The Nanjing Museum () is located in

Nanjing Nanjing or Nanking is the capital of Jiangsu, a province in East China. The city, which is located in the southwestern corner of the province, has 11 districts, an administrative area of , and a population of 9,423,400. Situated in the Yang ...

, the capital of

Jiangsu Jiangsu is a coastal Provinces of the People's Republic of China, province in East China. It is one of the leading provinces in finance, education, technology, and tourism, with its capital in Nanjing. Jiangsu is the List of Chinese administra ...

in East China. With an area of , it is one of the largest museums in China, with over 400,000 items in its permanent collection. Especially notable is the museum's enormous collections of Ming and Qing imperial porcelain, which is among the largest in the world.

History

The Nanjing Museum was one of the first museums established in China. The predecessor of the Nanjing Museum was the preparatory department of the National Central Museum, which was established in 1933. The museum took over in the Half Hill Garden of Zhongshan Gate. Cai Yuanpei, the first preparatory president of the council of the museum, proposed building three major halls, named "Humanity," "Craft" and "Nature". Because of China's political instability in the 1930s, only the Humanity Hall was built. During the Japanese invasion, part of its collections were transferred to Southwest China, and in the end moved to the

National Palace Museum The National Palace Museum, also known as Taipei Palace Museum, is a national museum headquartered in Taipei, Taiwan. Founded in Beijing in 1925, the museum was re-established in Shilin District, Shilin, Taipei, in 1965, later expanded with a S ...

Taipei , nickname = The City of Azaleas , image_map = , map_caption = , pushpin_map = Taiwan#Asia#Pacific Ocean#Earth , coordinates = , subdivision_type = Country ...

when the

Kuomintang The Kuomintang (KMT) is a major political party in the Republic of China (Taiwan). It was the one party state, sole ruling party of the country Republic of China (1912-1949), during its rule from 1927 to 1949 in Mainland China until Retreat ...

lost the

Chinese Civil War The Chinese Civil War was fought between the Kuomintang-led Nationalist government, government of the Republic of China (1912–1949), Republic of China and the forces of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). Armed conflict continued intermitt ...

. The historian Fu Sinian and anthropologist and archaeologist Li Ji were once preparatory presidents, and the archaeologist and museologist Zeng Zhaoyu was the first female president and also a founder of Nanjing Museum. In 1999 and 2009, extensions were built to the museum.

Buildings

The main building was designed by

Liang Sicheng Liang Sicheng ( zh, c=梁思成; 20 April 1901 – 9 January 1972) was a Chinese architect and architectural historian, known as the father of modern Chinese architecture. His father, Liang Qichao, was one of the most prominent Chinese scholar ...

in the 1930s combining Chinese and Western architectural styles. The front section is structure of traditional style and features a golden tiled roof. In the back is a Western-style flat-roof structure. Added in the 1990s to the west of the main building is an art hall which references Chinese architecture of the first half of the 20th century.

Exhibition halls

There are twelve exhibition halls at the museum. A highlight of the collection is a full-size suit of armor made from small jade tiles held together by silver wire. * Qin Garden * Earthen Ware Hall * Treasure Hall * Folk Art Hall * Bronze Ware Hall * Ming and Qing Porcelain Hall * Wu Weishan Sculpture Hall * Ancient Paintings Hall * Modern Art Hall * Jiangnan Silk Product Hall * Jade Hall * Lacquer Hall

Gallery

Paintings

File:Giant Bamboos and Stones by Li Kan.jpg, ''Giant Bamboos and Stones'' by Li Kan (1245-1320), 13th century File:Portrait of Jiang Shunfu.jpg, A Ming portrait of the official Jiang Shunfu, late 15th century File:Watching the Spring and Listening to the Wind by Tang Yin.jpg, ''Watching the Spring and Listening to the Wind'' by

Tang Yin Tang Yin (; 6 March 1470 – 7 January 1524), courtesy name Bohu () and Ziwei (子畏), was a Chinese painter, calligrapher, and poet of the Ming dynasty period. Even though he was born during the Ming dynasty, many of his paintings, especially t ...

(1470–1524), early 16th century File:Camellia and a Lonely Bird by Zhou Shuxi.jpg, ''Camellia and a Lonely Bird'' by Zhou Shuxi (1624–1705) File:Fisherman and Fisherwoman by Huang Shen.jpg, ''Fisherman and Fisherwoman'' by Huang Shen (1687-1772) File:Four Beauties by Ni Tian.jpg, ''Four Beauties'' by Ni Tian (1855–1919)

Lacquer

File:Western Han rectangular lacquerware box.JPG, A Western Han (202 BC - 9 AD) red-and-black rectangular lacquerware box File:Ming Dynasty lacquerware plate.JPG, A Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) black lacquerware plate File:Ming Dynasty lacquered bowl.JPG, A Ming red lacquered bowl File:Ming Dynasty mother-of-pearl and lacquer plates.JPG, A pair of Ming Dynasty black lacquerware plates with mother-of-pearl inlaid designs of domestic scenes. File:Lacquered box with character for luck, Qianlong Period.JPG, A Qing red lacquerware box with the Chinese character for "spring" inscribed on the front, dated to the Qianlong Emperor's reign (1736-1795) File:Lacquered plate, Qianlong Period, Qing Dynasty.JPG, A red lacquerware plate, dated to the Qianlong Emperor's reign

Ceramics

File:Western Jin Celadon pot (top) with decorations.JPG, A Western Jin Dynasty (265-316 AD) celadon ceramic jar with human figures, animals, and architecture. File:Song Dynasty porcelain box with flower design.JPG, A Song Dynasty (960-1279 AD) porcelain box with a flower design File:Ming Dynasty porcelain dish, Hongwu Reign Period.JPG, A Ming Dynasty (1368-1644 AD) porcelain dish from the reign of the Hongwu Emperor (1368-1398 AD) File:Ming Dynasty porcelain vase, Yongle Reign Period.JPG, A Ming blue-and-white porcelain vase from the reign of the Yongle Emperor (1402-1424 AD) File:Ming Dynasty porcelain dish, Xuande Reign Period.JPG, A Ming blue-and-white porcelain dish from the reign of the Xuande Emperor (1425-1435 AD) File:Ming Dynasty porcelain ding vessel, Xuande Reign Period.JPG, A Ming blue-and-white porcelain ding vessel from the reign of the Xuande Emperor (1425-1435 AD). File:Ming Dynasty porcelain vase, Zhengde Reign Period.JPG, A Ming porcelain vase from the reign of the Zhengde Emperor (1505-1521 AD). File:Ming Dynasty porcelain dish, Jiajing Reign Period (2).JPG, A Ming blue-and-white porcelain dish from the reign of the Jiajing Emperor (1521-1567 AD) File:Ming Dynasty porcelain bowl, Wanli Reign Period.JPG, A Ming porcelain bowl from the reign of the Wanli Emperor (1572-1620 AD). File:Ming Dynasty porcelain vase, Wanli Reign Period (2).JPG, A Ming blue-and-white porcelain vase from the reign of the Wanli Emperor (1572-1620 AD) File:Ming Dynasty porcelain box, Wanli Reign Period.JPG, A Ming blue-and-white porcelain box from the reign of the Wanli Emperor (1572-1620 AD) File:Ming Dynasty porcelain bowl, Chongzhen Reign Period.JPG, A Ming blue-and-white porcelain bowl from the reign of the Chongzhen Emperor (1627-1644 AD)

References

External links

* {{Authority control Museums in Nanjing 1933 establishments in China Museums established in 1933 National first-grade museums of China 1933 in Nanjing