Shaanxi History Museum

This morning, I walked over to the Shaanxi History Museum. It's maybe a thirty minute walk from where I'm living, and my colleague, Dafu, told me it was an extremely good museum--one of the best of its kind in all of China. Xi'an's history figures large in Chinese history, and that fact was certainly impressed upon me today as I wandered through the museum. I actually saw objects that date back to 5,000 B.C.E. The place was packed, so there were some things I just couldn't get near, but I saw plenty. Sadly, on this end of the visit, my memory of the objects I saw has faded enough that I can't tell you which dynasty most of them come from or even what they are. Oh well, you might enjoy some pictures anyway.


Of course, the one below is a Terra Cotta Warriors from the Qin Dynasty.





These aren't coins, but they were used in one dynasty as a reward or gift for doing a good job of some kind or another.


I think the next two were in the section on religions in ancient China.





This colorful bowl really stood out. Which Dynasty? No idea.


The guy below is a representation of "Heavenly God.". I remembered this one because it made me think, "yikes!"


If I'm remembering right, the next two are from the Tang Dynasty. There were dozens of statues of chubby and downright fat women. I understand that the Emperor's wife was a beautiful round woman, and other Chinese women tried to emulate her by growing rounder themselves. Now this is a dynasty I can get behind!





The Buddha, of course.


No memory of what these are, but they were gold and teeny--close enough to jewelry for me to love!


This was my last sightseeing adventure in Xi'an. Tomorrow, I fly to Beijing to meet my friends and begin the next leg of this journey. I am excited about the days ahead and all the things my friends and I will see and do. I feel downright sad about leaving here, though. I had a nice chat with the Associate Dean of English Studies today, though. He told me that we shared many students in common, and that they had spoken very highly of my class. Then he said, "you must come back to teach another literature class. Consider this an invitation to return.". Of course, my colleagues deserve a chance to enjoy this experience, but I would love to take him up on this offer one day. In the meantime, I'm off to see what I can see in the rest if this amazing country.

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