An exhibition in Prague featuring ancient books from the National Central Library opened on Thursday, with the aim to deepen cultural exchanges between Taiwan and the Czech Republic, the library said.
The exhibition, titled “The Imprint of Civilization: Ancient books from the collections of the National Central Library,” is being held at the National Library of the Czech Republic until Aug. 31.
It features replicas of oracle bone scripts and bronze inscriptions from ancient China that highlight the evolution of writing and printing, the libraries said.
Photo: CNA
Also showcased is the Yongle Encyclopedia, a Chinese work commissioned by the Ming Dynasty’s Yongle Emperor (永樂) in 1403 and completed in 1408.
A section of the exhibition shows how the Czech Republic’s former name “Bohemia” was recorded and highlighted in archives.
For example, it illustrates how Bohemia was called “a country full of gold” on the Great Universal Geographic Map, which was drawn by a 17th-century Belgian missionary in Qing Dynasty China, the National Central Library said.
Bohemian astrological records and calendars, as well as watercolor paintings and sketches created by late Taiwanese painter Liang Dan-feng (梁丹丰) while traveling in Prague, are also on display, National Central Library director-general Tseng Shu-hsien (曾淑賢) said.
It is rare for the two libraries to jointly organize an exhibition, but the Prague exhibition reflects the warming relationship between Taiwan and the Czech Republic, Tseng said.
The Taiwan collections represent “the rich and diverse scope of cultural and artistic heritage of Southeast Asia,” the Czech library said on its Web site.
“Through this exhibition, we hope to promote mutual understanding and appreciation between the people of the Czech Republic and Taiwan,” it said.
This is the fifth time a similar exhibition has been held by National Central Library in Europe.
The previous ones took place in Latvia in 2015, in Hungary in 2016, in Estonia in 2021 and in the Czech Republic last year.
A relatively large earthquake may strike within the next two weeks, following a magnitude 5.2 temblor that shook Taitung County this morning, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. An earthquake struck at 8:18am today 10.2km west of Taitung County Hall in Taitung City at a relatively shallow depth of 6.5km, CWA data showed. The largest intensity of 4 was felt in Taitung and Pingtung counties, which received an alert notice, while areas north of Taichung did not feel any shaking, the CWA said. The earthquake was the result of the collision between the Philippine Plate and the Eurasian Plate, the agency said, adding
Snow fell in the mountainous areas of northern, central and eastern Taiwan in the early hours of yesterday, as cold air currents moved south. In the northern municipality of Taoyuan, snow started falling at about 6am in Fusing District (復興), district head Su Tso-hsi (蘇佐璽) said. By 10am, Lalashan National Forest Recreation Area, as well as Hualing (華陵), Sanguang (三光) and Gaoyi (高義) boroughs had seen snowfall, Su said. In central Taiwan, Shei-Pa National Park in Miaoli County and Hehuanshan National Forest Recreation Area in Nantou County saw snowfall of 5cm and 6cm respectively, by 10am, staff at the parks said. It began snowing
HOLIDAY EXERCISE: National forest recreation areas from north to south offer travelers a wide choice of sights to connect with nature and enjoy its benefits Hiking is a good way to improve one’s health, the Forestry and Nature Conservation Agency said, as it released a list of national forest recreation areas that travelers can visit during the Lunar New Year holiday. Taking a green shower of phytoncides in the woods could boost one’s immunity system and metabolism, agency Director-General Lin Hwa-ching (林華慶) cited a Japanese study as saying. For people visiting northern Taiwan, Lin recommended the Dongyanshan National Forest Recreation Area in Taoyuan’s Fusing District (復興). Once an important plantation in the north, Dongyanshan (東眼山) has a number of historic monuments, he said. The area is broadly covered by
COMMUNITY SPIRIT: As authorities were busy with post-typhoon cleanups elsewhere, residents cleaned fallen leaves and cut small fallen trees blocking the hiking trails All hiking trails damaged by Typhoon Kong-rey have been repaired and has reopened for people who want a refreshing hike in Taipei during the Lunar New Year holiday, a city official said. The Taipei Basin is known for its easily accessible hiking trails. It has more than 130 trails combined into the 92km-long Taipei Grand Trail, which was divided into seven major routes when it was launched by the Taipei City Government in 2018. Last year, a part of the sixth route of the Grand Trail collapsed due to Typhoon Kong-rey, which hit Taiwan in October. The damaged section belongs to one