When the war ended, the treasures reunited in Nanking for a short while before Chiang Kai-shek after losing China, moved a selection of the finest of the lot, containing more than 600,000 pieces to Taiwan in 1949.
Now they say if you want to see the best in Chinese art, you do not go to Beijing because they are all at the National Palace Museum, Taipei. Opened in 1965, it is ranked as one of world's best museums Since the museum only has space to display around 15,000 pieces at any given time, the majority of the treasures (about 700,00 in total) are kept well protected in air-conditioned vaults buried deep in the mountainside. The displays are rotated once every three months, which means 60,000 pieces can be viewed in a year and it would take nearly 12 years to see them all.
These are the significant exhibits of the museum. (Descriptions and pictures are taken from the National Palace Museum website:)
aka Jadeite Cabbage with Insects
Ch'ing Dynasty (1644-1911)
Length: 18.7 cm, width: 9.1 cm, thickness: 5.07 cm
aka Meat Shaped Stone
Ch'ing Dynasty (1644-1911)
Height: 5.73 cm, width: 6.6 cm, thickness: 5.3 cm
You may wish to know that at the time when I was in Taipei, China who has gifted Taiwan with 2 panda bears, "Tuan Tuan" and "Yuan Yuan" (which means "reunion" in Mandarin) has requested as an exchange of goodwill, that Taiwan loan them "Cabbage" and "Meat" for a term exhibition. Apparently the Taiwanese government has said yes to their request although many of the Taiwanese people fear that their national treasures may never be returned.
The other well-kept secret about these treasures is that for a brief moment in history, both "Cabbage" and "Meat" were in fact residing at a Maharajah's Palace.
Court records including bamboo writings, stone carvings and cave paintings have revealed that while the rest of the world was still grappling with "fire", 2 of the oldest civilisations were already exchanging gifts.
A Soong Scholar presenting Meat (3/8" by 1/4"):
Han Dynasty (206 BC-AD 220)
Height: 9.3 cm
The "pi-hsieh" is a mythological creature commonly thought to be able to ward off evil forces with its magical powers. In fact, its name means "to ward off evil" in Chinese. In the Han dynasty, "pi-hsieh" were commonly represented as winged, four-legged beasts, a form that was probably transmitted from Western Asia. Often found as huge stone statues, they would be placed along the spirit road leading up to tombs. Some were also carved from quality jade and used as ornaments for the wealthy and powerful. This example, originally carved from a piece of green jade, is represented with its head raised and jaws open as if the creature is emitting a low growl. Its stance alludes to the fact that it is walking forwards, and although the wings are pressed to its back, they give the impression that they will unfold and beat at any minute. The long beard of this spectacular creature sprouts from its lower jaw and extends all the way down to its chest, its tail brushes the ground behind it. Over the years, the color of the jade has changed to a mottled yellowish brown. This is one of the larger examples of Han dynasty jade "pi-hsieh" known. It is different from other jade carved "pi-hsieh" in that its snout is relatively long, resembling that of a horse, where others appear more like that of a tiger’s. Furthermore, it bears an uncanny resemblance to objects that scholars refer to as "dragon heads", adornments on bronze furnaces recently unearthed in Inner Mongolia and dating to the middle and late Han periods. This example in the collection of the National Palace Museum was once an important part of the imperial collection, and one of the emperor's poems is carved onto the chest. The Museum also has a two-tiered rosewood stand that accompanies this piece, the upper tier of which is carved with the words "Imperial curio for the Ch'ien-lung Emperor", and the lower tier carved with the same imperial poem found on the creature’s chest. These carved characters are also inlaid with silver.
The outer part of this vase with a revolving inside showing fish swimming appears at first glance to be a single piece but is actually divided into three parts--1) the mouth and neck, depicted with a pattern of suspended jewels; 2) the shoulder, decorated with golden chrysanthemum petals, winding floral branches, and four small rings; and 3) the body and bottom--which have altogether four panels of openwork so that when the inner vase spins, one can clearly see goldfish swimming leisurely in the greenish water. Each part was originally first fired separately and then after completion put together and fired with low-temperature glaze to fuse them.
The vase with revolving inside was a new type researched and developed by the Ceramics Superintendent of the imperial kilns in the Ch'ien-lung reign--T'ang Ying--and his assistant Lao-ko, who brought the level of technical expertise and craftsmanship of porcelains at the time to new height.