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Brilliance behind the Door

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The National Palace Museum began a century-long journey the moment its doors opened, unveiling to the world the evolution and legacy, as well as the continuing growth of an imperial collection. The collection, which began as the Qing palace artifacts, grew significantly with the addition of the National Central Museum and Beiping Library collections. During the Sino-Japanese war, the artifacts were carefully selected and packed for a tortuous journey southbound, and eventually reached Taiwan. It was an epic undertaking to protect a cultural legacy, which also involved political and public opinions. The collection was enriched once again from the 1960s onward through donation, acquisition and entrusted artifacts, addressing the lack and solidifying the Museum's status as a torchbearer of cultural memories. With a focus on the creation and expansion of the Museum archive, the selected works illuminate how the treasured imperial collection blossomed into a cultural legacy for all.

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    • Gugong Wupin Diancha Baogao (National Palace Museum Inventory Inspection Reports)Moveable Type Edition, 1925-1930_Preview
      Gugong Wupin Diancha Baogao (National Palace Museum Inventory Inspection Reports)
      Moveable Type Edition, 1925-1930
      • Gou Shan 000186~000213
    • Narcissus Basin in Celadon Glaze Ru Ware, Northern Song Dynasty, Late 11th-Early 12th Century_Preview
      Narcissus Basin in Celadon Glaze
      Ru Ware, Northern Song Dynasty, Late 11th-Early 12th Century
      • Gu Ci 017851

    Inventory Inspection and Reports

    Gugong Wupin Diancha Baogao (National Palace Museum Inventory Inspection Reports) were compiled by the Committee for the Disposition of Qing Imperial Possessions between 1924 and 1930. The reports, which contain itemized lists of artifacts by building throughout the Qing palatial complex, could be regarded as the National Palace Museum's first collection inventory. They are also witnesses to an imperial collection's transformation to a cultural universal shared by all. The accession code is a clue to the artifact's original home. The narcissus basin on display, for instance, was from the curio cabinet inside the Yangxin Dian (Hall of Mental Cultivation).

    The reports also documented the staff involved during process, such as Mr. Li Zong-dong, a member of the National Palace Museum Management Committee. He was among those who completed the inventory for the Qianqing Palace (Hall of Heavenly Purity).

  • Siku Quanshu (Complete Library of the Four Treasuries of the Wenyuange Pavilion) Compiled by Imperial Decree, Emperor Gaozong (1736-1795), Qing DynastyQing Manuscript Copy of the Qianlong Reign (1736-1795)_Preview
    Siku Quanshu (Complete Library of the Four Treasuries of the Wenyuange Pavilion)
    Compiled by Imperial Decree, Emperor Gaozong (1736-1795), Qing Dynasty
    Qing Manuscript Copy of the Qianlong Reign (1736-1795)
    • Gu Ku 000001-036381

    Siku Quanshu (Complete Library of the Four Treasuries), which comprises over 3,000 types of books spanning from antiquity to the Qing dynasty, was compiled over the course of 15 years during the Qianlong reign (1736-1795) of the Qing dynasty. The first copy was placed in the Wenyuan Pavillion of the Qing palace, and the ensuing six copies were placed in the Wenyuan Pavilion in the Yuanmingyuan (Old Summer Palace), Wensu Pavilion in Shenyang, Wenjin Pavilion in Chengde, Wenzong Pavilion in Zhenjiang, Wenhui Pavilion in Yangzhou and Wenlang in Hangzhou. The Wenyuan Pavilion edition, a finely bound edition, is preserved in its entirety in the National Palace Museum. Divided into classics, history, philosophy and literature, Siku Quanshu is a valuable treasury of antiquarian books. It has also set a firm foundation with lasting influence over the classification and research of academic subjects to this day.

  • Square Zun Wine Vessel of Ze LingEarly Eastern Zhou Dynasty (1046-977 BCE)_Preview
    Square Zun Wine Vessel of Ze Ling
    Early Eastern Zhou Dynasty (1046-977 BCE)
    • Zhong Tong 000394

    Most of the bronzes housed in the National Palace Museum were previously part of the Qing court collection. Additional pieces were acquired by the National Central Museum during its initial stage from Liu Tizhi, a well-known collector during the late Qing dynasty and early Republican era. As the times grew tumultuous, Liu Tizhi gradually sold his collection. With negotiation efforts from Fu Ssu-nien (1896-1950), Rong Geng (1894-1983) and others, the National Central Museum successfully purchased 107 pieces of bronze ware in 1936, and Square Zun Wine Vessel of Ze Ling from the early Western Zhou dynasty was given the most attention. With a round rim and square base, this zun has a stately presence that exudes grandeur. Adorned with the relief animal mask and bird motifs, it is a crowning specimen of Western Zhou bronze ware. A long inscription cast on the bottom documents how Ze, who commissioned the zun, was ordered to deliver the imperial edict, participated in the worshipping ritual, and cast the piece to venerate his father during ancestral worship. The event, which is undocumented in extant archives, makes this zun invaluable in the historical and academic contexts.

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    The "Thousand Character Classic" in Small Cursive Script
    Huaisu, Tang Dynasty (618-907)
    • Ji Cun 001788
    • Entrusted by Lanqian shanguan

    Huaisu (fl. latter half of the 8th century) became a monk at a young age. Famed for his cursive script, he enjoyed a reputation rivaling that of Zhang Xu (685-759), giving rise to the appellation, "Mad Zhang and Crazy Su." Written on silk, the piece now carries a hint of bluish green tone. The brushstrokes curve and turn with dynamic agility, exuding classical beauty embodying the style of the two Wangs. Ming scholar Yao Gongshou (1422-1495) extolled the work as "each character worth a thousand gold," making it the second recipient of such a praise after Huai-jen's Collected Wang Characters in Sacred Teachings Preface.

  • The Cold Food ObservanceSu Shi, Northern Song Dynasty (960-1127)_Preview
    The Cold Food Observance
    Su Shi, Northern Song Dynasty (960-1127)
    • Gou Shu 001001

    Written by Su Shi (1037-1101) in 1082, the third year of his banishment to Huangzhou, the piece expresses intense emotions and exhibits superb skills. Following Su's poems is a colophon by Huang Tingjian (1045-1105), one of the four Song masters. The juxtaposition of works by the two masters is praised as "equal beauty." To Dong Qichang (1555-1636), this was the finest of Su's works he had ever witnessed. The accession number, Go Shu 購書 1001, reveals its provenance as a source outside the Qing court collection, since it was acquired by the National Palace Museum in 1987.

    • Sakyamuni BuddhaNorthern Wei Dynasty (386-534)_Preview
      Sakyamuni Buddha
      Northern Wei Dynasty (386-534)
      • Entrusted to Kyushu National Museum
      • Donated by Mr. Peng Kai-dong
    • Bodhisattva MandalaLater Jin of the Five Dynasties Period (936-946)_Preview
      Bodhisattva Mandala
      Later Jin of the Five Dynasties Period (936-946)
      • Entrusted to Kyushu National Museum
      • Donated by Mr. Peng Kai-dong

    Since 2003, collector Mr. Peng Kaidong (1912–2006) has successively donated over 400 pieces from his lifetime collection to the National Palace Museum, establishing a solid foundation for the Southern Branch's holdings. Among the works on display, two are currently designated Important Cultural Properties in Japan and entrusted to the Kyushu National Museum. The Gilt Bronze Sakyamuni Buddha is a quintessential masterpiece from the Pingcheng era of the Northern Wei period, while the Bodhisattva Mandala, a half-seated Guanyin rendered in color on silk, is an outstanding work reflecting local devotional practices of the 10th century.