18 must-have books on the shelf, revealing the little secrets in the top museums

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Behind every museum collection, there are countless historical stories, cultural knowledge and a personal figure. The collection is not cold, but behind it is the vivid memory of the past.

In order to let everyone feel a "warm" cultural feast without leaving home, Ashin specially selected this one - "Museum Collection Book List".

With this book list, you can not only "bring the museum home", but also let you understand the history behind every national treasure. Shuttle among them is to travel between the changes of history and culture, "how far you can see the past, means how far you can see the future".

The Great World in the Museum

"National treasure"

Produced by CCTV Variety Channel

Yu Lei, Lu Yitao Editor-in-Chief

A national treasure, a sentence of glory, a kind of meaning, passed on for a lifetime

This is a book of memory that precipitates Chinese civilization. The curators of the nine major museums selected 27 treasures to tell about the past and present of the national treasures and explore the spiritual origin of Chinese culture.

Cultural relics remember the history of the past and also make the story of today. Dozens of guardians of national treasures, regardless of their professional background, temperament, and academic achievements, intertwined with the fate of 27 national treasures and told the legends that happened to them. Every creator, excavator, and guardian of a national treasure has contributed to the genetic treasure house of the Chinese nation.

Treasure Hunt at the Oxford University Museum of Natural History

[English] Kate Disston by Zoe Simmons

Precious accumulation of a century and a half, your museum on paper

Founded in 1860, the Natural History Museum of Oxford University has accumulated a large number of important scientific research archives after a century and a half of accumulation. From the beginning of opening this book, it seems to open the unique door of the museum, browse through rare fossils and specimens, precious atlases and models, and listen to the fascinating stories about the history of natural science, legendary naturalists and the museum itself.

Darwin's letters, Tolkien's slides, various dinosaur remains, meteorites from Mars... Enjoy the precious accumulation of a century and a half.

"Amazing Museum"

by Heisenberg

More than half of the essence of human civilization is in museums

Let Rijksmuseum guide Heisenberg, be your personal guide

Standing in a museum is equivalent to standing on a vertical axis of time. Looking forward, we can review where we came from; backward, we can see where we are going. In the museum, you can explore the little-known history and the stories behind the cultural relics in the shortest time.

Follow the guide of the National Museum, Heisenberg, to explore 26 representative museums in the world, and find out such things as "What kind of legendary experience does the most profitable Guggenheim Museum have?", "Mysterious mummy, why Will it carry the spirit and beliefs of the ancient Egyptians?" These interesting and meaningful questions allow us to understand the vanished but once brilliant human civilization through the museum.

"People will look better when they arrive at the art museum"

Zhu Yujie

Art writer Zhu Yujie takes you to visit more than 50 art museums

Peep into the wonderful stories in the world famous paintings

Art galleries and museums house not only precious collections, but also inherited aesthetics and spirit. In the book, Zhu Yujie takes us into world-class exhibition halls such as the Louvre, Vatican Museum, London Design Museum, Dennis Family Museum, etc., and restores the collections to three-dimensional emotions and stories.

Perceiving art is such a wonderful thing. I don’t know if you have ever dreamed of time travel, fantasizing that one day you can return to history or go to the future. Ashin has always felt that art galleries, museums and art exhibitions are the most possible doors to the past or the future.

"Six Thousand Years"

By Zheng Yan

Eighty-nine magnificent national treasures in 32 museums across the country

String together thousands of years of Chinese civilization

This is a minimalist history of Chinese art in which father and daughter cooperate tacitly. One page of hand-painted watercolor cultural relics, one page of beautiful text, depicting nearly 100 representative national treasure-level cultural relics, the beauty of charm and detail of national treasure-level cultural relics flows through the pen tip, and outlines the fascinating picture of the development of Chinese civilization for thousands of years.

This book is not an art archaeological work in the usual sense. Through the text with personal temperature, it delicately restores the people and stories behind each artifact. History is a big show, and even a small prop is soul-stirring.

The cultural charm behind the ruins

"The Beauty of Roots"

Zhuang Shen

A classic heirloom, an introduction to Chinese art for ordinary readers

An introductory book on Chinese art written for ordinary readers. The author Zhuang Shen is an internationally renowned expert in art history. He has written 120 articles explaining Chinese art and compiled them into this "The Beauty of Roots".

From the pre-Qin period to the 20th century, the essence of Chinese art is collected in it, covering calligraphy, painting, engraving, sculpture, utensils, clothing, books, architecture and so on. From the style, shape and use of artworks, explain the cultural, historical, religious and philosophical meanings behind them.

This book is a history of Chinese art, but it is also a history of social life, ancient philosophy and politics.

"Meet Qin Shihuang"

Edited by CITIC Publishing·Dafang

Talking about the history of Qin, chatting about gossip, one book to understand Qin Shihuang

This is a popular book jointly produced by us and the Mausoleum Museum of Qin Shihuang to show the person and deeds of Qin Shihuang.

It is divided into six parts: starting from the mystery of Qin Shihuang's life experience, talking about Qin Shihuang's achievements, clarifying Qin Shihuang's millennium scapegoat, seriously responding to gossip, and then going to Qin Shihuang's circle of friends. Finally, I met Qin Shihuang, and looked at the changes in Qin Shihuang's view of life and death from the perspective of Qin Mausoleum archaeology.

"Visiting the Ancient City"

By Tang Keyang

Harvard University Doctor of Design takes you into 12 famous cities and monuments in the world

The ancient city is an excellent witness of human history and civilization, recording the clues of the rise and fall of human civilization in different historical stages. At the same time, the ancient city is also a must-see for tourism enthusiasts. They are like shining gems, attracting countless people to find out.

In the book, the author, Mr. Tang Keyang, draws a guidebook for visiting 12 famous ancient cities, accompanied by rich pictures of historical materials and vivid text interpretations, leading us to walk through the streets and alleys of the ruins of the ancient cities, following the footprints of time, caressing The rift between the present and the past.

"Jinghua Legacy"

Li Hong

The oriental novelty complex behind the Western prints

Behind the age-old paper prints are Chinese traditional culture, social system, customs, and dancing art, which were brought out of the country by foreigners hundreds of years ago.

The Western prints span about 300 years, and one page after another, these prints painted by foreigners depicting the oriental world are like opening an ancient website, allowing us to see what China is like in the eyes of Westerners. It also shows the changes of the imperial power.

Earth is a vast museum

British Classics Natural History

[English] Desmond Morris et al.

Super Interesting Animal Museum Witness Record

The history, culture, and power to change the world we don't know about animals. Use archaeology, zoology, biology, literature, art and mythology to outline the past and present of animals, and restore the vitality of nature.

This set of books is not only a natural history, but also a life story. Starting from the natural development history of tigers, eagles, bees and other animals, as well as the social and cultural history of the interaction with humans, it presents the magnificence of the animal world. What's even better is that there are more than 700 precious historical silhouettes in the book as illustrations, and the vitality of the natural world is vividly displayed on the paper.

"Haicuotu Notes"

(A set of 3 volumes in total)

by Zhang Chenliang

Popular Science Works of Zhang Chenliang, "Master of Natural Resources"

Interpretation of the biological code in the "Haicuotu" collected by the Palace Museum

Haicuo's "wrong" means a wide variety and miscellaneous meanings. The "Haicuotu" drawn by Nie Huang, a painter and biology enthusiast in the Qing Dynasty, depicts more than 300 kinds of organisms, covering almost most of the main groups of invertebrates and chordates, and also records many coastal plants. A wonderful book of natural history.

However, the time is limited, and there are many unreliable places in the book. Weibo’s million-dollar V, Zhang Chenliang, the “Master of Natural History”, analyzed and verified the creatures in “Haicuotu” from the perspective of today’s biology, found clues from the text and paintings, and identified the authenticity. After step-by-step reasoning and analysis, Identifying the real identity of the creature in the painting - it's like solving a crime, and it's very enjoyable.

"Meet the Mammoth"

[US] Ben Mozrich

Panoramic restoration of mammoth resurrection process

Gene editing technology opens a key turning point for human beings

If any museum has mammoth fossils, there must be an endless stream of visitors. The mammoth was an animal around 1.8 million BC, and its extinction is considered one of the signs of the end of the Ice Age.

A group of young scientists intend to revive it, by genetically sequencing mammoths obtained from the permafrost in the Arctic Circle, and inserting the gene clips of mammoths into the genome of modern elephants, bringing extinct life back to us.

"The Greatest Show On Earth"

[English] Richard Dawkins

Another classic masterpiece by the famous British biologist Dawkins

Richard Dawkins is believed to be familiar to everyone. He is the author of the classic book "The Selfish Gene", a leading scientist in the world, and a great evolutionary biologist. In this book, he presents evidence for the evolution of life across disciplines.

Dawkins uses a large number of interdisciplinary stories, as well as archaeology, physics, chemistry, embryology, and mathematical models, to prove to us that evolution is not only a theory, but an inevitable fact with amazing power. There are also hundreds of pictures in the book, showing the most amazing and beautiful details of the process of life.

"Plants Know the Mysteries of the Earth"

[British] David Beerling

A paper documentary about plants

Plants are witnesses of history and active participants in evolution. Step out of the museum window, and in this book, learn about the fascinating history of the discovery of plant fossils, and the hidden mysteries of our planet.

From the Cambrian to the Neogene, there have been five mass extinctions and two mass explosions. Plants are the silent recorders of the earth. They help us understand the history of the earth more deeply and predict the possible future changes of the earth.

A natural book for kids

"I Can Understand Series"

[English] Molly Oldfield by Mick Manning

43 museums, 39 art masters, understand the classics

This set of books was created by a BBC senior producer in 2 years, and has visited more than 60 famous museums and art galleries around the world. By telling the stories behind the precious collections, it will take children to experience important events in various fields in the development of human civilization, as well as those who are What is recorded in cultural relics - the beauty of art, the brilliance of human nature and precious historical moments, are presented to the children one by one.

"Museum in a Flashlight"

"32 National Treasures You Must Know"

Fox's

1 night fantasy journey, 10 shocking dynasties

32 treasures of the town hall, 8000 years of brilliant history

This is a set of museum-themed books specially created for children, one is the picture book "Museum in the Flashlight", and the other is the knowledge book "32 National Treasures You Must Know".

The picture book tells the fantasy story that happened at the museum night. In the magical beam of the flashlight, all the national treasures that had been silent during the day came to life, and transformed into magnificent and splendid historical scenes. More than 8,000 years of history, condensed in a thrilling night, can be called the Chinese version of "Wonderful Night at the Museum". The National Treasure Atlas selects 32 precious cultural relics, which reflect different aspects of history from different aspects.

"I'm going to the Forbidden City"

(10 volumes)

Editor-in-Chief, Department of Propaganda and Education, Palace Museum

Travel around the Forbidden City without leaving home and explore the 600-year-old mystery of the Forbidden City

This set of books is divided into three colors of red, yellow and blue covers to distinguish the three major functional areas of the Forbidden City: the red cover is to explain the outer court, introducing the place where court meetings and grand ceremonies are held; the purple cover is to explain the inner court, introducing the residence of the empress and concubines Places; yellow is also about the inner court, introducing the retirement places of the emperor and empress dowager and the special museum of the Forbidden City. Covering all areas of the Forbidden City (including unopened areas that cannot be visited), from the outside to the inside, systematically understand the palace architecture and culture of the Ming and Qing Dynasties.

"Natural History in the Forbidden City"

Xiao Hai Xia Xue

Interesting and Informative Mysterious Animal Illustrated Book

A set of natural history dedicated to children in the Forbidden City

This is a set of pillow books that even Emperor Qianlong couldn't put it down. During the Qianlong period of the Qing Dynasty, the animal illustrations "Beast Book", "Bird Book" and "Hai Cuo Tu" collected by the royal family are a set of masterpieces handed down on ancient Chinese animal species. They are really rare in the history of ancient Chinese culture and science and technology.

"Natural History in the Forbidden City" is based on this set of Qing Palace collections, selects 120 kinds of magical animals, and uses large paintings in the Forbidden City to tell eye-opening and unheard of animal legends.