Taiwan Today

In only two short years, the Republic of China has put its best foot forward with what is probably the single biggest tourist attraction in the Far East. Last year alone the National Palace Museum in suburban Taipei drew more than 150,000 foreign visitors. This means that roughly three of every four Taiwan tourists took advantage of the opportunity to see China's greatest masterpieces of art. So did about 500,000 of Taiwan's 13 million people.

Surprised but pleased, museum authorities already have undertaken an expansion program that will enable them to show 3,000 of the nearly 250,000 masterpieces at one time instead of the present 1,700. They also have arranged to keep the building open from 9 to 5 every day of the year. As funds permit, a further enlargement will permit the exhibition of China's cultural heritage on an even grander scale.

Most of the treasures now to be seen at Waishuangshi in the outskirts of Taipei come from collections amassed by the Chinese emperors over a period of thousands of years. While China remained under dynastic rule, these works of art were preserved at the Imperial Palace in Peiping. Subsequently they were housed in the National Central Museum in Nanking.

Perhaps watching over the works of art to guard against destruction in times of turmoil are such contributor-collectors as the Emperor Hui Tsung of 800 years ago, him­self a talented artist, who handed down some of the exquisite Sung dynasty porcelains, and Emperor Ch'ien Lung (1736-1795), who amassed some of the great Ch'ing master­-pieces. Both watchdogs and good luck have been required in preserving the collection. During the Boxer Incident, hundreds of art items went up in smoke when Yuan Ming Yuan, the Empress Dowager Tz'u Hsi's summer palace, burned down. The oldest Chinese painting known is the property of the British Museum. It was smuggled out of China by a sailor during the Boxer conflict.

The Republic of China did not take over the emperors' collection, which makes up about 95 per cent of the National Palace Museum's holdings, until the former Emperor Pu Yi moved out of the Imperial Palace in 1924. The priceless works of art were scattered through the hundreds of rooms in the palace where Pu Yi lived for 13 years after the fall of his dynasty. A committee was established to inventory and catalog the thousands of items. Six months later the National Peiping Palace Museum was opened to the public, at first on Sundays only.

Flight From War

Museum activities increased rapidly af­ter 1928, when a museum board was estab­lished. But clouds of aggression gathered over China. In 1933, two years after Japan struck at Manchuria, five shipments totaling 13,491 crates were sent to Shanghai and later to Nanking. As the Sino-Japanese war broke out, the treasures had to be moved again, many of them to the interior. Most were saved, however, and Japan returned others at the end of the war. The Nanking museum was opened once more only to be threatened by the Communists. In 1948 it was decided to send the collection to Taiwan for safekeeping. Makeshift quarters were provided near Taichung. Not until 1965 was the public again to see the treasures conveniently and appropriately displayed.

Now safe and preserved against deteri­oration are 242,592 art items—the miracu­lous survivors of assaults by time, insects, thieves, fires, bombings, shellings, and the elements. Books constitute the single biggest category. There are 149,514 of them, plus 28,920 documents. Then come the fragile but greatly admired porcelains—23,780 pieces. Paintings and calligraphy num­ber 6,411 items, followed by bronzes, 4,402; jades, 3,894; enamelware, 1,927; trinkets, 1,270; stationery items, 1,261; gilded bronzes, 717; lacquerware, 421; sculptures, 105; and miscellaneous, 19,970.

The Waishuangshi setting is a scenic one. Foothills rise above the site. A valley coursed by two small streams stretches into the distance below. Only a sixth of the area has been developed, so there is plenty of room for expansion. The building itself is of graceful Chinese architecture. The green glazed tile of the roof and sweeping lines dominate the exterior. Within are broad stairways, ornate balustrades, and a general impression of majesty.

Two Names

Over the main portal are two names:  National Palace Museum and Chungshan Museum. This is not an attempt to confuse. Chungshan is a courtesy name of Dr. Sun Yat-sen, the Founding Father of the Re­public of China. The museum was dedicated on his centennial in 1965. The correct name is the National Palace Museum. Some day, however, the museum collection will be returned to Nanking. At that time another collection may be housed in the Waishuangshi building, which then will become the Chung­-shan Museum.

The museum is now changing its ex­hibits every three months. This means that 6,800 treasures can be shown in a year. With the expansion of the display area, the num­ber will be raised to 12,000. The items are attractively displayed in galleries and show rooms on three floors. These are some of the reasons for not missing the current showing at the National Palace Museum:

Porcelains—China has been making pottery since the dawn of recorded history. Artistically, the great periods were those of Sung (960-1279), Ming (1368-1643), and Ch'ing (1644-1911). In the mid-1967 ex­hibition, the museum was displaying more than a hundred Ming and Ch'ing porcelains in two rooms on the first floor.

Ming porcelain is distinguished by dazzling colors and excellent art work. The earlier porcelains of Sung had been mostly white or greenish blue. Ch'ing workmanship is unsurpassed. The kilns at Ch'ing Teh Cheng, Kiangsi, were rebuilt in the Ch'ing dynasty and turned out masterpieces. One narrow-necked cloisonne vase is decorated with peach blossom, willow tree, and birds.

In another room are some 200 items from Sung times. Ten rather plain greenish-blue pieces are worth a king's ransom. They are called Ju-ware and were made at Juchow, Honan, for the royal household during the reign of Emperor Hui Tsung (1101-1123).

Ju-ware has a smooth glaze and is with­out inscription. The production period was only 22 years. Emperors Hui Tsung and Hsin Tsung were kidnaped by the Tartars and the Sung court moved to Hangchow. That was the end of the Ju porcelains. Only between 30 and 40 pieces are extant, and the museum has 23 of them.

Jade—The cool beauty of jade has been treasured by the Chinese for thousands of years. Museum holdings are large and exqui­sitely crafted. Three hundred items of jade and other semi-precious stones are to be seen on the second floor. Three yellow jade seals are linked together by a jade chain. A coral red receptacle for washing writing brushes seems to await the emperor's pen after an exercise in calligraphy.

Symbol of Authority

The ritual jade objects symbolize authority. The position of the hole for affixing a seal to the person indicated the owner's rank. The sovereign's jade kuei has the hole in the most honored position. Jade objects were buried with the dead. One small piece on display was placed on the tongue of the deceased. These jades date to West Chou times (1122-481 B.C.).

Bronzes—These are the oldest of museum art objects. Some of the strangely shaped wine receptacles, ritual vessels, cooking utensils, and sacrificial animals are nearly 4,000 years old. Inscriptions on bronzes have been helpful in ancient Chinese history, although not all the characters on the oldest can be deciphered.

One of the most famous bronzes, the Mao Kung Ting, a cauldron of the Duke of Mao, is on permanent display. The 500­-word inscription is a citation of the duke by the Chou emperor. It relates his fulfillment of an important mission. The monarch's contributions are also set forth. Another bronze article, the Shan Sze Pan, gives an account of a territorial controversy between two feudal states. It was settled through the mediation of the Chou emperor's special envoy. The Ta Chuan or Chung Ting Wen writing on bronzes is the earliest Chinese calligraphy known.

Painting—Chinese painting is quite different from that of the West but has its own charm and artistry. The museum's collection is possibly the world's finest. The current hangings are of works from Sung, Yuan, Ming, and Ch'ing periods. Included are the creations of the Emperor Hui Tsung, the monk Chu-jan of the 10th century, Huang Kung-wang (1268-1354), a great landscape painter of the Yuan dynasty, and many others.

The paintings of Chao Meng-fu (1257-1322) and members of his family are es­pecially interesting. Chao was a member of the Sung royal family who later served the Mongols. His paintings are marked by bold­ness and vitality. He was an innovator and refused to confine himself to landscapes, thereby expanding the horizons of Chinese painting. His masterpiece, "Horse and Groom", is to be seen at the museum. Of this painting, a critic said: "Chao has not only brought the horse and groom to life. He has also painted the wind. You can hear it raise the man's robe and beard."

Artistic Families

Calligraphy-Su Tung-p'o (also known as Su Shih) is featured along with other members of his family. Su lived from 1036 to 1101 and was a painter as well as one of the eight greatest calligraphers of the T'ang and Sung dynasties. Su, his father, Su Hsun, and his brother, Su Che, are known as the "three Sus" of painting and calligraphy.

Exhibited for the first time are a part of the personal possesions of Ch'ien Lung (1736-1795), known as the Sun Emperor. Included are musical instruments, miniature screens, and articles of jade, agate, ivory, bamboo, and sandalwood. Pocket watches are among the 400-odd items. One is said to contain an erotic picture but there is no way for the viewer to tell. The cases bear enameled floral designs, except for one of a fair-haired European beauty wearing the low-neck, off-shoulders gown of the fashionable ladies of pre-Revolutionary Paris. For the China of the 18th century, such a motif could have been considered shocking. Subsequent showings will present other items from the Ch'ien Lung collection.

The National Palace Museum is admin­istered by a small but dedicated staff work­ing under Dr. Chiang Fu-tsung, the curator. New blood is being recruited and trained so that the masterpieces of Chinese culture may be properly preserved and presented. Dr. Chiang also hopes to improve and ex­pand museum publications. As for the collection itself, the goal is augmentation with pieces from sources other than the emperors.

Some of the outstanding articles in the National Palace Museum have been shown abroad - 786 pieces at London in 1935 and 1936 and 253 items in several cities of the United States in 1961 and 1962. Both exhibitions brought raves from the critics. Capacity crowds of people responded to the rare opportunity to see great Chinese art.

Now this opportunity is open to every visitor to Taiwan. For this year that means nearly a quarter of a million people. Much of the credit for bringing about construction of the new building belongs to the late Vice President Chen Cheng, who thought it tragic that China's cultural treasures should have been inaccessibly stored in central Taiwan. The success of the National Palace Museum exhibitions justifies his confidence that the objects of art would become Taiwan's most powerful tourist attraction.

Worth the Trip

Thus the new museum building is a tribute both to the foresightedness of Vice President Chen Cheng and the political sagacity of Dr. Sun Yat-sen, who fathered the revolution that gave the masterpieces to the Chinese people. To the tourist, the collection is worth a trip of thousands of miles and a day or two of viewing. Visitors com­ing to Taipei for the second and third time have learned that the exhibits are changed four times a year, except for the few favorite pieces left on permanent display. These visitors are becoming museum repeaters as well as Taiwan returnees.

The National Palace Museum brings the long and glorious stretch of Chinese culture to life uniquely, impressively, and persuasively. After seeing the treasures, there is understanding that in attempting to destroy Chinese culture, the Mao Tse-tung Communists have undertaken an impossible task.

No one could possibly destroy creativity of such continuing volume, magnitude, and greatness.