This section presents modern craftsmanship and digital art installations to reinterpret the rise and fall of Tong-an ships in Chinese maritime history. The exhibition reenacts the heyday of East Asian maritime culture during the 19th century and restores the historical elegance of Tong-an ships.
Tong-an Ship Scale Model
Widely used by civilians, government, and pirates alike, the Tong-an ships were sea vessels that emerged during the mid-Qing dynasty. They eventually became the most important force in the Qing Navy. Prior to the arrival of steamships, these ships are representative of traditional Chinese sailboats. The two important pictorial records, "Diagram of the Tong-an Ship Ji" and "Diagram of Tong-an Ship No. 1," show the biggest and most heavily armed class 1 and class 2 warship models from the Tong-an ship family. The highly detailed and colored drawings of the two Tong-an ships and the corresponding official memoranda attached serve as important evidence awaiting further exploration by Taiwanese and naval historians. The NPM invited senior ship model craftsman Mr. Zeng Shuming to help build the Tong-an ship model.
Space and Time See-Through
This 9-view stereographic animation explains the components of a Tong-an ship by using a 47" naked-eye 3D display. 3D glasses are not needed to view the work.
Documentary Rebuilding the Tong-an Ships (50 min.)
Starting from the NPM's "Diagram of the Tong-an Ship Ji" and related documents from the Qing archives, the project team began a journey to salvage a long forgotten history. Technologies, such as scale model building, 3D technology, and other visualization tools, restore the many facets of the Tong-an ship in the 19th century golden era of East Asian maritime history. The film is a winner of the Gold Remi Award in the WorldFest-Houston International Film & Video Festival.
Adventures in NPM: The Formosa Odyssey (12 min.)
Here comes a puppy! A dog in a museum? Blackie, a Formosan Mountain Dog from the Qing era, mysteriously shows up in the NPM's Multimedia Display Room 210. Finding his way around the 21st century, Blackie meets Child Pillow, Jade Duck and Jade Pi-hsieh, the NPM's adventurous trio. This time Blackie will bring them back in time to a Tong-an ship and ride the raging waves across the sea to long lost 19th-century Taiwan. Platinum Remi Award, WorldFest Houston International Film & Video Festival
