National Palace Museum makes Tourism Expo Japan debut

Taipei, Sept. 25 (CNA) The National Palace Museum is participating in the Tourism Expo Japan for the first time, aiming to attract visitors to experience Chinese cultural heritage in Taiwan as the museum marks its centennial anniversary.

The National Palace Museum’s booth is part of the Taiwan Pavilion, unveiled on the exhibition's opening day on Thursday.

The booth features a reproduction of "Myriad Butterflies" (百蝶圖) by Qing Dynasty painter Yu Sheng (余省), official merchandise, as well as collaborations with Sanrio and LINE, the museum said in a statement on Thursday.

Meanwhile, two short video clips -- "Feel the Connection" and "A True Taiwanese Welcome" -- are being screened at the booth, offering visitors a glimpse of what to expect when they visit the museum, it said.

To celebrate its centennial, the museum will stage a series of landmark exhibitions in October at its Taipei branch and its southern branch in Chiayi County, it said.

At the Taipei branch, "Two Hundred Treasures: Song Dynasty Rare Books in the National Palace Museum Collection" will open on Oct. 3, representing the museum's "most comprehensive" display of its woodblock-printed Song Dynasty books, covering provenance, scholarly value, artistic qualities and preservation practices, it said.

On Oct. 10, the Taipei branch will launch "An Assembly for the Ages: The Legend of the Northern Song Elegant Gathering in the West Garden," featuring rare calligraphy and paintings by literary giants such as Su Shi (蘇軾), Huang Tingjian (黃庭堅), Li Gonglin (李公麟) and Mi Fu (米芾), the museum said.

Meanwhile, both branches will jointly present "Enduring Legacy: A Centennial Celebration of the National Palace Museum."

At the Chiayi branch, highlights will include displays of monumental Northern Song landscape masterpieces: "Travelers Among Mountains and Streams" (谿山行旅圖) by Fan Kuan (范寬), "Early Spring" (早春圖) by Guo Xi (郭熙), and "Wind in Pines Among a Myriad Valleys" (萬壑松風圖) by Li Tang (李唐).

Also on full view at Chiayi will be the celebrated Tang Dynasty calligraphic work "Draft of a Requiem to My Nephew" (祭姪文稿) by Yan Zhenqing (顏真卿).

With these iconic works unveiled in succession, the museum said it expects the exhibitions to draw strong interest from Japanese enthusiasts of Chinese calligraphy and painting.

The four-day expo runs until Sunday at the Aichi Sky Expo in Aichi Prefecture.