Hong Kong History Museum to Launch Qin and Han Artifacts Exhibition Next Week

The Leisure and Cultural Services Department (LCSD) and the Shaanxi Provincial Cultural Heritage Administration are collaborating to present the "Hong Kong Jockey Club Series: The Rise of the Celestial Empire – Qin and Han Civilizations" exhibition at the Hong Kong History Museum. This exhibition will explore the political, economic, cultural, technological, and international developments of the Qin and Han dynasties, offering visitors a deeper understanding of the profound Chinese culture. The exhibition will run from April 16 to July 7 and is free to the public. The exhibition will feature over 100 carefully selected artifacts from the Museum of the Terracotta Warriors and Horses of Emperor Qin Shihuang, the Han Yangling Museum, and the Shaanxi Provincial Institute of Archaeology (Shaanxi Archaeology Museum). More than half of these items are being displayed in Hong Kong for the first time. Among the exhibits, 11 items/groups are classified as national first-grade cultural relics, with four of these being showcased outside mainland China for the first time. One highlight is the Kneeling Archer figurine from the Qin dynasty, a national first-grade relic. This terracotta figure represents a crossbowman, with a topknot hairstyle, wearing a battle robe, and armored on the upper body and arms. The figure is depicted in a pose holding a crossbow, with its footwear featuring square-toed, upturned tips. Traces of red paint applied by craftsmen over 2,000 years ago are still visible on the armor. Another notable exhibit is the Han dynasty Horse Rider figurine, unearthed from the outer burial pits in the southern area of Han Yangling. This armless, bare-chested figure is posed with bent legs, originally designed to straddle a wooden horse. Circular holes and remnants of wood on the shoulders suggest that the figure was once equipped with wooden arms and dressed in silk or hemp garments. The exhibition also includes a Han dynasty ceramic coin mold unearthed in Yanglingyi, Gaoling District, Xi'an, Shaanxi Province. This mold was used to cast "Wu Zhu" copper coins, which were standardized by the central government during the Han dynasty. Another exhibit, a gold ingot, was discovered in the family tomb of Zhang Anshi from the Western Han dynasty in Fengqiyuan, Xi'an. These gold ingots were used as rewards and gifts among the imperial family and nobility. Additionally, the exhibition will highlight Hong Kong's development during the Qin and Han periods, showcasing over 20 artifacts unearthed locally. These include "Wu Zhu" copper coins from Tuen Mun So Kwun Wat, Deep Bay on Lamma Island, and Sha Chau Kok in Chek Lap Kok, as well as a ceramic house model from the Han tomb at Lei Cheng Uk. This exhibition is presented by the Culture, Sports and Tourism Bureau as part of the LCSD's "Chinese History Series." It is the second exhibition in the series, jointly organized by the LCSD and the Shaanxi Provincial Cultural Heritage Administration, and co-curated by the Hong Kong History Museum and the Shaanxi Cultural Heritage Promotion Center. The event is exclusively sponsored by The Hong Kong Jockey Club Charities Trust, co-organized by the Office for Promoting Chinese Culture, and fully supported by the Museum of the Terracotta Warriors and Horses of Emperor Qin Shihuang, the Han Yangling Museum, and the Shaanxi Provincial Institute of Archaeology. The "Chinese History Series" debuted last year with the large-scale exhibition "Hong Kong Jockey Club Series: The Central Plains – Henan's Xia, Shang, and Zhou Dynasties."