Palace Museum facts for kids
| 故宫博物院 | |||||||||||
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Front view of the Museum
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| Established | 10 October 1925 | ||||||||||
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| Location | 4 Jingshan Front St, Dongcheng, Beijing | ||||||||||
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| Collection size | 1,860,000 | ||||||||||
| Visitors | 17 million (2018) | ||||||||||
| Public transit access | 1 at Tian'anmendong 2 8 at Qianmen |
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| Built | 1406–1420 | ||||||||||
| Architect | Kuai Xiang | ||||||||||
| Architectural style(s) | Chinese architecture | ||||||||||
| Chinese name | |||||||||||
| Chinese | 故宫博物院 | ||||||||||
| Literal meaning | Former-Palace Museum | ||||||||||
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The Palace Museum (Chinese: 故宫博物院; pinyin: Gùgōng Bówùyùan) is a huge national museum in Beijing, China. It is located inside the Forbidden City, which was once the home of China's emperors. The museum opened in 1925 after the last emperor left.
The museum covers a massive area of 720,000 square meters (about 178 acres). It has 980 buildings that were built between 1406 and 1420. Inside, you can find over 1.8 million pieces of art. Most of these come from the old imperial collections of the Ming and Qing dynasties. Over time, the museum has added more items through new discoveries and gifts.
The Palace Museum is one of the most visited museums in the world. In 2018, more than 17 million people visited it! To protect the old buildings and make sure everyone has a good experience, the museum limits visitors to 80,000 people per day.
Contents
History of the Palace Museum
The Forbidden City's Past
The Palace Museum is located in the Forbidden City. This was the Chinese imperial palace from the Ming dynasty until the end of the Qing dynasty. It sits right in the middle of Beijing, China. For nearly 500 years, it was where the emperor and his family lived. It was also the main place for government and important ceremonies.
The Forbidden City was built between 1406 and 1420. It has 980 buildings with 8,707 rooms. The whole area covers 720,000 square meters. Its design shows the best of traditional Chinese palace architecture. It has even influenced buildings in other parts of East Asia. In 1987, the Forbidden City became a World Heritage Site. UNESCO calls it the largest collection of old wooden buildings in the world.
How the Museum Started
In 1912, Puyi, the last emperor of China, gave up his throne. He was allowed to stay in a part of the palace called the Inner Court. The Outer Court was opened to the public. A small museum was set up there to show some of the artifacts. In 1924, Puyi had to leave the Inner Court after a political change. The Palace Museum was then officially opened in the Forbidden City on October 10, 1925.
The museum's first collections came from the old imperial treasures of the Qing dynasty. An audit in 1925 found about 1.17 million pieces of art in the Forbidden City. There were also countless rare books and historical papers from the Ming and Qing dynasties.
In 1933, there was a threat of invasion from Japan. Because of this, the most important parts of the museum's collection were moved to safety. After World War II, these items were brought back to Nanjing. However, during a big conflict in China, the government decided to move the best parts of this collection to Taiwan. About 2,972 boxes of artifacts are now in the National Palace Museum in Taipei. More than 8,000 boxes were returned to Beijing. But 2,221 boxes are still kept at the Nanjing Museum.
Later, the government of the People's Republic of China searched the Forbidden City. They found many more important items. They also brought items from other museums to add to the Palace Museum's collection. People also donated items or the museum bought new ones.
Museum Collections
Today, the Palace Museum has over 1.8 million rare and valuable artworks. These include paintings, ceramics, sculptures, bronze items, and more. The collections mostly come from the old imperial collection. An inventory done between 2004 and 2010 found 1,807,558 artifacts. Over 1.6 million of these are considered "valuable cultural relics." By the end of 2016, the museum announced they had found 55,132 new items. This brought the total collection to 1,862,690 objects!
Ceramics and Porcelain
The Palace Museum has 340,000 pieces of ceramics and porcelain. This includes imperial collections from the Tang and Song dynasties. It also has pieces made specially for the palace or even for the emperor himself. This collection is very special because it shows the best porcelain made in China.
Paintings
The Palace Museum has almost 50,000 paintings. More than 400 of these are from before the Yuan dynasty (1271–1368). This is the largest collection of its kind in China. It includes some of the rarest and most valuable paintings in Chinese history.
The collection started with the palace's own paintings from the Ming and Qing dynasties. Emperors like Qianlong loved art, so they collected many important paintings. However, some paintings were lost over time. After he left the throne, Emperor Puyi moved some paintings out of the palace, and many were later lost. In 1948, some of the best paintings were moved to Taiwan. Since then, the museum has added more paintings through donations, purchases, and transfers from other museums.
Jade Artifacts
Jade is very important in Chinese culture. The museum's collection has about 30,000 jade pieces. Most of these came from the imperial collection. The oldest pieces are from the Neolithic period (Stone Age). Later pieces from the Ming and Qing dynasties include items used in the palace and gifts from all over the empire.
Bronze Artifacts
Bronze also has a special place in Chinese culture. It was always important for state ceremonies. The Palace Museum's bronze collection starts from the early Shang dynasty. Out of almost 10,000 pieces, about 1,600 have writings on them from before the Qin dynasty (before 221 BC). A large part of the collection is ceremonial bronze items used by the imperial court. This includes full sets of musical instruments.
Timepieces
The Palace Museum has one of the world's largest collections of mechanical clocks and watches from the 18th and 19th centuries. There are over 1,000 pieces. The collection includes both Chinese and foreign-made items. Chinese pieces came from the palace's own workshops. Foreign pieces came from countries like Britain, France, Switzerland, the United States, and Japan. Most of the foreign clocks are from Britain.
One amazing piece is a clock with a tiny robot. This robot can write a lucky saying in perfect Chinese calligraphy on a small piece of paper!
Palace Artifacts
Besides artworks, a big part of the museum's collection includes items from the imperial court. These are things used by the imperial family and the palace in their daily lives. They also include items important for government work and ceremonies. This collection helps us understand the daily life and traditions of the imperial era.
Exhibitions to Explore
The museum has two main types of exhibitions. One type shows the rooms as they looked during the imperial time. These are called "as-was exhibitions." The other type is "themed exhibitions," which focus on specific kinds of items. There are eleven special themed exhibition halls:
- Digital
- Painting & Calligraphy
- Ceramic
- Treasury
- Timepiece
- Sculpture
- Architecture
- Bronzeware
- Xiqu (Chinese opera)
- Arsenal
- Furniture
Sister Museums Around the World
The Palace Museum has connections with other museums:
- Kulangsu Gallery of Foreign Artifacts from the Palace Museum Collection in Kulangsu, Xiamen.
- Northern Branch of the Palace Museum in Xibeiwang, Haidian, Beijing, which is currently being built.
- Hong Kong Palace Museum in Hong Kong, which opened in July 2022.
- National Palace Museum, in Taipei, Taiwan, which has a shared history with the Beijing museum.
Performances at the Forbidden City
The Forbidden City has also been used for live performances. However, this is done very carefully. This is because heavy equipment and performances can harm the old buildings. Most "Forbidden City" performances actually happen just outside the palace walls.
- In 1997, the musician Yanni performed a concert in front of the Forbidden City. He was the first modern Western artist to do so.
- In 1998, the opera Turandot was performed just outside the Forbidden City for the first time.
- In 2001, the famous singers Plácido Domingo, José Carreras, and Luciano Pavarotti (the "Three Tenors") sang in front of the main gate.
- In 2004, French musician Jean Michel Jarre performed a concert there with 260 other musicians.
Images for kids
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Palace Museum (Chinese characters).svg
"Palace Museum" in Chinese characters
