Chinese Character Museum, Henan, China

4Gary T 5:00 PM Nov 1, 2015

National Museum of Chinese Writing, Anyang
The title "Anyang Museum" is incorrect. It should be the National Museum of Chinese Writing (or Chinese Characters). The museum is unique. Anyang is the logical place for it because it was here over a century ago that the "oracle bones" were discovered which proved that China had a fully-developed system of writing (some 5000 characters) over 3400 years ago. This museum displays some of the ox scapula and tortoise plastrons on which the ancient Shang Kings asked for guidance from Heaven or their ancestors. Besides the bones, there are some superb Zhou bronze ritual vessels which fill in much of the gaps in the absence of written histories. A diorama of a Shang foundry shows how these vessels were made. There are Neolithic pottery shards which show perhaps the oldest characters known in China, and inscribed stone. Ancient coins were cast with Chinese characters, and of course much of the early writing was done on silk or linen, or bamboo and wood slips, most of which have long since decomposed, but a few of which have been preserved and are displayed in the museum. There are exhibits of many scripts of the minority peoples of China and its neighbors. The museum is very well done with helpful labels and many illustrations (in English), but admittedly it is a specialty museum, and probably not one that will enthrall the kids. Also the lighting is not all that good, so good photos are difficult to take. As with all my museum reviews, I have thoroughly photographed this museum and placed the pictures on my GaryLeeTodd.com website where I make them freely available to any interested person. There are many things of great historical interest to see in Anyang, and this one is definitely a good way to spend a couple of hours. Also, look for special exhibits. In one of my earlier visits they had a special exhibit of artifacts from Inner Mongolia.

5Elyn M 5:00 PM Nov 19, 2013

Fantastic
The National Calligraphy Museum, closed on Monday, was rich in artifacts. It is indeed a National level Museum, built with money from the Central government, and has free admission. Very Impressive. The museum goes chronologically and shows you the progression of the development of Chinese characters. There are real turtle bone shells and bones with calligraphy. They have identified 5,000 characters, and know the meanings of about 1,500 of the characters from the late Shang Dynasty, over 3000 years ago. The displays then show the progression of the formation of the characters, and included artifacts like the bamboo strips used for books from 475 BC., ancient money with characters, including "ant nose" money, "shaman writing" and various minority scripts - fascinating. They have a section on printing, which looked great, but we were too tired to see it. The displays are very well done with excellent English, better than most places we have visited in China. The explanations were strong and clear. There is no restaurant, so bring snacks. The Museum is a short cab ride from a "Restaurant Street" named Deng Ta Lu, near Shu Guang Lu, south west of the Museum. Lots of Hot Pot. Some Very clean Muslim restaurants with great Lamb Noodle Soup.