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Museum Protection
       (Ⅰ)Protection on the Precious Cultural Heritage
      According to historical records, the Yuyao Village has been the place of origin of producing Imperial Kiln Bricks since ancient times. There were 78 kilns, designated as "official kilns", under the charge of 72 families for baking Bricks during its heyday of the Qing Dynasty. A two-hole conjoined imperial kiln preserved and operated until current days and partial remnant kiln has been discovered in Yuyao Village in the second national general survey on cultural relics in 2003.
       Located at the west side of the Museum lot, the two-hole conjoined imperial kiln is the only one preserved in completion of many kilns in the past. It was built in the late Qing Dynasty , also called "twin kiln". This ancient kiln, in ellipse in a bird’s-eye view, runs from north to south. The length of its east-to-west side is 35m while north-to-south 33m, covering a area of 1255 square meters. The exterior is of a conjoined structure while the chamber and chimney in the interior part are independent respectively. At the top of the kiln lays a seepage pool. Any records about such kind of structure uniquely existing in Jiangnan area have never been discovered in any professional books or periodicals, which deserves to be called as a “living cultural relic”. The twin kiln continues to be under operation, which takes on great difference from other relics.
       The Lumu Imperial Kiln is a rarely existing and living relic listed as a dual-heritage protection organization in both of tangible and intangible form in China. The preservation of the Imperial Kiln and the protection of the craftsmanship of "Gold Bricks" can provide a physical basis for the research on ancient buildings and building materials. The research on the Bricks can also provide references and historical materials for the study on politics, economy, culture, official system, folk custom and social form in the Ming and Qing Dynasties.
       The construction of the museum is executed encompassing the site of the Imperial Kiln as a whole. The exterior wall of the main building is made of water concrete auxiliary with coal gangue bricks, in an effort to retain the beauty of the classical original technology. Meanwhile, it is repaired and maintained on the premise of not destroying the imperial kiln site, contributing to protect the precious cultural heritage to the maximum extent.
       (Ⅱ )Display of the Craftsmanship of the Exquisite Ancient Method
       In addition to ancient kilns, the landscape of the kiln group has been also re-engraved in the Museum. Various forms of kilns such as the whole kiln, the half kiln and the remnant kiln etc. represent the spectacular scene of the Brick production and the decomposition of a kiln’s structure demonstrates the production process of the Bricks.
       Fabrication lies on spirit and craft for humans while accomplishment depends on nature and time for the Bricks. The exquisite craftsmanship and infinite painstaking efforts of craftsmen has been embedded into the process of the formation of a Brick as from soil to gold. Soil-fetching requires a 7-step process including excavating, carrying, parching, beating, pounding, milling, sieving and clay with smooth sections, gloss, high dryness, intensity and toughness as the description that “the soil must be fetched out from that in yellow colored like the gold in the northeast of Lumu Town” written in the Illustrated Description on Bricking. Mud can be acquired even by a 6-Step suffering: settling, filtering, airing, drying, throttling and trampling. The main difference between an Imperial Brick and an ordinary brick exists in the process of acquiring mud. The complexity of the process signifies that the single process of the mud-refining can last for about three months. When the materials are prepared, a complete Brick can’t be created until a series of procedures are finished including adobe-fabricating, drying in shade, baking, hosing, drawing, etc. The hard work of making bricks, the meticulous process and the exquisite technique obtains the acclaim as the peak of perfection!
       (Ⅲ)Advocacy of Excellent Traditional Culture
       The exhibition in the Museum is divided into three sections: exploration, achievement and application. The process of the production, transportation and output of the Brick has been described in detail from the perspective of an Imperial Brick. The opening section lists nine processes of making Imperial Bricks, which tells a magical story of "turning from earth to brick" through the passage of time. In the second part, layout of the exhibition pattern builds up a space where the Gusu (Suzhou) is faced with the Capital in distance, interpreting the journey of taxed-grains shipping from Xiangcheng to the Capital stretch by stretch. The last section tells a story that how the Bricks were put to use in the Capital. Through the display of historical materials and real scenes, it tells the spiritual journey of a kind of regional material to the highest palace of a dynasty, enabling visitors to understand the exquisite traditional Chinese craftsmanship. The Bricks have witnessed the decline and change of dynasties and recorded the prosperous changes of the world. Today, the story of the Bricks is still being created: now they are laying in the Museum for our reminiscence and its current application is imparting new significance to itself.

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