Elegant, small but beautiful, a repository for Chinese culture has always been the impression that the National Museum of History (NMH) has given the public. In 2009 the museum has established the “Highlights of NMH 14” website and  invites you to enjoy the richness of the history of art through the borderless Internet and novel digital display methods time and time again!

(Youtube) The National Museum of History is worth visiting time and time again

The National Museum of History has tens of thousands of historic artifacts, including treasures from Chinese culture, masterpieces by modern Chinese masters like Chang Da-Qian, Fu Xin-Yu, Sun Yu and Ma Bai-Shiu, and everyday items used by people, each with a profound story to tell. Taking into account, uniqueness, richness, era, area and significance, 14 outstanding works were carefully chosen from the museum collection: Chang Da-Qian’s ”Ink Lotus,” Fu Xin-Yu’s “Zhong Kui Quelled Demons,” the Qing Dynasty ”Thangka of Amitabha,” Gan Guo-bao’s “Finger Painting of a Tiger,” Sun Yu’s “Four Nudes,” Ma Bai-Shui’s “Taroko Landscape,” the Tang Dynasty “Tri-colored Glazed Chimera,” Chen Ming-Yuan’s “Purple Sand Ceramic Plate with 8 Fruits,” the Han Dynasty “Xiping Stone Classics, Fragmentary Stele,” the Northern Wei “Nine-storied Stone Pagoda,” the Eastern Zhou “Ritual Wine Vessel, type Feng-fu” bronze, “Eight Immortals Ivory,” “Embroidery with Birds and Flowers,” and “Altar Table,” were chosen as the bridge between the museum and young people.
The first impression that “Highlights of NMH 14” gives webpage environment has rhythm and is attractive, with the 14 fine pieces from the museum collection accompanied by various classic Eastern images. The easy browsing method leaves us full of expectation about the performance of “Highlights of NMH 14” on Microsoft Windows7 and Surface.!

 
Assembly of fine art and culture, a virtual bridge between past and present
When people think of Nanhai Road they probably first remember the relaxing green space. In addition to the lotus flowers that bloom after noon there is also a heavy cultural air. The “Highlights of NMH 14” presents these walking routes and brings back our fond memories of this old south Taipei.

“Strolling around the NMH” brings beautiful memories of old Taipei 
As well as admiring real lotuses, we can view the lotuses painted by Master Chang Da-Qian that appear lifelike on the screen, taking us back to the summer of 1945 when he painted his masterpiece. From the recipes and banquet dish list we can also see that the master did not just paint lotuses using his eyes and hands, through cooking with lotuses he also used his senses to appreciate their existence, allowing the “elegant lotuses” walk into every corner of life. Seen today, the master’s realization of life aesthetics is amazing!

 “Highlights of NMH 14”- ”Ink Lotus” Flash animation

The beauty of large lotus paintings

The master’s secret recipe — Lotus gruel,
allowing you not just see the beauty of lotuses but also enjoy their taste

The “Ritual Wine Vessel, type Feng-fu” in the NMH collection can be compared with similar pieces in other museums.

Bronze casting animation: Lost wax section

There is also a video showing the Zisha pottery (purple sand pottery) manufacturing methods

Fu Xin-Yu’s “Zhong Kui Quelled Demons” is accompanied by analysis from an art historian showing us the importance of Zhong Kui in Chinese culture and on the computer screen we can see details that we might not see if we viewed the actual painting, bringing these amusing little ghosts into our world.

Fu Xin-Yu’s “Zhong Kui Quelled Demons” - The mischievous appearance and posture
of the little ghosts should not be missed

Young people first, the new cyberspace position
In the 21st century the objective of a museum website is not just telling the museum’s own story it is also using the website to establish a stable relationship between the museum and the public. In the initial stages of planning “Highlights of NMH 14” the opinions of Internet Trend-observers and bloggers were collected  and, accordingly, 18-40 year olds were targeted as the main users, consequently, its functions are user-friendly and screen and music options have a fresh feel. The result is that even listening to music of “Highlights of NMH 14” is a pleasure! 
By displaying cultural products on-line and allowing various teaching materials, wallpaper and blog stickers to be downloaded, the museum collection and knowledge can attract different groups of people through different domains and methods. It can be expected that the accumulated experience of users will allow “Highlights of NMH 14” to be continually improved and enriched in the future.

Netizens can browse through the NMH’s cultural products

Blog stickers- Allow the “Highlights of NMH 14” to quickly spread through cyberspace

“Embroidery with Birds and Flowers” from the NMH’s collection is an exquisite and meaningful picture that is worth savoring again and again
Viewing the “Embroidery with Birds and Flowers,” it is easy to think of the works by Taiwanese artists Lin Ming-Hong who has cooperated with Louis Vuitton. Maybe the collection of the NMH can provide inspiration for Lin’s next series of works? Or can be the fertile soil that nurtures the next world-famous artist to emerge in Taiwan? Culture is full of endless possibilities. Visit “Highlights of NMH 14” and let history and art into your life!
National Museum of History research assistant Sin Zhi-Ning was a big help in the writing of this article and we would like to express our sincere thanks to her. The editorial team is, of course, responsible for its contents.