Cultural village built in Wuxi

The Chinese Zodiac Museum is inaugurated in Mei village of Wuxi, Jiangsu province on Oct 13. [Photo/thmz.com]

This marks the beginning of a journey to trace the origins of Ji family from Mei village to Qishan county in northwest China's Shaanxi province.

The museum houses more than 130 sets of Chinese zodiac with different art forms, including paper cuttings, Chinese paintings and sculptures. The collections are displayed on the first, second and third floors of the ancestral temple of the Ji family, affectionately regarded as the most virtuous family in China.

The collections come from 27 Chinese provinces and 16 countries in the world, most of which are national and provincial intangible cultural heritages, representing the rich cultural meaning of the Chinese zodiac.

The Cultural Park of Ji Family is nestled in the Zhaode Hall (meaning "virtues" in English) located on the first floor of the ancestral temple.

The story is told of Ji Taibo, the first monarch of Wu state (1285-1194 BC), who abandoned his inheritance as heir to the throne of Zhou state for his younger brother Jili to take the reins of power. Ji was praised as the most virtuous man by Confucius (551-479 BC), the great Chinese philosopher of the Spring and Autumn period.

The surname Ji thus became the most virtuous name in China, and that explains why the Ji family's ancestral temple is known as the ancestral temple of the most virtuous family.

Relying on the Ji family's virtuous culture, Mei village will actively carry forward traditional Chinese surname culture.

Launched by a local tourism company, the journey of tracing the origins of the Ji family passes through numerous cultural attractions in Shaanxi, such as the Famen Temple (ninth wonder of the world), terra-cotta warriors, Xi'an city wall, and the Bell Tower and Drum Tower in Xi'an.

The trip is expected to promote cultural exchanges and economic cooperation between Jiangsu and Shaanxi. According to the organizers, it will stimulate the development of Shaanxi's traditional agricultural industry and modern service industry to help Shaanxi achieve further advancement.