The Shanxi Province Musem, located inside the Confucian Temple of Taiyuan City, is a local comprehensive museum of China. It was prepared in 1918 and opened to the public in 1919. Its initial name was the Educational Book Museum of Shanxi Province. Then it was changed successively into the People's Education Hall of Shanxi Province in 1933, the Book Museum of Shanxi Province in 1949, and was finalized as the Shanxi Provincial Museum when combined with the Relics Hall of Taiyuan City in 1953.

The Museum has collected 100,000 items of historical relics, revolutionary relics and natural samples, of which 443 items are Class One collection, including the well-known HoumaMengshu(armistice) of the Eastern Zhou Dynasty (770-256BC). The HoumaMengshuis mainly a record of how the aristocrat Zhao Meng of the Jin State made use of the alliance pledge to bring the defeated adherents under control so as to consolidate his own ruling position after conquering his political opponents. TheMengshuis of great value to the study of the political struggles and the system of alliance formation at the later period of the Spring and Autumn Period (770-476BC) and the Warring States Period (475-221BC). ThePinhu(a kind of standard measure) invented in the first year of Tianfeng at Xinmang (14AD) was the onlyMangliang(another kind of standard measure) besides theJialiang(also a kind of standard measure). The capacity ofMangliangis 19,300 ml, only 797.5 ml less than that ofJialiang. Other important collections are the bronzeGong(an ancient bronze wine vessel in the shape of an animal horn) with the pattern of dragon from the Shang Dynasty (c.1600-c.1100BC), theZun(a kind of wine vessel used in ancient times), theKaibaozang(Buddhist Scripture) and theDazangjing(Buddhist Scripture) of the Northern Song Dynasty (960-1127), the documents of the Song Dynasty (960-1279) fighting against the Jin Dynasty, Wang Yuantoa's painting of Bamboo and Golden Pheasant from the Yuan Dynasty (1271-1368) and the land-and-water paintings from the Ming Dynasty (1368-1391).

The basic exhibition is arrayed in the east wing, west wing and the main hall of the Confucian Temple. On display in the total space of 2,000 square meters are 1,000 relics, showing the ancient history, the modern history and the revolutionary history of Shanxi.

The display of the ancient history is divided into three parts, namely, the primitive society, the slave society and the feudal society, systematically reflecting the general survey of the political, economical and cultural development of Shanxi through the ages. On display are the culture of the Paleolithic Period found at Dingcun of Xiangfeng, theMengshu(armistice) of the Eastern Zhou Dynasty (770-256BC) unearthed at Houma, the bronze, the coins used in the Western Jin Dynasty (265-316), the Eastern Jin Dynasty (317-420) and the Later Jin Dynasty (936-946), the lacquer painting and the pottery figurines from the Northern Wei (386-534), and the warrior figures and the blue glazed pot from the Northern Qi (550-577).

The exhibition of the modern history mainly reflects the anti-imperialist and anti-feudal revolutionary struggles of the people in Shanxi. On display are the activities of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom (the largest peasant uprising in China from 1851-1864) in Shanxi during its north expedition and the activities ofYihetuan(an anti-imperialism organization formed by peasants and handicraftsmen in North China at the end of the 19^thcentury) in Shanxi, the campaign fighting for mines waged by the people in Shanxi, the Jiaowen Massacre and the Shanxi Uprising in the 1911 Revolution (a Chinese bourgeois democratic revolution led by Dr. Sun Yat-sen which overthrew the Qing Dynasty).

The exhibition of the Revolutionary History of Shanxi is divided into three periods, namely, the First and Second Civil Revolutionary Wars, the Anti-Japanese War and the Liberation War. The main content of the exhibition includes how Gao Junyu, one of the well-known politician of the CPC of the earlier period, established the organization of the CPC and the League in Shanxi and promoted the cooperation between the CPC and the KMT in Shanxi under the instruction of Li Dazhao; how the older generation of the proletarian revolutionaries of the Central Committee of the CPC founded the three revolutionary bases of Jin-Cha-Ji, Jin-Ji-Lu and Jin-Sui in Shanxi and won the victory of several important battles, such as the first battle at Pingxingguan, the besiegement from nine sides, a battle of one hundred regiments, and the battle at Qinyuan; how the CPC founded the anti-Japanese organizations ofXimenghuiand the Life-and-Death Teams in Shanxi and carried out armed revolutionary struggles; and how the people of Shanxi smashed thoroughly the reactionary rule of Yan Xishan under the leadership of the CPC. The main rare relics on display are the declaration and leaflets of the people of Shanxi expressing their support to the May 4^thMovement and May 30^thMovement, an organ presented to Baishi Elementary School at Hongdong by the Red Army during the East Expedition, the elm gun, stretcher and scaling ladder made by the militia themselves, the silk banner won collectively by the army for their participation in the Taiyuan Battle, and the stories of revolutionary struggles of the revolutionary martyrs Liu Hulan and Yin Lingzhi and the historical relics left over by them.

The Museum also has a special exhibition of historical relics at the Chunyang Palace at the northwestern corner of the May 1^stSquare in the city. The Chunyang Palace, commonly known as Luzu Temple, is a Taoist temple for enshrining and worshipping Lu Dongbing, a Taoist priest of the Tang Dynasty (618-907). People only know it was reconstructed during 1573-1620 in the Ming Dynasty but nobody knows when it was initially built. The exhibition in the Chunyang Palace falls into ten categories, namely, ceramics, bronze, coins, colored glaze, sculptures, painting and calligraphy, embroidery, enamel, rubbing from stone inscription, and lacquerware, totaling over 800 items arrayed in the 21 rooms for display. Also held in the Palace are exhibitions on special topics related to history, archeology, historical and cultural relics and natural samples.

The Museum has published several large-sized pictorials such as the Pictorial Catalog of Relics from Zhang Xiaosu's Tomb of Northern Qi (550-577) at Kuangpo in Taiyuan, the Stone Carving Artworks of Shanxi, the Calligraphy of Fu Shan, the Water-and-Land Paintings of You Yu and the Unearthed Relics of Shanxi.