Taipei's treasures revealed in National Palace Museum
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by Billy McGowan
Director of ESL |
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The National Palace Museum, which houses the treasures that used to occupy the Forbidden City in Beijing, holds what is surely one of the largest and most exquisite collections of art and artifacts in the world. Located on a sprawling reserve in Taipei, it is an immense collection of buildings that serves both as a center and a classroom to enchant and educate. The treasures inside dazzle and the Museum is opened every day of the year!
The National Palace Museum, built to resemble the Qing Court in the Forbidden City, assumes the great artistic and cultural legacy of China. The presentations and exhibitions housed there have a long history and provide a deep understanding of aesthetics and values of ancient China. The collection is so large that it has to be changed often in order to maintain the public's interest and offer the chance for most of the works, commissioned by emperors and as well those made by the Imperial Workshop, to be seen. The story of their arrival in Taipei is an exciting one.
In 1925, after the fall of the Last Emperor Pu Yi, the Forbidden City, his residence, was renamed the Palace Museum; it housed the Qing dynasty's imperial collection which had been inherited throughout the ages. These treasures were moved several times to avoid the dangers that were always nearby during the turbulent years leading up to WWII. These treasures were moved from Beijing to Nanjing, Sichuan and back to Nanjing again before being brought to Taiwan in 1945, with the help of the Americans, my guide confided proudly. The National Palace Museum, named after the National Museum in Taipei, opened to the public in 1965.
The Taiwanese declare confidently that under the leadership of Generalissimo Chiang Kai-Shek, these national treasures were saved to be viewed by posterity, that without such leadership, these priceless examples of art would have been looted and/or destroyed by the invaders. It is certainly true that these treasures are housed in most splendid and optimal facilities and the kind of efforts exerted in the care of the collection are most gratifying.
The original collection featured objects that had been favored by the emperors and the imperial collectors, but after its "evacuation" to Taiwan, the collection has grown in size and scope. Geared toward filling in the gaps, molded by imperial taste, these efforts have resulted in a collection that includes representative objects of every stage of the history of Chinese civilization, from the early Neolithic Age (10,000 to 5,000 BC) to modern times. The Taiwanese claim this transformation has changed the collection from one that was imperial in nature to a world-class collection, truly national in character, illustrative of the development of Chinese culture.
The Museum aims to be a classroom of art and culture for all. Most museums give lip service to this ideal, difficult to attain though it may be. The National Palace Museum, however, does manage to succeed in this respect to some degree. The collection of jade, for example, was just one of the particular examples of the ways in which this visitor who, granted did not have enough time to study, learned.
Jade has been adored and revered by the Chinese people since ancient times. Since then and often through difficult times, both the sentiment toward jade and the tradition of jade artistry have endured the passage of time and remained undiminished in strength. View its presentation in any city with a sizeable Chinese population. Our female Chinese students often wear it. From as far back at 7,000 BC, Chinese rulers began to adore and adorn it. The collection of Jade at the National Palace Museum is just one the most wonderful parts of the extensive collection.
Adoration of jade is to honor the Spirit of the Heaven and Earth. The jades from the Qing imperial court at its height are characterized by their impressive size, neatness and symmetry. They frequently bear the design of a dragon, emblem of the emperor.From the Han dynasty, the deceased were bound and stuffed with jade. The examples are exhaustive. The working of jade has a very long history in China, and the exhibition bears most honorable witness to this at the National Palace Museum, a must-see if ever you visit Taipei.
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