National Palace Museum facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
National Palace Museum

國立故宮博物院
National Palace Museum, Taipei, Taiwan
Established	10 October 1925 (in Forbidden City, Beijing) 12 November 1965 (in Taipei, Taiwan)
Location	Shilin, Taipei
Type	National museum
Collections	698,856 (as of February 2022[update])
Visitors	Northern branch: 3,832,373 (2019) Southern branch: 1,049,262 (2019)
Architect	Huang Baoyu (Northern Branch) Kris Yao (Southern Branch)

The National Palace Museum (Chinese: 國立故宮博物院; pinyin: Guólì Gùgōng Bówùyuàn) is a famous museum in Taipei, Taiwan. It holds almost 700,000 amazing pieces of Chinese art and artifacts. Many of these treasures were moved from the Palace Museum in the Forbidden City in Beijing. They also came from five other places in mainland China. This happened during a time when the Republic of China government moved to Taiwan.

These collections were kept in different places before finding their permanent home in 1965. The museum building in Shilin, Taipei was built between 1964 and 1965. It has grown a lot since then. Today, it is one of the biggest museums of its kind in the world. It even has a southern branch in Taibao, Chiayi.

The museum's collection covers 8,000 years of Chinese history. It includes items from ancient times up to the modern day. The National Palace Museum and the Palace Museum in Beijing share a common past. Both museums have huge collections of art and artifacts. These collections originally belonged to the emperors of the Ming and Qing dynasties.

History of the Museum's Collection

From Beijing to New Homes

The National Palace Museum treasures being moved to safety in the 1930s.

The National Palace Museum started as the Palace Museum in the Forbidden City. This happened on October 10, 1925. It was soon after Puyi, China's last emperor, left the Forbidden City. The museum's first collection came from the valuable items of the old imperial family.

In 1931, Japan started to invade parts of China. The Chinese government, led by Generalissimo Chiang Kai-shek, decided to move the museum's most valuable items. This was to protect them from the Imperial Japanese Army. So, from February to May 1933, over 13,000 crates of objects were moved to Shanghai. These items came from the Palace Museum and other important places.

In 1936, the collection moved again, this time to Nanjing. A special storage building was built there. As the Japanese army moved further into China during World War II, the collection had to be moved again. It traveled west along three different routes. The treasures were kept safe in places like Anshun and Leshan. After Japan surrendered in 1945, the collection was shipped back to Nanjing.

Moving to Taiwan

After World War II, the Chinese Civil War began again. This war was between the Nationalist government and the Communist army. Generalissimo Chiang Kai-shek decided to move many important artworks to Taiwan. Taiwan had recently become part of the Republic of China. As the fighting got worse in 1948, the National Beijing Palace Museum and five other groups decided to send their most prized items to Taiwan.

Hang Li-wu, who later became the museum's director, oversaw this move. From December 1948 to February 1949, some of the collection was shipped in three groups. They traveled from Nanjing to the harbor in Keelung, Taiwan. By the time these items arrived in Taiwan, the Communist army had taken control of the National Beijing Palace Museum. This meant not all the collection could be sent to Taiwan.

About 2,972 crates of artifacts from the Forbidden City came to Taiwan. This was only about 22% of the original crates moved south. However, these pieces were some of the very best and most important items from the collection.

The exhibition hall and gallery in Beigou

Temporary Homes in Taichung

After arriving in Taiwan, the collections were first stored in a railway warehouse. Then, they moved to a cane sugar mill near Taichung. In 1949, a special office was created to manage these collections. For safety, a mountain village called Beigou in Wufeng, Taichung was chosen as a new storage site. The collections were moved there the next year.

In 1957, a small exhibition hall was built in Beigou. It had four galleries and could display over 200 items. This allowed people to see some of the treasures for the first time in Taiwan.

The main building in Taipei was completed in 1965.

The National Palace Museum in Taipei

In 1960, the museum received money from the United States and the Republic of China government. This money was for building a new museum in Taipei. The construction finished in August 1965. The new museum was named the "Chung-Shan Museum" to honor Sun Yat-sen, a founding father of the Republic of China. It opened to the public on Sun Yat-sen's birthday. Since then, this museum in Taipei has cared for and shown the amazing collections.

Interesting Facts About the Museum

Some old Chinese artifacts from the Tang and Song periods were found. These items had belonged to an emperor named Emperor Zhenzong of Song. A general named Ma Hongkui found them but kept it a secret. After he died, his wife brought these artifacts to Taiwan in 1971. They were given to the National Palace Museum.

In 2022, there were military exercises around Taiwan. This made people worry about the safety of the museum's artifacts. A former director suggested storing them in nearby mountain tunnels. When the artifacts first came to Taiwan, they were kept in tunnels in Taichung before moving to Taipei.

In October 2022, it was found that three artifacts from the Ming and Qing dynasties were damaged. The museum said two teacups broke in February and April. A plate was dropped in May. The director thought the teacups might have broken because of how they were stored. The museum is working to improve its storage methods.

Relations with Mainland China

For many years, the National Palace Museum was used to show that the Republic of China in Taiwan was the true government of all China. It was seen as the protector of traditional Chinese culture. This was especially important during China's Cultural Revolution, which aimed to change many old traditions.

The government of the People's Republic of China (PRC) has long said that the collection was stolen. They believe it should be returned to mainland China. However, Taiwan has always said that moving the items was necessary. It protected them from being destroyed, especially during the Cultural Revolution.

In recent years, relations between the two sides have improved. Since 2009, the Palace Museum in Beijing has even lent items to the National Palace Museum for exhibitions. The curator of the Beijing museum has said that the artifacts in both museums are "China's cultural heritage jointly owned by people across the Taiwan Strait."

Museum Buildings

Main Hall of the Northern Branch of National Palace Museum.

Northern Branch in Taipei

The main building of the National Palace Museum in Taipei was designed by Huang Baoyu. It was built from March 1964 to August 1965. The museum has over 600,000 artifacts, so it needed more space to show them all. Because of this, the museum was made bigger in 1967, 1970, 1984, and 1996.

In 2002, the museum had a big renovation that cost $21 million. This made the museum more spacious and modern. About two-thirds of the museum was closed during this time. It officially reopened in February 2007.

Exhibits of paintings and calligraphy are changed every three months. About 3,000 pieces from the museum's collection can be seen at any time. Even though these exhibits are short, they are very popular. In 2014, the museum had three of the most visited exhibitions in the world.

Southern Branch in Chiayi

The Southern Branch of the National Palace Museum is in Taibao, Chiayi County, Taiwan. It sits on 70 hectares (about 173 acres) of land. There is also a lake and an Asian-style garden on the museum grounds. Plans for this southern branch started in 2000.

The building was designed by the Taiwan-based firm Artech Inc. It is built to be strong against earthquakes and floods. The southern branch opened on December 28, 2015. However, it had some water leakage problems and had to close in April 2016. After repairs, it reopened on August 23, 2016.

Museum Collections

Collection Size

The museum has done a full check of its items three times since 1948. These checks happened in 1951–1954, 1989–1991, and 2008–2012. The museum has Chinese calligraphy, porcelain, bronzes, paintings, jades, and many other artifacts. About 22% of the original boxes from the Forbidden City came to Taiwan.

Other items were added from other groups, donations, and purchases. Many of these artifacts were brought by Chiang Kai-shek when his forces moved to Taiwan in 1949. The museum now has almost 700,000 artifacts that are very important historically or artistically. With such a large collection, only about 1% of the items are shown at any given time. The rest are kept safe in special temperature-controlled rooms.

Famous Items in the Collection

The museum has several very special items that are known all over the world. These ancient treasures cover thousands of years of history and come in many different styles.

Metalwork Treasures

Among the bronze items, the Zong Zhou Zhong (Bell of Zhou) is very important. It is a musical instrument made by order of King Li of Zhou. The Mao Gong Ding (Cauldron of Duke of Mao) is another famous bronze. It has the longest writing found on a Chinese bronze object.

Beautiful Ceramics

The museum has the largest collection of Ru ware in the world. There are 21 pieces out of fewer than 80 known to exist. Ru ware is a very rare type of Chinese ceramics. It was made only for the emperor's court during the Song dynasty (960–1279). The museum also has great collections of other famous ceramics from the Ming and Qing dynasties.

Amazing Carvings

One of the most popular jade carvings is the Jadeite Cabbage. It is a piece of jadeite carved to look like a cabbage head. You can even see a large and small grasshopper hidden in the leaves! The artist used the natural colors of the jade to make the cabbage look real.

The Meat-shaped Stone is often shown with the Jadeite Cabbage. This piece of jasper looks exactly like a piece of pork cooked in soy sauce. The layers of skin, lean meat, and fat look incredibly real.

The museum also has carvings made from bamboo, wood, ivory, and even fruit pits. The Carved Olive-stone Boat is a tiny boat carved from an olive pit. It has a covered deck and windows that can move. Inside, there are chairs, dishes, and eight tiny figures. The bottom of the boat has a tiny carving of a 300-character story!

Paintings and Calligraphy

The paintings in the National Palace Museum range from the Tang dynasty (618–907) to modern times. They show over a thousand years of Chinese painting. The collection includes landscapes, flowers, birds, and people. One very popular painting is the Qing Palace Version of Along the River During the Qingming Festival. Another important work is Dwelling in the Fuchun Mountains by Huang Gongwang.

The museum also has a huge collection of calligraphy. These are beautiful writings by famous calligraphers and scholars. The calligraphy works date from the Jin (266–420) and Tang (618–907) dynasties.

Rare Books and Documents

The rare books in the National Palace Museum date from the Song and Yuan dynasties to the Ming and Qing dynasties. There are over 200,000 volumes! Famous examples include the Yongle Encyclopedia and the Complete Library of the Four Treasuries.

The museum also has historical documents. These include Jiu Manzhou Dang, which are old Manchu records. They are a key source for learning about early Manchu history. Other official documents from the Qing dynasty are also available for study.

Gallery

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  The Pan water vessel with coiling dragon pattern, c. 14th – Mid 11th century BC

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  The Zong-zhou Zhong (Bell of Zhou), 9th century BC

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  The Mao Gong Ding, 9th century BC

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  The San Family Plate, 9th century BC

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  The Warming Bowl in the Shape of a Flower with Light Bluish-green Glaze, Ru ware, c. 1086 – c. 1106.

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  The Narcissus Basin with Light Bluish-green Glaze, Ru ware, c. 1086 – c. 1106.

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  The Jadeite Cabbage, 19th century.

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  The Seated Portrait of Emperor Taizu of Song, c. 960–76.

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  The Travelers Among Mountains and Streams, by Fan Kuan, c. 1000.

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  The Early Spring, by Guo Xi, 1072.

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  The Wind in Pines Among a Myriad Valleys, by Li Tang, 1124.

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  The Immortal in Splashed Ink, by Liang Kai, c. 1200.

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  The Walking on a Mountain Path in Spring, by Ma Yuan, 13th century.

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  A palace concert, c. 836 – c. 907.

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  The Seated Portrait of Xuande Emperor, c. 1425–35.

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  The Herd of Deer in a Maple Grove, c. 1031–48.

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  The Portrait of Kublai Khan, by Liu Guandao, c. 1271–94.

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  The Portrait of Empress Chabi, c. 1271–81.

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  The Magpies and Hare, by Cui Bai, 1061.

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  The Listening Quietly to Soughing Pines, by Ma Lin, 13th century.

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  The Man Herding Horses, c. 12th century.

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  The Homeward Oxherds in Wind and Rain, by Li Di, 12th century.

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  The Lofty Mt.Lu, by Shen Zhou, 1467.

The Dwelling in the Fuchun Mountains, by Huang Gongwang, 1347–50.

The One Hundred Horses: A painting done in 1728 by Giuseppe Castiglione by implementing a mixture of western artistic skills and utilizing eastern materials to realize a sense of realism to this native theme.

Exhibitions Around the World

Paifang of the Northern Branch of National Palace Museum.

The museum does not hold exhibitions in mainland China. This is because of worries that the artifacts might be taken by mainland China. Since the museum opened in Taipei in 1965, it has only had six big overseas exhibitions. These were in countries that have laws to protect the treasures from being taken. These countries include the United States, France, Germany, Austria, Japan, and Australia.

Here are some of the past overseas exhibitions:

• 1935: "London International Exhibition of Chinese Art" in London.
• 1940: "Chinese Art Exhibition" in Moscow and Leningrad.
• 1961: "Ancient Chinese Art Exhibition" in major US cities like Washington, D.C. and New York Metropolitan Museum of Art.
• 1973: "China Exhibition" in Seoul, South Korea.
• 1996: "Splendors of Imperial China" in US cities like Metropolitan Museum of Art and Chicago Art Institute.
• 1998: "Empire of Memory" in Grand Palais in Paris.
• 2003: "Treasures of the Son of Heaven" in Germany.
• 2008: "Imperial Treasures" in the Kunsthistorisches Museum in Vienna.
• 2014: "The Treasured Masterpieces from the National Palace Museum, Taipei" in Japan.
• 2019: "Heaven and earth in Chinese art" in the Art Gallery of New South Wales in Australia.

Other Places to Visit

Zhishan Garden

Zhishan Garden

Inside the National Palace Museum area, there is a beautiful classical Chinese garden. It is called Zhishan Garden and covers about 1.88 hectares (4.6 acres). It follows the ideas of feng shui, Chinese architecture, and landscape design. The garden has many ponds, water features, and wooden Chinese pavilions. It was finished and opened in 1985. There is also another Chinese-style garden nearby called the Shuangxi Park and Chinese Garden.

Chang Dai-chien's Home

The National Palace Museum also takes care of the home of a famous Chinese painter, Chang Dai-chien. His home, called the Chang Dai-chien Residence, was built between 1976 and 1978. It is a two-story building with Chinese-style gardens. After Chang died in 1983, his house and gardens were given to the National Palace Museum. It is now a museum and a memorial to him.

See also

In Spanish: Museo Nacional del Palacio para niños

• List of most visited art museums
• List of largest art museums
• List of museums in Taipei
• List of museums in Taiwan