Juzhou Museum: A Timeless Repository of Dongyi Civilization

Juzhou Museum is located at No. 208 Zhenxing East Road, Juxian County, Rizhao City, Shandong Province. As a national second-class museum and one of the three major county-level museums in Shandong Province, it is not only a concentrated carrier of Judi's cultural heritage but also an important window to show the charm of Dongyi civilization and inherit the Chinese historical context. Since its establishment in 1976, the museum has gone through four development stages: bungalow period, small courtyard period, three-story antique building period and modern large museum period. From the initial simple venue of less than 20 square meters with more than 200 cultural relics, it has developed into a modern comprehensive museum with a covers an area of 28.99 mu and a total construction area of 15,000 square meters. It houses 13,010 pieces (sets) of cultural relics, including more than 120 precious cultural relics such as national first, second and third-class ones, witnessing the vigorous development of Judi's cultural and museum cause.

On September 8, 2009, the new museum officially opened to the public free of charge, receiving more than 100,000 visitors annually. It has successively won many honorary titles such as "National Advanced County for Cultural Relics Work", "Excellent Museum of Shandong Province" and "Patriotic Education Base of Shandong Province", becoming a landmark carrier of Juxian County's cultural taste and external image.

Museum Architecture & Exhibition Layout

The museum building adopts a layout structure of one underground floor and three above-ground floors, with scientific and reasonable functional zoning, covering exhibition area, cultural relics warehouse area, professional research area, administrative office area, security area and other regions. At the same time, it is equipped with complete service facilities such as VIP reception room and multimedia lecture hall, showing the humanized service concept everywhere. There are 13 exhibition halls in the museum, with an exhibition area of more than 5,000 square meters, displaying more than 2,500 cultural relics.

The exhibition system consists of three parts: basic exhibition, collection of fine exhibitions and temporary exhibitions, including 7 special exhibitions, which systematically present the complete historical context of Judi from ancient civilization to modern development. Among them, the four sections of "Overture to Dongyi", "Dawn of Civilization", "Spring and Autumn of Ju State" and "Shadow of Chengyang History" in the basic exhibition outline the origin, development and prosperity of Ju culture clearly with time as the axis; Special exhibition halls such as the Hall of Stone Carvings of Past Dynasties, the Hall of The Literary Mind and the Carving of Dragons, and the Hall of Modern Revolutionary History explore the unique connotation of Judi culture from different dimensions, forming a modern exhibition pattern with unique Juxian characteristics.

Key Exhibition Halls & Precious Cultural Relics

The Hall of Stone Carvings of Past Dynasties houses precious Han Dynasty stone reliefs – including the kissing figure (a first discovery in Shandong Province) – and stone carvings depicting chariot processions, auspicious beasts, and mythological scenes. These artifacts serve as invaluable physical evidence for studying ancient social life, customs, and religious beliefs. The Hall of The Literary Mind and the Carving of Dragons is dedicated to Liu Xie, a towering figure in Chinese literary theory, showcasing his life story, the evolution of his masterpiece The Literary Mind and the Carving of Dragons, and academic research spanning dynasties.

The Hall of Modern Revolutionary History preserves Judi's revolutionary legacy through historical photographs, documents, and artifacts, serving as a vital platform for patriotic education and red culture inheritance.

Treasure of the Museum: Dawenkou Pottery Zun

The crown jewel of Juzhou Museum is the late Dawenkou Culture pottery zun unearthed at the Lingyanghe site (52cm in height, 30cm in diameter, 3cm in thickness). Crafted from sand-tempered gray pottery with an everted mouth, deep straight belly, and tapering pointed bottom, the vessel features shallow basket patterns and boasts high firing temperature with a hard texture. Its greatest significance lies in the pictographic characters carved on the upper belly – 8 types (20 single characters total) discovered across three Juxian sites (Lingyanghe, Dazhujia Village, Hangtou).

These characters, interpreted by renowned philologist Mr. Yu Shengwu as "Dan" (dawn – depicting sun, clouds, and mountains), predate oracle bone inscriptions by 1,500 years. They possess the core elements of Chinese characters (pronunciation, form, meaning) and represent an early stage of mature Chinese writing. This artifact stands as irrefutable evidence that Judi ancestors mastered advanced astronomical knowledge 5,000 years ago and marks a critical milestone in China's transition from pre-civilization to organized society, providing priceless materials for researching the origins of Chinese characters.

Academic Research & Cultural Inheritance

As Juxian's hub for cultural relic protection and research, the museum has achieved remarkable academic outcomes: compiling 6 monographs and publishing over 200 professional papers (30+ in core journals) focused on Ju culture research. Beyond academic pursuits, the museum actively promotes cultural dissemination through diverse activities – including traditional rubbing technique workshops ("Fragrance of Rubbings") and calligraphy/painting exhibitions commemorating the 100th anniversary of the Communist Party of China – bridging the gap between museum collections and public life via online and offline initiatives.

Undertaking its patriotic education mission, the museum disseminates historical and cultural knowledge to audiences of all ages (especially youth) through immersive exhibitions and expert explanations. It plays a pivotal role in advancing Juxian's "culture-building county" strategy and fostering the development of local cultural undertakings and industries.

Development Milestone

From a modest 20㎡ bungalow with 200 relics to a modern 15,000㎡ museum housing 13,010 collections, Juzhou Museum's evolution mirrors the preservation and revitalization of Ju culture. Today, it functions as more than a repository of artifacts and a center for historical research – it is a cultural bridge connecting past and future. By breathing life into millennia-old relics through rich collections, systematic exhibitions, and profound cultural heritage, Juzhou Museum showcases the depth and breadth of Ju culture to the world, solidifying its role in preserving China's excellent traditional culture and enhancing national cultural confidence.