Written by Elsie and Emily, Year 8
When our class arrived at the Ashmolean Museum, the first thing we did was learn about the Shang dynasty, which thrived in northern China around 1600 BCE. They centered around the Yellow River because it made growing crops easier and provided easy access to water. We were then led to a small gallery upstairs, which housed many amazing jugs, pots, pendants, and small statues with animal-like faces on them – faces we decided must have represented ancient gods that they worshipped. Our tour guide told us that the artifacts were sculpted from jade, bronze and ceramic and were made to be very long-lasting, which is why many of them are over 3,000 years old!
We also learned that some Chinese characters existed during the Shang dynasty and have evolved into characters still used today. For example, the character for ‘home’ (家) evolved from a picture of a pig inside a house. We also learned about some superstitions, such as how they sometimes made charms or wind chimes out of coins. We saw one made of Chinese and Korean coins tied together, which was said to have been used in rituals to ward off evil spirits. It was hung over the bed of sick people to keep malevolent spirits, believed to be causing the illness, at bay.
Afterward, we went up another flight of stairs to a room where we were shown traditional silk robes—most of them featuring dragons, as they were (and still are) seen as symbols of good luck and strength. We were also given items to handle, including stamps and hand-made silk. One of the most interesting items we were allowed to hold was a block of tea. However, it wasn’t used as a drink but as currency instead. Chinese characters were carved into the back, and we recognized one of them as the character we still use today for the word ‘tea.’
Once we had packed away the artefacts, we were allowed to explore any of the galleries on ancient China to complete a worksheet about the Silk Road. We learned that the Silk Road is 4,000 miles long, stretching through China, India, Bangladesh, and parts of Europe. It was used for trading fabrics and coins and helped spread culture and language across many different countries.
Overall, our trip to the Ashmolean was very fun and extremely interesting. Everyone learned a lot about ancient Chinese culture and ways of life, and we would definitely go there again.