TV Show to Bring 3 Key Exhibits of the Yin Ruins Museum to Light

TV Show to Bring 3 Key Exhibits of the Yin Ruins Museum to Light

央视《国家宝藏》第三季正式开播

殷墟博物馆3件文物将重磅亮相

 

The third season of The Nation's Greatest Treasures, a popular TV variety show on cultural relics, premiered on December 6. In each episode, three key exhibits from one museum will be highlighted. As one of the nine key museums selected for the third season, the Yin Ruins Museum in Anyang will also present three key exhibits, namely T-junction Made of Pottery (陶三通), Cow-shaped Bronze Statue with "Yazhang" Inscriptions (亚长牛尊) and Oracle-bone Cellar at Pit YH127 (YH127甲骨窖穴), to help the public better understand the Shang dynasty around 3,000 years ago.

12月6日，央视大型文博探索节目《国家宝藏》第三季正式开播。按照每期一家博物馆，每个博物馆推荐3件镇馆之宝的规则，河南安阳的殷墟博物馆作为入选本季《国家宝藏》九大博物馆之一，将携哪三件重磅文物亮相？12月7日记者从殷墟博物馆了解到，陶三通、亚长牛尊和YH127甲骨窖穴将“合体”出现在节目中，带领观众了解3000多年前商王朝的“前世今生”。

Cow-shaped Bronze Statue with "Yazhang" Inscriptions (亚长牛尊). [Photo by Nie Donghan for Henan Daily]

According to Yang Yanmei, deputy director of the Market Publicity Division of the Yin Ruins Museum in Anyang, from the perspective of museum, the three exhibits mentioned above conform to "three elements" of the origin of human civilization, namely characters, bronze smelting techniques and city emergence.

殷墟博物馆市场宣传科副科长杨艳梅说，从博物馆的角度来看，这3件文物契合了人类文明起源的“三要素”：文字、青铜冶炼技术、城市的出现。

Oracle-bone Cellar at Pit YH127 (YH127甲骨窖穴). [Photo by Nie Donghan for Henan Daily]

Designated as the originator of the Chinese characters, Oracle-bone inscriptions, the earliest written Chinese characters discovered, are still in use today after years of development. Known as the earliest "archives" of ancient China and "one of the great wonders in the field of oracle bone study", the Oracle-bone Cellar at Pit YH127 (YH127甲骨窖穴) is a typical representative since over 10,000 pieces of oracle bones have been discovered there. The quantity remains the most ever found in a single excavation, providing invaluable materials for the study of oracle bone inscriptions and the history of the Shang dynasty. With exquisite modelling, the lovely Cow-shaped Bronze Statue with "Yazhang" Inscriptions (亚长牛尊) not only represents the peak of bronze casting, but also the high-level productivity in the Shang dynasty. His owner "Yazhang" was a very famous general at that time, with a fascinating story. Used as the sewer pipe during the Shang dynasty, the T-junction Made of Pottery (陶三通) is not that different from the modern one, indicating the order and unprecedented level of its urban planning at that time.

甲骨文是中国最早成熟的文字体系，而且经过发展后沿用至今，是汉字的鼻祖。这次选择YH127甲骨窖穴非常具有代表性，万余片甲骨集中堆放，是殷墟历次发掘中出土甲骨最多的一次，为甲骨文和商代历史研究提供了极其宝贵的资料，被称为中国古代最早的“档案库”“是甲骨学史上的一大奇迹”。亚长牛尊代表着殷商时期青铜铸造的顶峰状态和高超的生产力水平，而且造型精美、憨厚可爱，它的墓主人“亚长”是商代非常有名的将军，背后故事性强。而陶三通就是商朝的下水管道，跟现代的下水管道没太大区别，表明当时城市规划有序且发展到前所未有的高度。

T-junction Made of Pottery (陶三通). [Photo by Nie Donghan for Henan Daily]

In mid-November, the film crew has shot the outdoor scenes at the Yin Ruins Museum, but storyline of these three exhibits is still being kept under wraps.

据悉，11月中旬，《国家宝藏》第三季摄制组已到殷墟博物馆拍摄外景，但用怎样的故事呈现这三件文物现在还处于保密状态。（中文来源/河南日报 翻译/赵汉青 审校/焦丹）