Cherished Collections Become Public Assets: National Taiwan Museum Exhibits Private Donations
The National Taiwan Museum is showcasing cherished collections donated by the public in its "Memories of Objects - Family Collections, Donations, and New Life" mini-exhibition. This event highlights how personal memories transform into public cultural assets.
📋 Article Processing Timeline
- 📰 Published: May 12, 2026 at 18:29
- 🔍 Collected: May 12, 2026 at 19:02 (32 min after Published)
- 🤖 AI Analyzed: May 13, 2026 at 05:12 (10h 10m after Collected)
Central News Agency
(Reporter Wang Bao-er, Taipei, 12th) A pearl necklace commemorating a deceased wife, and paintings depicting a girl trading scrap metal for candy—these were once people's beloved collections, later donated to the National Taiwan Museum, and are now on display at the main building. To share the public's intentions, the National Taiwan Museum will regularly display private donations.
The National Taiwan Museum has approximately 138,000 collections, with about 20% coming from private donations. Last year, 23 private friends donated cultural relics and specimens. The opening press conference for the 2026 "Memories of Objects - Family Collections, Donations, and New Life" mini-exhibition was held today, showcasing items including hand-drawn drafts of the "Flora of Taiwan" and a Japanese colonial era painted toilet.
National Taiwan Museum Director Chen Deng-qin stated that starting last year, the museum decided to share private donations through a mini-exhibition every May. The willingness of the public to entrust their cherished collections to a public museum is an important responsibility. Donations often enter storage after collection, and it is unknown when they will be displayed again. He hopes to express gratitude to the public and share the profound stories of each object.
For example, donor Chen Hsiu donated a pearl necklace from the 1940s, which was her mother Chen Zhou Leng-shou's dowry. Chen Zhou Leng-shou, during the Japanese colonial era, accumulated considerable savings with her exquisite sewing skills. Later, Chen Zhou Leng-shou passed away from malaria after the war, and her relatively poor husband's family successively pawned many assets, leaving only this pearl necklace as a remembrance of his deceased wife.
Objects that offer a glimpse into a grand era through ordinary people also include rural girls painted by amateur artist Hong Mi-hua, who would collect scrap metal to exchange for candy, or the poignant bitterness of poor families lamenting too many children to feed. Donor Hsieh Bi-lien brought an antique screen and ceramic works by renowned calligrapher and painter Fu Shen; in recent years, she has successively donated over 300 cultural relics to the National Taiwan Museum.
Hsieh Bi-lien shared that she majored in accounting and went to the United States after graduation. Thirty years ago, she returned to Taiwan with her husband and has volunteered at the National Palace Museum since then, learning how to appreciate artifacts and paintings. The ceramic work by Fu Shen she donated this time is square-shaped, which is particularly unique, and also features inscriptions in different calligraphic styles such as seal script, cursive script, and running script, making it very magnificent and beautiful.
Minister of Culture Li Yuan stated in his speech that the greatest function of a museum is to make people feel that they exist. He is very grateful to the National Taiwan Museum for allowing many people to find memories in the exhibits through the exhibition. He hopes that many people will come to see the exhibition, find history, find their own memories, and find the meaning of human existence from different objects.
The 2026 "Memories of Objects - Family Collections, Donations, and New Life" mini-exhibition is on display at the National Taiwan Museum's main building until the 24th. (Editor: Long Bo-an) 1150512
Choose to stand with facts; your sponsorship is the power that protects press freedom.
Download the Central News Agency's "First-hand News" APP to stay updated with the latest news.
The text, images, and videos on this website may not be reproduced, publicly broadcast, or publicly transmitted and used without authorization.
(Reporter Wang Bao-er, Taipei, 12th) A pearl necklace commemorating a deceased wife, and paintings depicting a girl trading scrap metal for candy—these were once people's beloved collections, later donated to the National Taiwan Museum, and are now on display at the main building. To share the public's intentions, the National Taiwan Museum will regularly display private donations.
The National Taiwan Museum has approximately 138,000 collections, with about 20% coming from private donations. Last year, 23 private friends donated cultural relics and specimens. The opening press conference for the 2026 "Memories of Objects - Family Collections, Donations, and New Life" mini-exhibition was held today, showcasing items including hand-drawn drafts of the "Flora of Taiwan" and a Japanese colonial era painted toilet.
National Taiwan Museum Director Chen Deng-qin stated that starting last year, the museum decided to share private donations through a mini-exhibition every May. The willingness of the public to entrust their cherished collections to a public museum is an important responsibility. Donations often enter storage after collection, and it is unknown when they will be displayed again. He hopes to express gratitude to the public and share the profound stories of each object.
For example, donor Chen Hsiu donated a pearl necklace from the 1940s, which was her mother Chen Zhou Leng-shou's dowry. Chen Zhou Leng-shou, during the Japanese colonial era, accumulated considerable savings with her exquisite sewing skills. Later, Chen Zhou Leng-shou passed away from malaria after the war, and her relatively poor husband's family successively pawned many assets, leaving only this pearl necklace as a remembrance of his deceased wife.
Objects that offer a glimpse into a grand era through ordinary people also include rural girls painted by amateur artist Hong Mi-hua, who would collect scrap metal to exchange for candy, or the poignant bitterness of poor families lamenting too many children to feed. Donor Hsieh Bi-lien brought an antique screen and ceramic works by renowned calligrapher and painter Fu Shen; in recent years, she has successively donated over 300 cultural relics to the National Taiwan Museum.
Hsieh Bi-lien shared that she majored in accounting and went to the United States after graduation. Thirty years ago, she returned to Taiwan with her husband and has volunteered at the National Palace Museum since then, learning how to appreciate artifacts and paintings. The ceramic work by Fu Shen she donated this time is square-shaped, which is particularly unique, and also features inscriptions in different calligraphic styles such as seal script, cursive script, and running script, making it very magnificent and beautiful.
Minister of Culture Li Yuan stated in his speech that the greatest function of a museum is to make people feel that they exist. He is very grateful to the National Taiwan Museum for allowing many people to find memories in the exhibits through the exhibition. He hopes that many people will come to see the exhibition, find history, find their own memories, and find the meaning of human existence from different objects.
The 2026 "Memories of Objects - Family Collections, Donations, and New Life" mini-exhibition is on display at the National Taiwan Museum's main building until the 24th. (Editor: Long Bo-an) 1150512
Choose to stand with facts; your sponsorship is the power that protects press freedom.
Download the Central News Agency's "First-hand News" APP to stay updated with the latest news.
The text, images, and videos on this website may not be reproduced, publicly broadcast, or publicly transmitted and used without authorization.