CHINESE HISTORY, MUSEUM OF

Chinese (Wade-Giles) Chung-kuo Li-shih Po-wu Kuan, (Pinyin) Zhongguo Lishi Bowuguan, in Peking, one of the two important museums in a large building on the east side of T'ien-an Men (Tienanmen) Square, opened in 1961. The Museum of Chinese History, which shares its building with the Revolutionary Museum, covers the history of China from its earliest beginnings up until the Opium War of 1840 in three sections: primitive society, slave society, and feudal society. Subjects are illustrated through the use of exhibits, models, and pictures. The museum contains a vast array of artifacts ranging from replicas of bones of Peking Man to scientific instruments brought to China by missionaries in the 18th and 19th centuries. Many hundreds of decorative objects, including bronzes, pottery, lacquerware, jade, and textiles, are displayed.