Draft Biography of Chang Chih-tung
Li Mei-shu
Ching Dynasty (1644-1911)

The Land and Its People-Active Figures in the History of Taiwan During the Ching Dynasty
Gallery 313
2001/04/06 - 2001/07/04

Collected biographies of famous people are one of the classical genres of Chinese historical literature, and a major source of information for modern historical study.   The National Palace Museum's collection contains a large number of Ching biographies, which were originally edited and compiled by the Ching State History Office and the Board on the History of the Ching Dynasty.  These include approximately three thousand "Complied Biographies" and over eight thousand "Draft Biographies", which together supply biographies and biographical information on over 14,900 Ching personage.

These biographies not only supply information on historical figures, but also help us to better understand traditional methods of official biographical recording, editing, and compilation.  In an effort to make this important material available to a broader audience, the Museum is presenting a six-month Special Exhibition of Ching Biographies.  In consideration of the Museum's three-month exhibition limit on all fragile paper objects, the exhibition will be divided into two three-month segments.  The first will focus on biographies of historical personages related to Taiwan, thus acting as an adjunct to the International Symposium on Archives of the Ching Dynasty and Research on the History of Taiwan planned for mid-June.  The second segment will concentrate on Ching figures and introduce many examples of "Compiled Biographies".