[Bijie Travelogue] Check-in at Shexiang Museum

Address: Pedestrian Street, Chengbei Community, Shunde Street, Dafang County, Bijie City, Guizhou Province Transportation: 700 meters from Guizhou Xuanweifu, walkable Tour Experience: I first learned about Lady Shexiang from the song by Phoenix Legend. After a 9-day trip, having traveled through Wumeng Mountains, giving up on Xiangshuitan, staying at Baili Azalea, I arrived at the Shexiang Museum. This museum, themed on Lady Shexiang, an outstanding Yi female politician, is not just a building but a three-dimensional history book silently telling the wisdom and legends from six hundred years ago. The museum’s architecture features typical Chinese flying eaves and upturned corners, gray tiles, and blue bricks, perfectly complementing the large characters on the plaque that read "Shexiang Museum." Inside the courtyard stands a statue of Lady Shexiang. She wears a crown, her expression solemn, with a determined yet kind gaze. Lady Shexiang (circa 1361–1396), Yi name "Shezi," also known as "Pulou Sheheng," was the wife of Ai Cui, the Xuanweishi of Guizhou during the early Ming Dynasty. She was an outstanding female politician and Yi hero in Chinese history, honored as a "Heroine." One of the most touching exhibits inside is a large relief titled "Yi-Han Integration of Virtue." The figures in the scene are lively, some conversing, others discussing affairs, with mountains and clouds in the background, vividly recreating the historical scene of ethnic harmony. Lady Shexiang’s story of resolving crises with wisdom and promoting cultural exchange comes alive here. The bronze dragon-headed bow, lacquerware box decorated with ethnic patterns, and alloy-cast ancient bell all reflect the craftsmanship and cultural integration of the time. Especially the inscription on the ancient bell, written by a Han script expert, and the bell’s patterns combining Yi and Han elements, serve as tangible proof of "Yi-Han Integration of Virtue." The display boards "Nine Pulls and Nine Verticals Diagram" and "Guizhou Xuanweifu Government Structure" impress with the ancient local governance’s rigor and wisdom. From military, judicial to cultural and sacrificial functions, the division of duties was clear and the system complete, comparable to modern management systems. Lady Shexiang and her successors stabilized the region and promoted social development through such institutions. The museum also recreates a Ming Dynasty Yi household scene. A intricately carved wooden bed, a carved window, and a vase reveal a simple and elegant lifestyle in the details. In Guizhou, Lady Shexiang has become a cultural symbol representing wisdom, courage, inclusiveness, and pioneering spirit.