National Palace Museum, Taiwan

The National Palace Museum, located in Taipei and Taibao, Chiayi County, Taiwan, has a permanent collection of nearly 700,000 pieces of ancient Chinese imperial artifacts and artworks, making it one of the largest of its type in the world. The collection encompasses 8,000 years of history of Chinese art from the Neolithic age to the modern. Most of the collection are high quality pieces collected by China’s emperors. The National Palace Museum shares its roots with the Palace Museum in the Forbidden City, whose extensive collection of artwork and artifacts were built upon the imperial collections of the Ming and Qing dynasties.

History
The history between the Kuomintang and the communist party contributed to the relocation of National Palace Museum (NPM) artifacts to Taiwan and the artifacts subsequently becoming a crucial part of Taiwan’s culture. A review of the NPM’s history shows that it has inherited China’s national culture spanning thousands of years and shoulders the responsibility of preserving and publicizing artifacts. Most of the artifacts from the NPM’s collection came from The Palace Museum the preparatory department of the Nanjing Museum (previously the “National Central Museum”). Of the said artifacts, the majority was previously owned by the Jehol and Shenyang temporary palaces. This signifies that the NPM’s current artifact collection contains Qing court artifacts from The Palace Museum, the Jehol temporary palace, and the Shenyang temporary palace.

Birth of the National Palace Museum: The Hosting of a National Day Ceremony to Celebrate the Founding of the National Palace Museum
The NPM’s artifact collection comprised that inherited from the Song, Yuan, Ming, and Qing courts. The development of the NPM was closely tied with modern Chinese history: in late Oct. 1924, General Feng Yuxiang (1882–1948) launched the Beijing coup. On Nov. 4, regent Prime Minister Huang Fu passed the “Revision to the Conditions of Special Treatment of the Qing Royal Family” in a cabinet meeting, requesting that Emperor Puyi (1906–1967) eternally abolish the appellation of an emperor and that the Qing royal family leave the palace in one day. On the next day, Commissioner of Police Zhangbi and National Representative Li Yuying (1881–1973), accompanied by Gyeonggi Guard Commander Lu Zhonglin (1884–1966), visited the emperor’s bedroom at the back of the Forbidden City and urged that the emperor abolish his appellation, surrender the official seal of the realm, and leave his palace. On Nov. 6, the Council of State established the Committee for the Disposition of the Qing Imperial Possessions, appointing Li Yuying as the chairman to check all Qing court artifacts with the assistance from Qing court-related professionals. To satisfy the public’s wish to witness the magnificence of the NPM, the Committee for the Disposition of the Qing Imperial Possessions announced the “Provisional Guidelines for Visiting the National Palace Museum” on Apr. 12, 1925, opening the Imperial Garden, the Palace of Earthly Tranquility, the Hall of Union, the Palace of Heavenly Purity, the Palace of Great Virtue, the Palace of Brightness and Benevolence, the South Study Room, and the Upper Study Room (now the Central Road of the Shenyang Palace Museum) to the public to visit between the hours of 1:00 p.m. and 6:00 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday. On Sept. 29, the Committee for the Disposition of the Qing Imperial Possessions reached the resolution to emulate French and German royal museums by founding the NPM. The opening ceremony was held in the afternoon of Oct. 10, the National Day of the Republic of China. On Oct. 10, 1925, the NPM was officially founded. Five visiting routes were opened to the public. Initial construction of the NPM was challenged by constant political instability and changes. Fortunately, culturalists such as Zhuang Yunkuan (1866–1932), Jiang Han (1857–1935), and Chen Yuan (1880–1971) organized a vigilance committee to mediate between various warlords to prevent the Beiyang Army from interfering the museum’s operations, enabling the NPM to undergo subsequent developments. In June 1928, the Nationalist government successfully completed the Northern Expedition and gained management control of the NPM. The NPM subsequently announced the National Palace Museum Organization Act, stipulating that the NPM be a subsidiary of the Nationalist government. Yi Peiji (1880-1937) was appointed the director of the NPM. During Director Yi’s time in office, he effectively developed the NPM in the areas of organizational structure, artifact conservation, artifact organization, building renovation, exhibition display, and publication, leading to the Golden Age of NPM operation.

Relocation of the National Palace Museum: Protecting and Spreading National Treasures
In 1931, the Japanese Kwantung Army launched the Mukden Incident; the said army successfully invaded northeastern China, posing serious threat to the Pingjin region. The NPM took serious precautions by carefully selecting a collection of the most precious artifacts and placing them in various containers to prepare for possible artifact relocation. In early 1933, the Japanese army advanced towards Yuguan and seriously threatened the city of Beiping. The NPM Council thus held an emergency meeting and subsequently decided to move the artifacts southward to Hushang (modern-day Shanghai). On Feb. 6, NPM artifacts, packed in 13,427 containers and 64 packages, were divided into five batches and shipped to Hushang as scheduled. All of the artifacts arrived the destination on May 23. During the artifact relocation process, artifacts from other organizations such as the Institute for Exhibiting Antiquities, the Academia Sinica, the Summer Palace, the Ministry of the Interior, the Guozijian, and the Temple of Agriculture, which totaled 6,194 containers and eight packages, were shipped together with NPM’s artifacts. In Feb. 1934, the Nationalist government announced the “Interim National Beiping Palace Museum Organization Regulations,” designating NPM and the NPM Council as subsidiaries of the Executive Yuan. In May of the same year, Ma Heng (1881–1955) was appointed the director of the NPM, who subsequently began checking and conserving NPM artifacts. In 1935, the NPM received an invitation from the International Exhibition of Chinese Art held in London, U.K., which the NPM accepted to showcase its treasured artifacts; the event garnered enthusiastic responses. In Dec. 1936, the Chaotian Palace and the NPM Branch library were built; artifacts were thus moved from Shanghai back to Nanjing and stored at the palace.

In 1937, the Marco Polo Bridge Incident took place, forcing the NPM to once again relocate its artifacts in three batches to three separate locations away from the battle areas; the first batch (shipped via a southern route) consisted of 80 containers of artifacts that passed through the regions of Hankou, Wuchang, Changsha, Guilin, Guiyang, and Baxian (Sichuan); the second batch (shipped via a central route) included 9,331 containers of artifacts that travelled through the regions of Hankou, Yichang, Chongqing, Yibin and Leshan; the third batch (shipped via a northern rote) comprised 7,287 containers of artifacts that journeyed over Xuzhou, gueZhengzhou, Xi’an, Baoji, Hanzhong, Chengdu, and Emei. During the Second Sino-Japanese War, the NPM vigorously protected its artifacts while participating in a number of domestic and international exhibitions. In early 1940, the NPM selected a hundred artifacts from the “first batch” (those that were shipped via the southern route; the artifacts comprised paintings, silk tapestries, jades, and bronzes) to participate in the Chinese Art Exhibition held in Moscow and Leningrad, USSR. In late 1942, the NPM participated in the 3rd National Art Exhibition held at the Chongqing Branch of the National Central Library. To encourage public morale during the war, NPM Director Ma Heng hosted the National Beiping Palace Museum Painting Exhibition at the Chongqing Branch of the National Central Library and the Guizhou Provincial Museum of Art from Dec. 1943 to Apr. 1944, displaying painting and calligraphy masterpieces selected from the first batch.

After winning the war, the NPM artifacts previously relocated to the west were shipped back in the following order: first batch, third batch, and second batch. The three batches were gathered first in Chongqing before they were returned back to Beijing by means of sea transport. The artifacts were returned back in full in by yearend 1947. To thank the people for their kind assistance in conserving the cultural artifacts during this period, the NPM hosted an exhibition at the Chung Cheng Park Civil Education Museum in Chengdu in yearend 1946, displaying ancient painting and calligraphy masterpieces housed in the Leshan Office; the exhibition was referred to as “one of the major events in Taiwan’s cultural history after the Second Sino-Japanese War.”

Similarly, the Preparatory Department of the National Central Museum (hereafter referred to as the “Preparatory Department”) was also relocated to Basu (more commonly known as Sichuan) to avoid the Japanese attack during the Second Sino-Japanese War. Concerning the National Central Museum, it was founded by the Ministry of Education in Nanjing in 1933 upon the approval of the Executive Yuan. Fu Sinian (1896-1950), director of the Institute of History and Philology, Academia Sinica, was appointed the head of the Preparatory Department. The Preparatory Department’s artifact collection primarily comprised artifacts allocated to the Institute for Exhibiting Antiquities (of the Ministry of the Interior) following the resolution made by the Central Political Council during its 377th meeting. In yearend 1937, the Preparatory Department was ordered to relocate westward together with the NPM’s “second batch” of artifacts (i.e., those that were shipped via a central route), in which the Preparatory Department first arrived Hankou by means of sea transport; the said department was once again relocated during the following year and a new office was set in the new city. Concurrently, the Preparatory Department borrowed land from the Chongqing University to build a temporary warehouse with the Academia Sinica in Shapingba. In May 1939, the Preparatory Department received an approval to relocate its office to Kunming; thus, it accompanied the NPM’s second batch of artifacts to Leshan, Sichuan. In the summer of 1940, the Preparatory Department received an order to move farther away from the battle zones, in which it relocated once again to Lizhuang, Nanxi, Sichuan together with the Institute of History and Philology and the Academia Sinica.

When Japan announced its unconditional surrender in Aug. 1945, the Preparatory Department immediately prepared its demobilization. Operations to ship artifacts stored in Lizhuang and Leshan subsequently began; they were completed in Dec. 1947. In May 1948, the Preparatory Department hosted a grand joint exhibition with the NPM to celebrate the completion of the Humanities Building.

Arrival of the National Palace Museum: Treasures Shipped to Taiwan, Museums Built and Renovated
In fall 1948, the Communist Party of China began gaining an upper hand in the Chinese Communist Revolution. On Nov. 10, 1948, NPM’s Executive Director Chu Chia-hua (1893–1963), Wang Shi-jie (1891–1981), Fu Sinian, Xu Hong-bao (1881–1971), Li Ji (1896–1979), and Hang Li-wu (1903–1991) gathered at the home of Director Weng Wen-hao (1889–1971), advocating that artifact masterpieces be shipped to Taiwan. Executive Director Chu also suggested that rare books in the collection of the National Central Library be transported to Taiwan, whereas Fu Sinian proposed that archaeological artifacts in the collection of the Institute of History and Philology, Academia Sinica be sent to Taiwan. In early Dec. 1948, the National Central Museum Council passed a meeting, stipulating that the most precious artifact be transported to Taiwan and the remaining artifacts be shipped to Taiwan whenever possible. On Dec. 21, 1948, the NPM and Preparatory Department artifacts, stored in 320 and 212 containers, respectively, were transported to Keelung via a naval ship. Other cargos found on the naval ships included artifacts, books, and treaties (packed in 240 containers) of the Institute of History and Philology, Academia Sinica, the National Central Library, and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. On Jan. 6, 1949, the second group or artifacts, which included NPM artifacts (1,680 containers), Preparatory Department artifacts (486 containers), and artifacts, books, and maps of the Institute of History and Philology, Academia Sinica, the National Central Library, and the Beiping Library (1,336 containers), were sent by a merchant ship. On Jan. 30, 1949, the third group of artifacts, which contained NPM artifacts (972 containers), Preparatory Department artifacts (154 containers), and National Central Library artifacts (122 containers), were shipped by a naval ship.

After the containers arrived Taiwan, all the artifacts, except for those from the Institute of History and Philology, Academia Sinica, were stored at the warehouse of the Taichung Sugar Factory, the Taiwan Sugar Corporation; artifacts of the Institute of History and Philology, Academia Sinica were kept in Yangmei. In Aug. 1949, the Executive Yuan temporarily combined the NPM, the Preparatory Department, and the National Central Library into one unit in response to the war environment at the time; the unit was named the National Central Museum Library Joint Management Office (hereafter referred to as the “Joint Management Office”), which was supervised by the Ministry of Education. In Apr. 1950, the artifact storehouse designed by the Joint Management Office in Beigou, Wufeng, Taichung was completed, and all of the artifacts transported to Taiwan were moved to the said location. In May 1950, the Executive Yuan reorganized the NPM and the Preparatory Department Council to form a Mutual Council; the said council was responsible for managing the two units. In Mar. 1953, the Joint Management Office constructed a small cave in a mountain near the Beigou Storehouse so that the most precious artifacts could be immediately stored at times of an emergency. In Sept. 1954, the inspection and inventorization of all the artifacts sent to Taiwan were completed. Although the artifacts were delivered at a time of war and via various means of transport (i.e., by sea and on land), they sustained only minimal damages. In Dec. 1956, the Beigou Gallery was completed and opened for visit in Mar. 1957. Concurrently, the Joint Management Office began issuing various publications including general and picture catalogues, which remain important reference materials in the study of Chinese art history today.

In May 1961, the Joint Management Office was invited to the Chinese Art Treasures exhibition held in the United States. The Joint Management Office accepted the said invitation and held the exhibition for more than a year, winning the acclaim and admiration of the American public. Realizing that the location of Beigou was too isolated to draw domestic and foreign visitors, the Taiwanese government soon decided to build a new museum at Waishuanghsi, a suburb in Taipei. In Aug. 1965, construction of the NPM building was completed; the Executive Yuan began moving Preparatory Department artifacts into the NPM and announced the “Provisional Organization Regulations of the National Palace Museum Management Committee,” designating the management committee as a subsidiary of the Executive Yuan. Wang Yun-wu (1888–1979) was appointed as the chairman of the first management committee, whereas Jiang Fucong (1898–1990) was appointed as the NPM director. On Nov. 12, 1965, the new NPM in Taipei opened internally, in which 1,573 artifacts including calligraphy, famous paintings, bronzes, tapestries, porcelains, jades, curios, rare books, and historical documents were exhibited in six separate galleries and eight different art galleries. On Nov. 13, 1965, the NPM was officially opened to the public.

Developments of the National Palace Museum: Securing Cultural Foundation and Engaging in Comprehensive Developments
When the Joint Management Office was located in Taichung, the NPM and the Preparatory Department engaged, for the most part, only in cataloguing and conserving artifacts due to limited buildings, personnel, and funding as well as poor museum business. The completion of the new NPM building in Waishuanghsi, Taipei and the merger of the NPM and the Preparatory Department facilitated the expansion of museum buildings and increased funding for personnel expenses, enabling the NPM the organize and curate exhibitions. The NPM thus gradually improved and developed.

Under Director Jiang Fucong’s guidance, the NPM engaged in the following activities in an attempt to become a more complete museum: (1) underwent repeated building and staff expansions to increase exhibition areas and strengthen organizational structure; (2) accepted lent or donated artifacts from domestic and foreign collectors including antiquities, paintings and calligraphy, and rare books to make the NPM collection more complete; (3) catalogued artifacts into different categories and numbered them using a unified system to facilitate artifact collection management and artifact display; (4) renovated artifact storage space to engender favorable storage environment; (5) conducted research and research-related verifications before hosting systematic, regular themed exhibitions; (6) provided tour-based professional training to museum personnel to ensure that they fully understood the origin, history, and related anecdotes of various artifacts in order to facilitate the spread of cultural art; (7) arranged free visits for elementary and junior high school students to allow cultural art-oriented knowledge to grow in the students’ mind; (8) planned and curated refined artifact traveling exhibitions around Taiwan to fulfill the duties of museums in providing social education; (9) sent museum personnel abroad for advanced studies to develop professional museum workers; (10) worked with universities to perform systematic appraisals of NPM artifacts using scientific methods; (11) promoted international museum and academic exchanges and pushed museum personnel to organize their research results; and (12) published various periodicals and catalogues to facilitate the spread of artifact information. In summary, the NPM engaged in expansion and development efforts in a variety of areas, which enabled it to evolve into a modern museum.

In early 1983, Qin Xiao-yi (1921–2007) was appointed as the director of the NPM. To enable the NPM to develop and expand, the NPM engaged the following endeavors: (1) changed from a provisional institution to a subsidiary of the Executive Yuan to create an organizational system that better met its development needs; (2) upgraded hardware systems to create exhibition and display space featuring constant temperature and humidity; (3) updated scientific equipment to produce the most advanced equipment for preserving historical artifacts; (4) compiled annual budgets for artifact purchases and collected artifacts from various sectors to allow the NPM to possess other artifacts in addition to those passed down from the imperial courts; (5) promoted professional research and examined artifact origins to strengthen cultural art research; (6) realized the museum’s function as a social education center by holding regular artifact-learning seminars and considering the needs of young children as well as low to mid-level elementary school students; (7) recruited domestic and foreign volunteers and provided training to the volunteers in the area of artifact touring-related professional services; (8) built and renovated gardens to accord with the concept of traditional gardens to provide the public with the high-quality location for leisure activities; (9) engaged in the second artifact inventorization after NPM’s relocation to Taiwan to ensure and display the integrity of NPM’s artifact collection; (10) underwent the fourth museum expansion, allowing the NPM Library Building to become both a research center and a diversified exhibition gallery; (11) vigorously engaged in international art exchanges to overcome obstacles in international cultural cooperation after Taiwan’s departure from the United Nations (e.g., the NPM curated exhibitions in France and the United States, setting great examples for international loan exhibitions to follow); (12) cohosted exhibitions with private Taiwanese artifact collectors to encourage the public to collect ancient art; (13) imported unearthed artifacts from China as well as those from the West to expand the horizons of Taiwanese people; (14) held out-of-NPM artifact exhibitions to provide people living in remote areas an opportunity to see NPM artifacts; and (15) employed digital technologies, developed artifact collection management systems, and issued e-multimedia publications to disseminate artifact and exhibition information through the Internet.

Prospects of the National Palace Museum: Development Plans for the Twenty-First Century
Under the guidance of NPM Directors Tu Cheng-sheng (1944–), Shih Shou-chien (1951–), and Lin Mun-lee from May 2000 to 2008, the NPM made further progress, which is listed as follows: (1) raised local consciousness, in which exhibitions were introduced to the public through various education and public outreach activities; (2) made improvements in NPM Main Building public space, exhibition flow, and surrounding environments as well as completed NPM Main Building seismic resistance and reinforcement projects; (3) selected artifact masterpieces to be used in loan exhibitions held in Germany and Austria to promote NPM artifacts and art; (4) planned the building of the NPM Southern Branch to facilitate a balance in cultural artifacts in Northern and Southern Taiwan; (5) began collecting other artifacts and working with foreign research institutions to promote cultural studies of various Asian countries, forming the foundation of artifact collection and display for the NPM Southern Branch; (6) engaged in NPM artifact image brand licensing-related operations to encourage the domestic and foreign design industries to combine traditional art elements to NPM artifacts to create cultural and creative merchandise; and (7) helped promote cultural creativity-related developments to give artifacts fashionable looks and new cultural values.

From May 2008 to May 2016, NPM Directors Chou Kung-shin (1947–) and Fung Ming-chu (1950–) guided the NPM in making the following achievements: (1) underwent organizational transformation to perfect its management structure; (2) underwent the third artifact inventorization after NPM’s relocation to Taiwan to ensure the integrity of NPM’s artifact collection; (3) strengthened the interactions and exchanges between museums across the straits, facilitating cooperative exhibitions and publications; (4) organized a series of development and training-oriented study camps to expand Taiwan’s cultural and creative industry; (5) designed educational and art activities for visitors of all groups and ages; (6) planned the Grand National Palace Museum Expansion Project, extended museum opening hours, and improved visitor reception area; (7) utilized digital archiving technologies to enhance artifact display; (8) hosted travelling exhibitions in Japan to encourage cultural exchanges; and (9) opened the NPM Southern Branch and curated 10 opening exhibitions.

Transformation: From Local to International
The National Palace Museum (NPM) houses a magnificent collection of precious Chinese artifacts and serves the role of protecting human and art histories. In May 2016, Lin Jeng-yi (1959–) was appointed the director of the NPM. Upon assuming office, Director Lin put forward the vision of “transforming local industries to international industries,” emphasizing the diversity, professionalism, and internationality of the NPM as well as making it young, public-oriented, and localization-centric. Numerous diversified activities were subsequently held, connecting the NPM and the public together. In 2016, the NPM turned 91 years old and was recognized as one of the world’s major museums. In July 2018, Chen Chi-nan (1947–) was appointed the director of the NPM. Director Chen proposed a number of administrative priorities including improving and strengthening the NPM Northern Branch facilities, formulating preliminary improvement plans for the NPM Southern Branch landscapes and transportation, devising plans for the NPM Southern Branch pertaining to its future exhibition themes and space allocation, curating NPM exhibitions, and engaging in international collaboration with foreign museums to host international exhibitions. By elevating the software and hardware quality of the NPM, the NPM hopes to win the love and recognition of the Taiwanese public, enrich Taiwan’s social and cultural foundations, and attract more visitors. In Feb. 2019, Wu Mi-cha was appointed the director of the NPM. Upon taking office, Director Wu put forward the concept of “visitor-oriented principles” to elevate the NPM’s overall service quality, and promoted the New NPM Project to strengthen the professionalism and scope of the NPM as an international museum.

Museum building

Northern Branch
The National Palace Museum’s main building in Taipei was designed by Huang Baoyu and constructed from March 1964 to August 1965. Due to the insufficient space to put on display over 600,000 artifacts, the museum underwent expansions in 1967, 1970, 1984 and 1996. In 2002, the museum underwent a major NT$21 million renovation revamping the museum to make it more spacious and modern. The renovation closed about two-thirds of the museum section and the museum officially reopened in February 2007.

Permanent exhibitions of painting and calligraphy are rotated once every three months. Approximately 3,000 pieces of the museum’s collection can be viewed at a given time. Although brief, these exhibitions are extremely popular. In 2014, the museum organized the top three best-attended exhibitions worldwide, including paintings and calligraphic works by Tang Yin, as well as depictions of the Qing dynasty’s Qianlong Emperor reinterpreted by contemporary artists.

Southern Branch
The Southern Branch of the National Palace Museum is located in Taibao, Chiayi County, Taiwan and set on 70 hectares (700,000 m2) of land. There is also a lake and Asian style garden on the grounds. Planning for the southern branch began in 2000. The building was to be designed by architect Antoine Predock and began construction in 2005. However, due to serious construction delays and disputes between the contractors and the museum, the firm pulled out in 2008. Museum director Chou Kung-shin stated in August 2010 that new architects Kris Yao for the project would commence, with construction expected to be completed in 2015. The project cost NT$7.9 billion (US$268 million) and spread over 70 hectares (700,000 m2). The museum itself, 9,000 square meters in total, was designed by the Taiwan-based firm Artech Inc. and is both earthquake resistant and flood resistant.

Collection
The collection of the National Palace Museum mainly deals with art and artifacts of Chinese heritage. Many of the works in the collection are masterpieces, leading the Museum to become widely known as a treasure trove of Chinese culture.

After their arrival in Taiwan, the collections of the Palace Museum and Preparatory Office of the National Central Museum were temporarily stored at Peikou (in Wufeng, Taichung). In 1965, the two museums joined in Waishuangxi, Taipei, to form the museum now known as the National Palace Museum. The holdings from the Palace Museum included 46,100 antiquities, 5,526 paintings and calligraphies, and 545,797 rare books and documents. The collection from the National Central Museum included 11,047 antiquities, 477 painting and calligraphies, and 38 rare books and documents. In sum, the combined collection consisted of 608,985 cultural relics.

The current collection of the National Palace Museum features not only the objects brought to Taiwan from the two institutions mentioned above, but also acquisitions made after the Museum’s official inauguration in Taiwan. These new additions include transfers from other institutions, donations made to the Museum, and purchases made by the Museum, of which the latter two are the most significant.

The Palace Museum in Beijing and the Preparatory Office of the National Central Museum had begun expanding their collections long before their collections were moved to Taiwan. In 1934, the Palace Museum purchased a weight and measure (excavated in Chengouyi in Dingxi County, Gansu) dating from the Wang Mang Interregnum. After the defeat of Japan, the Museum accepted the donations of ceramics from the family of Mr. Guo Baochang and Shang and Zhou bronzes from the German connoisseur, Mr. Werner Jannings. The Preparatory Office of the National Central Museum had also purchased treasured bronzes in the collections of the Liu family’s (Shanzhai), as well as Yü family’s house of swords,, and bronzes from the Rong family.

Since its opening in Taipei, the National Palace Museum has never ceased in expanding the scope of its collection. A set of guidelines was drawn in 1969 to facilitate making acquisitions with budgetary funds and to encourage private donations and entrustments.

Among these treasures in their own right, some more notable examples include the sandalwood furniture from the residence of the Qing Dynasty Prince Gong, calligraphic works by Chen Bo of the Northern Song Dynasty, scroll “Cold Food Observance” by Su Shi of the Northern Song Dynasty, “Spring Thunder” zither of the Tang Dynasty, the Tzu-fan set of bells from the Spring and Autumn Period, gilt bronze Buddhist sculptures from the Northern Wei and later, jade tablets used by Tang Emperor Xuanzong in homage to the God of Earth, “A Calligraphic Rendition of the Hsi-tz’u Chapter of the I-ching” by Zhu Xi of the Southern Song Dynasty, and the painting “Mount Lu” by Chang Dai-chien. The Museum has also acquired a large number of prehistoric jades, Shang and Zhou bronzes, ceramics, as well as famous paintings and calligraphic pieces from the reign of the Jiaqing Emperor (of the Qing Dynasty) to the modern era. These acquisitions have all served to fill the gaps in the original collection.

Statistics
Complete inventory inspection has been taken three times in 1951–1954, 1989–1991 and 2008–2012 since the museum started to bring collections to Taiwan in 1948. According to official report, the museum house Chinese calligraphy, porcelain, bronzes, paintings, jades and many other artifacts, with 22% (2,972 out of 13,491 crates) of the boxes originally transported south from the Forbidden City. Other additions include transfers from other institutions, donations, and purchases made by the museum. A lot of these artifacts were brought by Chiang Kai-shek before his Kuomintang forces fled the mainland in 1949. The museum has accumulated nearly 700,000 artifacts of significant historical or artistic values. With a collection of this size, only 1% of the collection is exhibited at any given time. The rest of the collection is stored in temperature controlled vaults.

Notable items
The museum houses several treasured items that are the pride of their collection and famous worldwide. The antiquities in the National Palace Museum span over thousands of years with a variety of genres.

Metalwork
Among the collections of bronzes, Zong Zhou Zhong (Bell of Zhou), commissioned by King Li of Zhou, is the most important musical instrument cast under his royal decree. Mao Gong Ding (Cauldron of Duke of Mao) of the late Western Zhou Dynasty (1046–771 BCE) carries the longest Chinese bronze inscriptions so far extent.

Ceramics
With 21 pieces out of fewer than 80 surviving, the museum has the world’s largest collection of Ru ware, one of the rarest Chinese ceramics, made exclusively for the court and one of the Five Great Kilns of the Song Dynasty (960–1279), along with Ding porcelain, Jun ware, Guan and Ge; the museum has major collections of all of these. Those from the official kilns of the Ming (1368–1644) and Qing (1644–1912) dynasties, such as the doucai porcelains of the Chenghua reign in the Ming Dynasty and painted enamel porcelains from the early Qing, are also of excellent quality.

Carvings
One of the most popular pieces of jade carvings in the museum is the Jadeite Cabbage. It’s a piece of jadeite carved into the shape of a cabbage head, and with a large and a small grasshopper camouflaged in the leaves. The ruffled semi-translucent leaves attached is due to the masterful combination of various natural color of the jade to recreate the color variations of a real cabbage. The Meat-shaped Stone is often exhibited together with the Jadeite Cabbage. A piece of jasper, a form of agate, the strata of which are cleverly used to create a likeness of a piece of pork cooked in soy sauce. The dyed and textured surface makes the layers of skin, lean meat, and fat materialized incredibly lifelike.

Other various carvings of materials such as bamboo, wood, ivory, rhinoceros horn, and fruit pits are exhibited. The Carved Olive-stone Boat is a tiny boat carved from an olive stone. The incredibly fully equipped skilled piece is carved with a covered deck and moveable windows. The interior has chairs, dishes on a table and eight figures representing the characters of Su Shih’s Latter Ode on the Red Cliff. The bottom is carved in minute character the entire 300+ character text with the date and the artist’s name.

Painting and calligraphy
The paintings in the National Palace Museum date from the Tang Dynasty (618–907) to the modern era. The collection covers over one thousand years of Chinese painting, and encompasses a wide range of genres, including landscape, flower and bird, figure painting, boundary painting, etc. Among the most popular paintings in the collection is the Qing Palace Version of Along the River During the Qingming Festival by five Qing dynasty court painters (Chen Mu, Sun Hu, Jin Kun, Dai Hong and Cheng Zhidao). Dwelling in the Fuchun Mountains (Wu-yung version) by Huang Gongwang of Yuan Dynasty is one of the rarest and most dramatic works. Walking on a Mountain Path in Spring is another significant work. The museum has a vast collection of calligraphy works from the hands of major calligraphers, scholars and important courtiers in history. The calligraphy works date from the Jin (265–420) and Tang (618–907) dynasties, with a variety of styles.

Rare books and documents
Rare books in the National Palace Museum range from the Song (960–1279) and Yuan (1271–1368) dynasties to the Ming (1368–1644) and Qing (1644–1912) dynasties, amounting to over 200,000 volumes. Yongle Encyclopedia and Siku Quanshu (Complete Library of the Four Treasuries) are among the examples.

Historical documents in the museum include Jiu Manzhou Dang, a set of Manchu archives that are the sourcebook of Manwen Laodang and a primary source of early Manchu history. Other official documents such as the court archives are available for research in the history of the Qing Dynasty.