National Palace Museum
The National Palace Museum is an art gallery and museum in Taipei, Taiwan. It was established in Beijing in October 10, 1925. The articles in the museum were moved from place to place in the 1930's and 1940's to prevent them from falling into the hands of the Japanese.
During the final years of the Chinese Civil War, the museum collections were moved under the orders of Chiang Kai-Shek from the Chinese Imperial Palace to Taiwan. This removal has always been controversial with many within Mainland China viewing this as looting while some in Taiwan have argued that had the art not been moved to Taiwan in the 1940's, it would have been destroyed by the Cultural Revolution in the 1960's. The National Palace Museum has also been controversial on Taiwan with many supporters of Taiwan independence regarding it as an unwanted of China-centeredness.
During the 1960's and 1970's, the National Palace Museum was used by the Kuomintang to support its claim to be the legitimate government of all of China and tended to emphasize Chinese nationalism. More recently changed its focus to be more focused on local and minority cultures and has
included some materials on loan from the Peoples Republic of China.
External Links
- http://www.npm.gov.tw/ - Official web page of the National Palace Museum
See Chinese art