The history of Chinese painting art runs a long course from a remote source, having unique national style and profound cultural information. Based on the development of the painting art in the Tang and the Song Dynasties, the painting art of the Ming and the Qing Dynasties has a tendency of individuation, and therefore, various Schools of different styles appear. These styles, the trend of imitating the archaic style and the trend of making innovation stand side by side and blend into each other. The former trend places emphasis on the succeeding of the traditional techniques, while the latter stresses the artistic connotation and the style of the painting, and simultaneously advocates an organic combination of poems, writings, paintings and seals. Thus, the artistic conception of Chinese traditional paintings becomes more meaningful, profound and implicit. There is a large collection of paintings of the Ming and the Qing Dynasties in the museum. Among them, there are works of painters that have never been shown anywhere else in the country. Although these paintings, which exhibit here, are only a small part of all the paintings of the two Dynasties, they show the basic development thread of the painting art and the artistic style of painting of the Ming and the Qing Dynasties.

    The excavation from 1972 to 1974 of the group of three tombs of the Western Han Dynasty at Mawangdui in Changsha marks one of the major archaeological discoveries in the twentieth century. Over 3,000 cultural relics and a well-preserved female corpse were unearthed.
    Among the relics uncovered were bright-coloured lacquerwares representing the highest level of workmanship; fine silks showing amazingly accomplished weaving technique; silk paintings with romantic themes of the Kingdom of Heaven and the craving for eternity; and inscriptions on silk demonstrating knowledge and wisdom of the ancient sages. The well-preserved female corpse is a miracle in human antisepsis.
    On view here are 284 cultural relics that are the soul of the Han tombs at Mawangdui, which will lead visitor through history to taste the mystery and magnificence of Chinese civilization during the Han Dynasty.

    The ceramics industry in Hu'nan has a long history and has obtained a unique position in its own right. The ten thousand year old pottery shards unearthed at Yuchanyan in Dao County are among the earliest of their kind ever discovered in China. Hu'nan began producing celadon porcelain around the mid-Eastern Han Dynasty.
    More than 400 kilns chronologically ranging from the Eastern Han Dynasty to the Qing Dynasty have been discovered in Hu'nan. Over a time span of nearly two thousand years, the kiln fires were never extinguished. The porcelain wares from Xiangyin Kiln, with their glittering and translucent glaze and vivid sculpture, were highly cherished by government officials. The Tang Dynasty Changsha Kiln which had been laid idle for a long time, witnessed the first prosperity of decorative porcelain in China. The lively and tasteful designs under the glaze embodied the art of folk drawing. The popular poems and vernacular epigrams decorated with the drawings are both an expression of the tastes and interests of the burgeoning townsfolk in a commodity-oriented economic situation and an authentic form of folk literature. After more than one thousand years, the prosperity and popularity of the Tang poems can still be felt. The Liling Kiln of the late Qing Dynasty and early Republican Period took a different road by pioneering in the application of five colors under the glaze. The products made there won international prizes time and again, turning Liling into a porcelain-producing city well known at home and abroad.
    The brilliantly colorful ceramic art of Hu'nan has added a bright vista to ancient ceramics in China. The products from the three kilns on display at this exhibition form only the tip of the iceberg and fail to fully present the whole picture of ancient ceramic production in Hunan. Visitor's intention is to take this opportunity to show the originality of the potters and the charm of Hu'nan porcelain.

    Calligraphy in China is an old and unique traditional art. Chinese calligraphy is based on Chinese written characters and gradually develops into a most concentrated aesthetic form of art that provides an understanding of the Chinese culture. In the Ming and Qing Dynasties, numerous calligraphers continued working strenuously in developing new and multiplex styles. Their persistent efforts made the Chinese calligraphy a shining pearl among the world art treasure.
    There are a large number of collections of calligraphy of the Ming and Qing Dynasties in our museum, especially the works of celebrities from Hu'nan Province. They show the elegant and distinct demeanor of Hu'nan calligraphy. The displayed collection of the Ming and Qing Dynasties epitomizes the continuation, innovation and development of calligraphy in Hu'nan along with other parts of China.

    When people linger in front of this coffin with its painted design on black lacquer unearthed from Han Tomb 1 at Mawangdui, they will be amazed to find that this lacquer artistic work, which has been buried for more than two thousand years, still shines in dazzling colors. The most incredible are the exotic animals moving through the flowing clouds painted on the coffin.