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What to know how ancient Chinese kept their food fresh before the refrigerator was invented?
It was kept inside the tong bing jian (literally translated as "bronze ice box"), technology that can be dated back to around 300 B.C. in the Warring States Period. The ancient Chinese refrigerator, the first of its kind in the world, was excavated in 1978 from a tomb in Sui County in Hubei Province.
Or maybe you are interested in containers that ancient people used to hold wines. The four goats quadripod, a bronze antique of the Shang Dynasty (1066 B.C.-771 B.C.), will reveal that secret.
The quadripod is regarded as the greatest masterpiece in China’s bronzeware casting history.
These are among the 66 artifacts on exhibit to mark the opening of the Shenzhen Museum’s new venue at the Citizens’ Center. The exhibition will open Friday.
Other antiques include terra-cotta warriors from the Qin Dynasty (221 B.C.-207 B.C.) and a jade burial suit, the ceremonial garb made of pieces of jade in which some nobles of the Han Dynasty (202 B.C.-220 A.D) were buried. The ancient Chinese believed that jade had magical properties and would prevent decay of the body.
The exhibition, the largest of its kind organized by the National Museum of China outside Beijing, presents artifacts from ancient China from the Neolithic Age to the Tang Dynasty (618-907).
The artifacts are a side exhibit of the museum’s newly opened zone that documents China’s reform and opening up, which includes 1,000 exhibits, 1,200 photos and 120 historic documents relating the full story of Shenzhen.
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