On the National Palace Museum’s Collection of Rare and Antiquarian Books and Its Digital Preservation

宋兆霖(Chao-ling Sung)

《National Palace Museum Bulletin》 46期 (2013/12) Pp. 141-176

摘要

The National Palace Museum is recognized as one of the greatest repositories of Chinese art in the world, and its collections are thought to be illustrative of 7,000 years of Chinese history from the Neolithic ages to the Qing dynasty. Each year millions of visitors to the Museum are dazzled by the aesthetic beauty of the artifacts, paintings and calligraphic works showcased in its galleries; however, not many of them are aware that it is also home to a sizable collection of Chinese rare and antiquarian books, let alone their significance in the study of the myriad facets of China’s cultural history. The collection, administered by the Department of Rare Books and Historical Documents, is largely made up of books and manuscripts originating from the Qing imperial court, supplemented by donations received and acquisitions made by the Museum since its reinstatement in Taiwan in 1965. This paper is intended to provide an overview of the scope and provenance of the collection, and to introduce the measures adopted by the Department over the past decade in the application of electronic, digital technologies to its preservation and utilization.