The Exhibit
The Exhibit
Mission of the Exhibition: This exhibition focuses on Genghis Khan as well as the history and culture of the Mongol people, from the reign of Genghis Khan to his grandson Khublai's creation of China's Yuan Dynasty. The history of the Mongol people and the culture of the steppes has a profound, if often overlooked, influence on the modern world, from science to culture to law.
Genghis Khan: The Exhibition is comprised of several connecting modules for venues of 6500 square feet to 15,000 square feet.The storyline follows the arc of Genghis Khan’s dramatic life—from illiterate, tormented child to the millenium’s greatest ruler, coupled with the rise of an unparalleled empire of freedom and innovation which he created. It is illustrated with media, interactives, atmospheric presentations, performances of art and artisanship, and not least, a unique collection of artifacts from the world he so quickly created and which so quickly dissolved with his death.
Attendees will come away with a new appreciation of a uniquely inspired reformer wrongly framed as a barbarian in Western culture. Through Genghis Khan’s life we see the formulation of his concepts and achievements in creating a nation, a language, a meritocracy, and a web of communication and artistic and religious freedom and safety. And we gain an appreciation of how this culture contrasted with the path of Western 13th century as the distinctive Mongolian horse-based culture, the world's last and one greatly in peril.
Entry Corridor.
Visitors enter a darkened and spot-lit corridor with the look of Mongolian landscape, people, and culture today. The entry is a theater where timed ticket access is provided at 5 minute intervals by an attendant in costume, to a 3-minute preliminary documentary with available footage on the life and influence of Genghis Khan.
Grasslands Environment.
Visitors here see the first of six 10 by 20- foot original murals (or printouts to size needed). Depicted are the rise of Genghis Khan’s own life and the nomadic life of the Mongolian steppes, with artifacts of daily life and shamanism practices from the 13th century. Included is the costume of a Shaman - healer, holy man and powerful political figure in traditional animistic religion that worships the God of the Eternal Blue Sky. We see a timeline of Genghis Khan's life compared to European events of the time, a large entry panel, a yurt with a Mongolian or docent explaining Mongolian life and implements. Surrounding panels on stands detail the process of erecting and dismantling a yurt. A loop showing yurt construction plays on a video screen.
Building an Army.
Enter into a ring of large screens, with breaks between and through which the remainder of the room and its contents are visible. Within the ring, the surrounding screens show the movement of a herd of horses in battle as if you are in the midst of it, subwoofers giving a thundering effect, and with sound effects of battle directionally aimed. There are approximately six cases with horse and war-related artifacts, and a background mural of a gathering army. A large entry sign describes Genghis’s unification of the tribes of Mongolia and the horse culture of Mongolia.
Moving West.
A mural of Genghis's attack strategies in his war against the Kwarazim Empire of Central Asia. In the center of the room is a large floor map projected from above showing the expanding movements of his armies and spread of his empire. Approximately 4 cases display implements from other cultures conquered by Genghis and war implements related to these battles. As in all exhibit spaces, there is a large entry sign.
Attacking Walled Cities.
Visitors enter a darkened room with the sounds of a siege, including battering and the whirring of catapulted stones. In front of a mural depicting a city under attack are a replica catapult and battering ram. A large video screen on the wall shows footage from recreations of city sieges in Genghis films. This room hold cases of battle-related implements.
Death of Genghis Khan.
This room spotlights The Secret History of the Mongols, the long-hidden biography of Genghis Khan. Genghis Khan died in the siege of the Xixia empire—here he is seen standing and vanishing in a ghostly image. On the opposing wall is large video representation of the Secret History biography. A narrative with slide images plays across the book image projection, telling a brief story of the Death of Genghis Khan, the search for his undiscovered tomb, and the book’s disappearance and discovery. There are large signs with images describing both the book and the death of Genghis.
Kharakhorum.
Genghis and his family were responsible for the revival of the Silk Road, bringing an influx of income, arts and supplies and a reduction of taxes to those within his Empire. Each of four alcoves shows a different setting, with workers of different nationalities appearing as either performers/volunteers in costume or in mannequin form—i.e. Chinese weapons maker, Arab astronomer, Italian merchants especially Marco Polo—who all contributed much to the culture exchange between East and West. Real artifacts are also present, one case in each alcove.
These corridor areas open up into:
Kharakhorum Market.
A large introductory sign stands before a mural of an open marketplace in a brightly lit atrium. The room has a painted backdrop depicting international trade. Performers and artisans, including dancers, leatherworkers, painters and musicians, can perform here regularly or explain their crafts within this space.
Kharakhorum Excavations.
A large explanatory sign greets visitors here, and they are introduced to new discoveries from ongoing digs at this 13th century world capital in the Mongolian desert. To one side of the room is a small restoration of a grid, which is divided for mapping excavations, and which is in front of a large photo mural of digs at a huge walled area of the city. There is also a free-form dig pit in this portion of the room, where children dig for mock fragments of walls and artifacts. Items retrieved from the excavation are displayed in approximately 4 cases, and a wall-mounted monitor shows 60-second narrated footage of the excavations.
In a spot-lit area of the room, with a sign on a protective half-wall warning of graphic imagery, is a new-found royal mummy in her coffin. A sign on the half wall describes the find and shows photos of the mummy excavation. Behind the body are cases for two silk and one leather robe found with the body. In another case are a variety of tomb materials found, including a hat and jewelry. Also detailed in this section of the exhibition is the rise of Buddhism under Genghis and his descendants, who adopted the religion as an organizing force throughout the Empire while tolerating all religious sects. A large Buddhist temple recently unearthed in Kharakhorum will be featured in the archaeological presentation.
Kublai Khan’s Xanadu.
A large entry sign greets visitors by the ornate entrance to a Palace of Chinese style, in an elegant red, gold and black gallery. A quote from the Coleridge poem is blown up large by one side of the entry, with an explanatory panel about Kublai Khan’s unification of China on the other side.
Inside are ornate gold and bronze statuary, silk clothing, pottery, etc., in individual cases. On facing walls are signs and human-sized blown-up images of Genghis Khan and Rabban Saud, and world travelers east and west at the time of Genghis’s grandson, Kublai.
Japan Invasion.
Visitors enter an area at the end of the palace corridor with a mural and a large panel detailing the failure of the largest armada of all time, launched by Kublai to conquer Japan. If available, new-found Japanese fragments of pottery and wood are displayed in a case in front of the mural. Large text and map panels on the wall leading to the next space describe the decline of the Mongol Empire and its causes.
The Legacy of Genghis Khan.
Cases containing period artifacts and a modern corollary item show the influence of Genghis on everyday life—i.e. illustration of Mongolian raw horsemeat contrasted with the modern hamburger today, Mongolian pony express with express letter, golden Mongolian pass with modern passport and visa, Mongolian pants with modern pants. On one wall is a video of descent from Genghi Khan to today, with accompanying short video on his genetic contribution, found in up to 8% of Asians and 1.5% of Caucasians. Visitors also see a large wall display of items of cultural kitsch that are Genghis inspired—Genghis cigarettes, vodka, money, movies including video clip of John Wayne as Genghis. Other walls have large signage detailing his influence upon war strategy, the defining of national boundaries, and four other principal areas of influence, with illustrative photos as well.
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Seven English-proficient Mongolian performers, artists and artisans in the exhibit at all times.
Entrance: Sequence of giant format images of Mongolian lands and lifestyle.
Saga of Khan: Multi-screen film presentation (5-minute introductory piece) that highlights the achievements and the extraordinary adventures of the most important of all rulers.
Giant Khan: 15-foot-long equestrian statue of Genghis Khan.
Treasures of the Conqueror: Gold, jewelry, religious artifacts, rich robes and armor. More than 150 13th-century artifacts in stunning display cases: a large proportion of the world’s known artifacts from the time and realm of Genghis Khan.
Immersive Environments: Recreations, with giant murals, Mongolian original woodwork and décor of grasslands, battle, city and palace environments with audio and video enhancements.
Videos: A half-dozen videos adapted from Discovery Channel and BBC videos devoted to siege technology, horsecraft, weaponry, Marco Polo, yurt construction, and Mongolian countryside, in addition to an introductory film on the life of Genghis Khan.
Theater: Flexible seating space to accommodate live shows of Mongolian acrobats, singers, musicians and dancers performing within the exhibit.
Interactives: Weapons of war: catapult and bow and arrow interactives; children’s yurt, yurt construction, children's excavation dig pit.
Role playing: Innovative video kiosks at six stations respond to visitor input and trace each visitor’s adventures as one of 6 different characters in Khan’s world.
The Lost Cities and Hidden Tomb: Kharakhorum, the Khan's capitol and an international trading city is recreated. Visitors are engaged through digs of their own. The results of ongoing excavations at Kharakhorum and Xanadu, summer palace of Genghis’ grandson Kublai, and its treasures are revealed. And the saga and the technologies behind the search for Genghis Khan's still hidden tomb are revealed.
Merchandising: Replica artifacts, catalogues, and CDs will command prime pre- and post-exhibit space.
(back to top)As highlighted in a three-minute wide-screen exhibit film and light show, Genghis Khan’s life was an astounding triumph of will and innovation.
The greatest conqueror in history began his life as Temujin, the 13th Century son of a Mongolian grasslands tribal chieftain. His father was poisoned when Temujin was 13, and his betrothed kidnapped. Betrayed by his brother, sheltered by friends, he survived an extended manhunt by rival tribes and united other tribes in more than a decade of battling with rival clans in Mongolia.
A lifetime of conquest followed, with an empire under his descendants that extended from the Pacific to Central Europe – more land than any empire has conquered before or since – and a conquest marked by frightening brutality and brilliant generalship. Genghis Khan brought a revolution in battle technology from siege weaponry to guerilla tactics to germ and psychological warfare.
But Genghis Khan is just as notable for his introduction of religious tolerance and stable government, and his encouragement of the arts to a formerly primitive and disorganized realm. He created a flourishing and secure international community with written language, currency and printing presses hundreds of years ahead of European civilization.
(back to top)Genghis Khan died in middle age while completing his most thorough conquest of his greatest rivals, the Xixia culture of central Asia. His remains, and purportedly even more of his treasures, were taken 200 miles by his most loyal troops (a clan that exists and guards his shrine to this day) killing every living thing en route to prevent any communication of his death or burial spot. Horses trampled over his grave to further shield it from discovery.
Seven hundred years later the exact location and contents of his tomb are still unknown, despite Japanese and American expeditions and considerable scholarly inquiry into this enduring puzzle. The methods used and those to be employed in the near future are highlighted in video.
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