- The Field Museum
- Two lions protect the new Cyrus Tang Hall of China.
Maybe the best part of the Field Museum‘s new Cyrus Tang Hall of China, which opened Wednesday, is that it’s a permanent exhibit. It tells the story of nearly 10,000 years of Chinese history, from the Neolithic period up to the turn of the 20th century and the end of the imperial age, through 350 objects, ranging from primitive tools to 19th-century snuff bottles. Touchscreens below the display cases provide all sorts of extra details about each artifact. There’s way more information here than anyone could possibly absorb in a single museum visit.
But for me, the most interesting displays were the ones that tried to show what daily life was like in China for specific types of people. A section on scholars shows inkstones and brushes and diagrams of the cells where aspiring Qing dynasty (1644-1912) civil servants took their exams. These lasted three days and two nights; a single board functioned as both desk and bed. Also on display is a silk handkerchief covered with tiny characters that was used as a cheat sheet. It’s unclear whether its owner managed to pass without getting caught, but the odds were not in his favor: only .01 percent of candidates passed every level.
