A century-old plaque bearing the name Chuan Cheng, an old retail store in Taoyuan’s Dasi District (大溪), was discovered in July last year in the National Museum of Taiwan History in Tainan after being declared missing 20 years ago.
After months of negotiations, the museum made a replica of the plaque and donated it to the original owner, the Chiang (江) family.
The family on Wednesday held a ceremony at the store’s original site, which has been converted into a family temple that handles all affairs related to the clan.
Photo: Lee Jung-ping, Taipei Times
The plaque was installed in 1908 by a Chiang family ancestor — Chiang Tsu-te (江次德), who made a living importing and selling goods.
It became a familiar landmark in the area, now known as Dasi Old Street (大溪老街), the family said.
The plaque went missing about 20 years ago, the family said, but they did not report it to the police.
Lee Lin Chin-wang (李林進旺), a native of Dasi and graduate student at National Dong Hwa University who was conducting research into the district’s old families, discovered the plaque on the museum’s online database and notified the family.
After visiting the museum and ascertaining that it was the missing plaque, the family negotiated with the museum for its return, Chiang Yan-hsun said.
The museum said it had purchased the plaque from a private collector and had hired experts to verify that it was authentic.
It said it did not know that the plaque belonged to the Chiang family.
As the plaque has suffered significant damage due to age, the museum said it would be better preserved at the museum where it can be kept under constant temperature, and offered to make a replica for the family, Chiang Yan-hsun said.
The Chiang family was happy that its ancestral plaque has “returned home,” he said, adding that he hoped all Chiang descendants would be proud of the family’s history.
Museum director Wang Chang-hua (王長華) praised the workmanship of the original plaque, saying it was made from four pieces of Chinese fir, given a coating of glaze and the border decorations — featuring cranes, bats, dragons and wave-like curls –—were thereafter gilded with gold.
Dasi Wood-Art EcoMuseum director Chen Chien-hui (陳倩慧) said the return of the plaque — albeit a replica — was a boon to the EcoMuseum’s efforts to promote the history of local families and artifacts that have been passed down through the ages.
The EcoMuseum plans to hold talks on the history of the plaque at the store’s original site, and workshops on conserving and restoring artifacts to promote the museum’s goal of protecting cultural assets, Chen said.
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