The National Museum of History will be celebrating its 50th anniversary this Sunday, with a series of special events, activities and gallery openings that reflect the half-century of its own history.
In keeping with its mission of initiating the public in Sinology, two exhibition halls will be given over to a display of "treasures from the central plain of ancient China." And given its more recent emphasis on localization, a separate exhibit titled The Beauty of Classical Taiwanese Furniture will also open for an indefinite period.
The history museum has assembled over 100 pieces of "classical" Taiwanese furniture, including an altar, "official's hat" armchairs, baroque-styled dressers, a red-canopied bed intricately carved with auspicious symbols, a colorful money cabinet symbolizing good fortune, and even a collection of wooden cabinets once used to peddle a variety of drinks and goods at local markets.
The items are displayed in a reconstructed living room, study, bedroom and kitchen, making for a nostalgic trip from the Qing Dynasty to the Japanese period.
The exhibition of local furniture is notable in that, when the museum was established in December of 1955, its small collection consisted largely of artifacts from the central plains of China. The nation's history museum contained hardly any artifacts related to the land on which it sat, save a few items "returned" by Japan after the end of the war. This made it the butt of many jokes because, rather than house readily available artifacts of Taiwanese history, the museum's original curators chose to display cheap replicas of Chinese artifacts, the originals of which they hadn't yet acquired.
"The museum is often accused of putting an emphasis on Chinese culture at the expense of Taiwan's own cultural treasures," said the museum's acting director, Tseng Deh-gin (曾德錦).
They're making up for it now. At a press conference on Wednesday, Tseng and other museum officials ceremonially uncrated a handful of artifacts from central China to be perched in the empty display cases, then rushed reporters to the next gallery, which has been renovated to look like the interior of a traditional Taiwanese home.
"We're particularly proud of the collection of Taiwanese furniture," Tseng said. It's an impressive exhibit, indeed. Even the floor of the museum has been ripped up and covered with the red terra cotta tiles found in Taiwan's oldest homes. The entire hall smells of the camphor wood of the dozens of priceless pieces on display.
It's not an exhibit for everyone, but is a must-see for anyone with an interest in antique "Chinese" furniture.
While the curators have overlooked some of the details, they've gotten the major points right. They have filled a hardwood cupboard, for instance, with the same dishes, cups and bowls that were manufactured in Yingge Township over half a century ago, but have neglected to place the cupboard on the water-filled dish casters that prevented ants from climbing the legs. (Those antique dishes, by the way, can still be found gathering dust at the backs of shelves in Yingge's several ceramics shops and can be bought for a song.)
More attention to detail would have made this otherwise impressive exhibit truly a "nostalgic trip" back in time. But at least the history museum has started looking in the right direction.
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