Collection of Paintings and Calligraphy:The Palace Museum in Beijing vs.The National Palace Museum in Taipei

by+Xiao+Bian

The Palace Museum in Beijing has 53，492 paintings， 75，035 calligraphic works， and 28，560 tablet rubbings. According to the official website of the National Palace Museum in Taipei， it houses 6，532 paintings， 3，644 pieces of calligraphy， 490 calligraphic copies， 896 stone rubbings， 308 embroideries， and 1，880 painted fans. Of the paintings and calligraphy in the National Palace Museum in Taipei， 6，807 pieces came from Beijings Palace Museum.

As the essence of Chinese calligraphy and painting， the masterpieces in the two museums complement each other and reflect the history of these arts. Timely Clearing after Snowfall by renowned calligrapher Wang Xizhi， in the National Palace Museum， and Wang Xianzhis Mid-Autumn and Wang Xuns Letter to Boyuan in Beijings Palace Museum were called the “three rare treasures” by Emperor Qianlong of the Qing Dynasty. In fact， many interrelated paintings and calligraphy are separately housed in the two museums. For instance， five of the Ten Steeds series by Giuseppe Castiglione， an Italian missionary and a court painter of the Qing Dynasty， are in Beijings Palace Museum， while the other five are in Taipei.

Despite the fact that the number of calligraphy and paintings collected in the National Palace Museum in Taipei is much less than that in the Palace Museum in Beijing， the former boasts a vast collection of art dating back to the Yuan Dynasty and earlier， especially paintings and calligraphy of the Song Dynasty. Of the paintings in the museum in Taipei， Emperor Minghuangs Tour in Shu by an anonymous painter of the Tang Dynasty and Traveling on the River in First Snow by Han Gan of the State of Southern Tang（937-975） in the period of the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms are masterpieces integrating the styles of the figure and landscape paintings. Earlier Chinese figure paintings are characterized by depiction of historical events， evidenced by Eight Riders Traveling in Spring by Yao Yan of the Five Dynasties and Literary Gathering by Emperor Huizong of the Song Dynasty. The museum also collects portraits of emperors， empresses and historical figures of the Song and Yuan dynasties， as well as religious paintings and religious figure paintings by anonymous painters， which represent the highest level of ancient Chinese realistic figure painting. There are also some flower-and-bird painting masterpieces， such as Pheasant and Sparrows among Thorns and Bamboos by Huang Jucai， an eminent painter of the Five Dynasties. Mountain Birds and Winter Sweet by Emperor Huizong of the Song Dynasty integrates poetry， calligraphy and painting. The museum also has a number of painting albums of the flower-and-bird paintings of the Southern Song Dynasty， which displays the evolution of the genre of painting.

The most noticeable calligraphy collections in the National Palace Museum in Taipei are Tang Dynasty replicas of works by Jin Dynasty calligraphers， as well as calligraphic works by officials of the Tang and Song dynasties. The most famous include Tang Dynasty copies of Wang Xizhis Timely Clearing after Snowfall and other representative calligraphic works. The Cold Food Observance by Su Shi， The Pavilion of Pine Breeze by Huang Tingjian， and On Sichuan Silk by Mi Fu， all dating back to the Northern Song Dynasty （960-1127）， are calligraphic masterpieces that their authors wrote as their respective poems. The most excellent calligraphy collection of the Southern Song Dynasty is Seven-Character Quatrains by Wu Ju.

The museum in Taipei also has 152 portraits of the emperors and empresses of the Song， Yuan， and Ming dynasties. The best of them are portraits of the emperors and empresses of the Song Dynasty. Portraits of the emperors and empresses of the Qing Dynasty are collected in the Palace Museum in Beijing. The collections of epistolary art in the National Palace Museum in Taipei are mainly included in the Collection of Letters of the Yuan and Song Dynasties and the Collection of Epistolary Art of the Ming Dynasty. The overwhelming majority of stone rubbings collected in the museum came from the collection of the Qing court， which were transported to Taiwan in the 1940s.

The number of calligraphy and paintings of the Yuan Dynasty and earlier periods in Beijings Palace Museum may be less than that in its counterpart in Taipei. Even so， its collection of art showcases the painting styles of all ages. For instance， the Song Dynasty replicas of the Eastern Jin Dynasty （317-420） painter Gu Kaizhis Wise and Benevolent Women and Nymph of the Luo River in the museum vividly demonstrate the painting style of the Eastern Jin Dynasty. Despite disputes about its authenticity， Spring Excursion by Sui Dynasty （581-618） painter Zhan Ziqian represents the landscape painting of that time.

The Palace Museum in Beijing houses a number of painting masterpieces of the Ming and Qing dynasties， including representative works of almost all major painting schools at that time. The National Palace Museum in Taipei mainly collects calligraphy and paintings before the Qing period but lacks works of the 18th and 19th centuries， such as paintings and calligraphic works by the Eight Eccentrics of Yangzhou （a group of eight Chinese painters known in the Qing Dynasty for rejecting orthodox ideas about painting in favor of a style deemed expressive and individualist）， painters from the Jingjiang Painting School， the Eight Masters of Nanjing （namely Gong Xian， Fan Qi， Ye Xin， Zou Zhe， Gao Cen， Hu Zao， Wu Hong， and Xie Sun） and the Four Monk Painters（namely Zhu Da， Shi Tao， Kun Can， and Hong Ren）. Their works have become priceless relics of art. In the 1950s and 60s， Beijings Palace Museum welcomed many art masterpieces of the 18th and 19th centuries into its collection.

The Palace Museum in Beijing takes particular pride in its collection of Qing Dynasty court paintings， which were painted by Qing emperors， empresses， and officials， as well as foreign missionaries and court painters in the Ruyi Gallery， a painting institution that served the royal family.

It collects a number of calligraphic works by eminent masters of the Jin， Tang， Song， and Yuan dynasties， and tops all museums in the collection of Yuan Dynasty calligraphy. Of the 11 existing pieces of famous Yuan Dynasty calligrapher Zhao Mengfus work， four are in Beijings Palace Museum. Moreover， the museum collects works from various calligraphic schools of the Ming and Qing dynasties， including the handwriting studies， the rubbing studies， and the cabinet style.

The more than 20，000 paintings and calligraphic works by Qing emperors and empresses are highlights of the Palace Museum collection. Not only have the calligraphic works of 10 Qing emperors from Shunzhi to Xuantong been preserved in the museum， but also some paintings and calligraphy by imperial consorts including Empress Dowager Cixi are collected here. Emperor Qianlong alone left some 2，000 pieces of calligraphy and painting.

Of the 28，000 stone rubbings housed in the Palace Museum in Beijing， nearly 100 are included in The Precious Collection of Stone Moat –most being collected after 1949. Many of them are rare， exquisite copies directly rubbed from stone tablets of remote antiquity.