The National Museum of History (NMH; ) is located in the

Nanhai Academy The Nanhai Academy () is a collection of cultural and educational facilities located on Nanhai Road in the Zhongzheng District of Taipei, Taiwan. History After the Republic of China Government relocated to Taiwan following the Chinese Civil War, ...

Zhongzheng District Zhongzheng District (also Jhongjheng District) is a District (Taiwan), district in Taipei. It is home to most of the national government buildings of the Taiwan, Republic of China (Taiwan), including the Presidential Office Building, Taipei, P ...

Taipei Taipei (), officially Taipei City, is the capital and a special municipality of the Republic of China (Taiwan). Located in Northern Taiwan, Taipei City is an enclave of the municipality of New Taipei City that sits about southwest of the n ...

Taiwan Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the nort ...

. After the

Republic of China Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the northeast ...

government moved to Taiwan, the National Museum of History was the first museum to be established in Taiwan.

History

A "National Museum of Historical Artifacts and Fine Arts" was established in a Japanese style building near the

Taipei Botanical Garden The Taipei Botanical Garden () is located in the Nanhai Academy on Nanhai Road in Zhongzheng District, Taipei, Taiwan. The Botanical Garden covers an area of about 15 hectares and includes over 1,500 plant species. History The Taipei Botanica ...

in 1955. It was renamed "National Museum of History" in 1956 and the building was renovated in a five-floor traditional Chinese

Ming The Ming dynasty (), officially the Great Ming, was an Dynasties in Chinese history, imperial dynasty of China, ruling from 1368 to 1644 following the collapse of the Mongol Empire, Mongol-led Yuan dynasty. The Ming dynasty was the last ort ...

and

Qing The Qing dynasty ( ), officially the Great Qing,, was a Manchu-led imperial dynasty of China and the last orthodox dynasty in Chinese history. It emerged from the Later Jin dynasty founded by the Jianzhou Jurchens, a Tungusic-speaki ...

palace style, with four floors for exhibition and staff offices, and one floor for storage. Despite its limited space, the NMH is renowned for its international exhibitions, and proactive and innovative museum development and educational programs. Various conversions of the building have been carried out over the years to adapt it as a modern space fit for the newest exhibition facilities and requirements. The NMH's collection originally comprised the artifacts of the Henan Museum that were relocated to

in 1949, and of relics recovered from the Japanese after the Sino-Japanese War. It was named the National Museum of History in 1949 and the

Chinese calligraphy Chinese calligraphy is the writing of Chinese characters as an art form, combining purely visual art and interpretation of the literary meaning. This type of expression has been widely practiced in China and has been generally held in high est ...

title inscription was completed by famous scholar

Yu Youren Yu Youren (); (April 11, 1879 – November 10, 1964) was a Chinese educator, scholar, calligrapher, and politician. Early life He was born on April 11, 1879, in the town of Hedaogang (), Sanyuan County (north of Xi'an), Shaanxi Province, Qing Chin ...

. The collection included bronzes unearthed in

Xinzheng Xinzheng () is a county-level city of Henan Province, China. It is under the administration of the prefecture-level city of Zhengzhou, the provincial capital. The city has a population of 600,000 people and covers an area of , of which is urban. ...

Hui The Hui people ( zh, c=, p=Huízú, w=Hui2-tsu2, Xiao'erjing: , dng, Хуэйзў, ) are an East Asian ethnoreligious group predominantly composed of Chinese-speaking adherents of Islam. They are distributed throughout China, mainly in the n ...

and

Anyang Anyang (; ) is a prefecture-level city in Henan province, China. The northernmost city in Henan, Anyang borders Puyang to the east, Hebi and Xinxiang to the south, and the provinces of Shanxi and Hebei to its west and north respectively. It had a ...

(in Henan Province), Pre-Qin pottery unearthed in

Luoyang Luoyang is a city located in the confluence area of Luo River (Henan), Luo River and Yellow River in the west of Henan province. Governed as a prefecture-level city, it borders the provincial capital of Zhengzhou to the east, Pingdingshan to the ...

, Han green-glazed pottery, dancer and musician figurines of the Six Dynasties,

Tang Tang or TANG most often refers to: * Tang dynasty * Tang (drink mix) Tang or TANG may also refer to: Chinese states and dynasties * Jin (Chinese state) (11th century – 376 BC), a state during the Spring and Autumn period, called Tang (唐) b ...

tri-colored pottery, and more. The arrival of allocated artifacts and donations from private collectors gradually enriched the Museum's collection and enlarged its archives. In July 2018 the museum was closed for renovations and is planned to reopen at the end of 2021.

Collection

The museum collections continued to grow with annual acquisitions obtained with government procurement budget allocations and donations from private collectors. The annual acquisitions provided the museum with artifacts and relics from mainland China, Taiwan, and other countries. The collections dated back to the Neolithic period, the ancient Chinese dynasties of Shang, Zhou, Han, Tang, Song, Yuan, Ming, and Qing, to the contemporary era.

Branch

The National Museum of History has its branch in Terminal 1 building of the

Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport is an international airport serving Taipei and northern Taiwan. Located about west of Taipei in Dayuan District, Taoyuan, the airport is Taiwan's largest. It was also the busiest airport in Taiwan before t ...

Taoyuan City Taoyuan () is a special municipality (Taiwan), special municipality of the Taiwan, Republic of China (Taiwan) located in northwestern Taiwan, neighboring New Taipei City to the north-east, Yilan County, Taiwan, Yilan County to the south-e ...

Transportation

The museum is accessible within walking distance South of Xiaonanmen Station or Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall metro station of the

Taipei Metro Taipei Mass Rapid Transit (MRT), branded as Metro Taipei, is a rapid transit system serving the areas of Taipei and New Taipei City, New Taipei in Taiwan, operated by the State-owned enterprise, government-owned Taipei Rapid Transit Corporation ...

Directors

* Pao Tsun-peng (March 1956 – May 1969) * Wang Yu-ching (May 1969 – July 1973) * Ho Hao-tien (July 1973 – October 1985) * Lee Ting-yuan (October 1985 – February 1986) *

Chen Kuei-miao Chen Kuei-miao (; 1 July 1934 – 15 August 2014) was a Taiwanese politician While serving as acting Mayor of Tainan in 1985, Chen was affiliated with the Kuomintang. He was first elected to the Legislative Yuan in 1989, and represented Taiwan ...

(February 1986 – February 1990) * Chen Kang-shun * Huang Kuang-nan * Huang Yung-chuan * Tseng Te-chin * Huang Yung-chuan * Chang Yui-tan (2010 – January 2017) * Chen Teng-chin * Chen Chi-ming * Liao Hsin-tien (incumbent) Source

References

{{authority control 1955 establishments in Taiwan Executive Yuan History museums in Taiwan Museums established in 1955 Museums in Taipei