Stepping into the 41-year-old National Palace Museum (NPM, 國立故宮博物院) in Taipei, one can't help but wonder what has happened to the once dust-covered depository of ancient treasures, now transformed into a bright, spacious modern museum replete with contemporary design inspired by the artwork from its collections.
The renovation project was begun in 2002 to remedy the museum's lack of exhibition space and its antiquated fire and quakeproofing and is now nearing completion with the last galleries under construction due to open to the public in February.
"The museum now has far more public spaces and the exhibition rooms have been rearranged in a more sensible manner so that visitors can easily find their way around," Sylvia Sun (孫鳳儀) of the museum's public affairs office said.
PHOTOS COURTESY OF NATIONAL PALACE MUSEUM
Departing from a theme-oriented format, the East Wing galleries chronologically chart Chinese civilization from the Neolithic age to the late Ching Dynasty. A multi-media exhibition booth on the second floor demonstrates ancient bronze-making techniques. More digital and sound exhibitions are to come, Sun said, including a guide room that presents visitors with information about the museum before visitors embark on their tours.
While the museum's southern branch in Taibao City, Chiayi County (嘉義縣太保市) — a grand project that has been attacked for exceeding its original NT$5.9 billion with accusations of bribery and corruption being leveled against officials and construction companies — is scheduled for completion in 2010 the NPM in Taipei seems ready to take a big leap into the new millennium with a total makeover and a change of mentality.
Under the leadership of its director Lin Man-li (林曼麗), the museum is no longer limited to its traditional role as a cultural showroom attracting mainly foreign tourists. Rather, it is envisaged as a cultural park where families and friends could hang out and while away leisure time in the e-learning demonstration center, child-friendly workshops, auditorium for film screenings and cafes (the nearby Formosa International Hotel-run three-floor building housing restaurants and eateries will be open to the public by the end of next year.)
The gift shop and e-commerce Web site carry an array of items whose designs are based on famous pieces from the museum's collection and demonstrate the museum's ambition to become a player in the cultural industries and create added value through brand building.
To herald its official reopening on Feb. 8 next year, the museum is launching a three-month long special exhibition on paintings, calligraphy, rare books and the Ju ceramic wares from the Northern Sung Dynasty (960 to 1127) starting on Monday. Renowned for its impressive collection of artworks of the period, the museum is putting its collection of Sung Dynasty artifacts in its entirety on display for the first and possibly the last time due to the fragility of the artworks.
"The museum usually displays one or two items of the period at a time since the ancient paintings and calligraphy pieces are what we call the restricted items. Every time we roll open a piece, it damages the work. And the duration of the exhibition of such restricted item is limited to two to three months. After the display, the items have to be returned to the storehouse for repair, which can take years," Sun explained.
A month-long celebration will kick off in February with a series of outdoor performances by local groups such as U-Theater (優劇場), Ju Percussion Group (朱宗慶打擊樂團) and Ming Hua Yuan Taiwanese Opera (明華園歌仔戲團). The British Museum will collaborate with the NPM for the first time, shipping 271 selected masterpieces for a large-scale exhibition. Visit the museum's Web site at www.npm.gov.tw.
Jan 13 to Jan 19 Yang Jen-huang (楊仁煌) recalls being slapped by his father when he asked about their Sakizaya heritage, telling him to never mention it otherwise they’ll be killed. “Only then did I start learning about the Karewan Incident,” he tells Mayaw Kilang in “The social culture and ethnic identification of the Sakizaya” (撒奇萊雅族的社會文化與民族認定). “Many of our elders are reluctant to call themselves Sakizaya, and are accustomed to living in Amis (Pangcah) society. Therefore, it’s up to the younger generation to push for official recognition, because there’s still a taboo with the older people.” Although the Sakizaya became Taiwan’s 13th
Earlier this month, a Hong Kong ship, Shunxin-39, was identified as the ship that had cut telecom cables on the seabed north of Keelung. The ship, owned out of Hong Kong and variously described as registered in Cameroon (as Shunxin-39) and Tanzania (as Xinshun-39), was originally People’s Republic of China (PRC)-flagged, but changed registries in 2024, according to Maritime Executive magazine. The Financial Times published tracking data for the ship showing it crossing a number of undersea cables off northern Taiwan over the course of several days. The intent was clear. Shunxin-39, which according to the Taiwan Coast Guard was crewed
China’s military launched a record number of warplane incursions around Taiwan last year as it builds its ability to launch full-scale invasion, something a former chief of Taiwan’s armed forces said Beijing could be capable of within a decade. Analysts said China’s relentless harassment had taken a toll on Taiwan’s resources, but had failed to convince them to capitulate, largely because the threat of invasion was still an empty one, for now. Xi Jinping’s (習近平) determination to annex Taiwan under what the president terms “reunification” is no secret. He has publicly and stridently promised to bring it under Communist party (CCP) control,
One way people in Taiwan can control how they are represented is through their choice of name. Culturally, it is not uncommon for people to choose their own names and change their identification cards and passports to reflect the change, though only recently was the right to use Indigenous names written using letters allowed. Reasons for changing a person’s name can vary widely, from wanting to sound more literary, to changing a poor choice made by their parents or, as 331 people did in March of 2021, to get free sushi by legally changing their name to include the two characters
RSS