, courageously undertook the mission of national rejuvenation, and harmonized knowledge with action, awakening the masses of workers and peasants. Confronting difficulties directly, he dared to struggle and advocated for striving. This exhibition, centered around time, carefully selects over 150 exhibits from the Hunan Museum, Changsha Museum, Mao Zedong and the First Normal School Memorial Hall, and Hunan Provincial Archives. It showcases the journey of young Mao Zedong from studying at the normal school to leading the movements of workers and peasants, narrating his exemplary influence in cultivating moral character, establishing lofty ideals, loving the great motherland, and shouldering the responsibilities of his era.	Longyuan Rose-The Exhibition of Painted Pottery in Gansu Province No.1 Special Exhibition Hall, 1F 2023.12.22 - 2024.03.31 Ancestors in the Gansu province took nature as basis, selected plants, animals, rivers and other natural objects in the nature as the source of creation. Through the expression of dots, lines and planes, they not only created vibrant and charming patterns on potteries, such as plant pattern, animal pattern, swirling pattern and geometric pattern, combining with human beings, they also created dance pattern, gods and men pattern which are rich in thoughts. The flamboyant and bold red and black, painting the sun, moon and stars, painting all living things, painting what were seen and thought, from depicting the shape to the full nature of objects, the naive stroke from straight lines to curves, from pictogram to geometric, from realism to ideogram, which are the origin of the great beauty of China. The painted pottery in Gansu province is the origin of the ornamental art in China, its colorful, simple and bright, bold and flexible features have left a strong mark in the history of Chinese art. In this exhibition, 210 pieces of Neolithic painted pottery from Gansu province are specially selected, including representative artifacts spanning 5000 years from the Dadiwan culture period to the Shajing culture period. Through the interpretation of various types of decorations on the painted pottery, the exhibition shows the changes in the aesthetic tastes of the ancestors, the advancement of knowledge and concepts, interprets the relationship between human beings and the natural environment, and then analyzes the initial features of the primitive religious beliefs and the formation of abstract symbols, aiming at tracing the childhood memories of the Chinese nation, and providing the deep driving force from the cultural genes for the success of the story of China.	Everlasting Prayer:Statues and Beliefs in Meishan Cultural Area No.2 Themed Exhibition Hall, 3F 2023.12.19 - 2024.12.19 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.
The Greeks:From Agamemnon to Alexander the Great No.2 Special Exhibition Hall, 1F 2023.12.18 - 2024.05.18 Traveling through history, we sincerely eulogize "Glory to Greece". The ancient Greeks drew on the essence of Egyptian civilization as well as the Two Rivers civilization, and under the distinctive natural geography and human background of the Aegean Sea region, they created a regional culture that is remarkable in the history of mankind, and from which the whole of European civilization was nurtured. Moreover, up to the present day, the progress and development of Europe, western society and even the world are still absorbing the rich nutrients of ancient Greek civilization. The exhibits come from 14 museums and cultural institutes in Greece, a total of 270 pieces/sets, including gold ware,bronze ware, porcelain and sculptures, spanning a period of 7000 years. These treasures is in the form of physical evidence to show the ancient Greek civilization since prehistory to the "Hellenistic" era of the beginning of the political, economic and cultural landscape. “Splendid civilization owing to communication, rich civilization giving to mutual understanding”, let us enter this cultural feast together, enjoy the epic grandeur of ancient Greek civilization, roam in the rippling Aegean Sea, deeply understand the diversity and commonality of civilizations, and appreciate the important meaning of the human destiny.	Exhibition of High-quality Photographic Works of “A Beautiful New Era-the profound ties of Hunan, Hubei and Jiangxi Provinces” Art Hall, 1F 2023.12.12 - 2023.12.17 In order to adhere to the guidance of President Xi Jingping’s thought on socialism with Chinese characteristics in the new era, fully implement the spirit of the 20th CPC National Congress, thoroughly study and put Xi Jinping’s thought on culture into effect, and implement the requirements of the "14th Five-Year Plan for the Development of City Clusters in the Middle Reaches of the Yangtze River" approved and agreed to by the State Council, the Department of Culture and Tourism of Hunan Province, Hubei Province and Jiangxi Province jointly organized the exhibition of top-notch photographic works of “A Beautiful New Era-the Profound Ties of Hunan, Hubei and Jiangxi Provinces”. The exhibition aims to show the beautiful natural scenery, rich cultural heritage and the spirit of people's life in the new era of three provinces through a number of high-quality photographs, and to promote the exchange, unity and collaborative development of culture and tourism of three provinces. Photography is an art form to narrate through the lights and shades. Photographers capture brilliant moments by their unique artistic perspectives and insights. The water running throught Xiangjiang, Hangjiang and Ganjiang, winding and endless, eventually embraces at the Yangtze River, showcasing the splendid natural beauty. Hunan, Jiangxi and Hubei all possess profound humanistic culture and magnificent natural scenery. As the most of important provinces located in the central of China, these three provinces shoulder the historical task to promote the high-quality development of the Yangtze River Economic Belt. Hunan, Jiangxi and Hubei cling together, undoubtedly, will face this challenge and opportunity more vigorously. Visiting this exhibition can bring audiences a deeper understanding about the natural scenery, human history and people’s lives of three provinces, audiences can enjoy their distinctive charm and profound cultural heritage. The exhibition displayed 200 pieces(80 from Hunan Province, 60 from Hubei Province and 60 from Jiangxi Province) of photographic works. These photographic works, basically, reflect the local artists’ current situation and skill level of creation. With their own lens, they composed a beautiful melody one after another, singing the praises of this beautiful new era. This exhibition provides photographers of three provinces a superb display platform, envisioning to spark their creation interests, bring them a favorable creative environment and atmosphere. Following their lenses, audiences can appreciate a beautiful picture scroll full of vigor and charm, and feel the rhythm of this era with our hearts; let us firmly grasp the direction of advancement in the historical trend of the new era, move forward and create a promising future together.	“Fan Painting and Beyond — Exhibition of Fans” Themed Exhibition Hall, 3F 2023.11.14 - 2024.11.17 Since the Song Dynasty, when aesthetically inspired individuals began to paint on silk fans, the fan painting has gradually evolved into a new form of Chinese calligraphy and painting. During the Ming Dynasty, folding fans became popular for their portability. Fans, appreciated for their beauty and their playfulness, became sought-after personal possessions among Shidafu, the scholar-officials of imperial China. From the Qing Dynasty to the Republic of China period, officials and scholars, in social gatherings, often competed in creating, gifting, and collecting fans, using fans to show their talents, tastes, and social status. This exhibition will use the presentation of the artistic conception within fans and the camaraderie beyond fans as a starting point to reveal the cultural connotation of fan faces. Those displayed fans vividly present a variety of themes, including bird-and-flower, landscape, figure and poem. These themes can all be depicted on fans, utilizing the limited space to unfold unique layouts that showcase a distinct form of artistic beauty. Beyond the artistic conception, fans themselves embrace practical as well as cultural values. Scholars and literati express their sentiments through fans and exchange fans as gifts. The landscapes and poems depicted on the fans both convey the emotions and thoughts of their creators, allowing recipients to feel a sense of friendship while appreciating and handling the fan. The collection of fans at the Hunan Museum mainly covers the Qing Dynasty to the Republic of China period, featuring a significant collection of works by renowned literati painters from Hunan Province. In addition to presenting traditional themes in fans, this exhibition will also delve into the cultural deposits of fans from the perspective of Hunan local culture. "In the tender embrace of breeze, half a sheet of paper gracefully folds and unfurls guiding us to a wonderful journey at a whim." Let us explore the feelings and scene of fan face art together to rediscover the elegance inherent in these fans.