National Museum of Natural Science

This gallery includes many exhibits which, together, demonstrate the extraordinary richness and diversity of Chinese spiritual life. As you move from one exhibit to another, you will undoubtedly confront concepts which seem contradictory to the Western mind. But remember that Chinese spiritual thought and practice have evolved over thousands of years, representing many different ethnic groups, and that these differences have been reconciled by the powerful impulse to find harmony and unity in all realms of experience.

This gallery is organized into three areas, roughly corresponding to the three spheres of the Chinese universe: the heavens or cosmos, the sphere of man, and, finally, the sphere of society and religious life.