Where art thou?

I went for a long walk this morning up to, and in the hills behind, the Guan-yin 觀世音菩薩 Temple on Guanyin Mountain, in Taichung's 台中 Dakeng area. I'm out of shape after the trip back to the U.S. and the effects were apparent, but I quickly got my wind back, and enjoyed the beautiful weather. Below left is a photo of the Beitun District 北屯區 of Taichung taken on the walk up to the hilltop temple:

 

"China to lend treasures to Taiwan", as this article on the BBC's website, explains:

"China is to lend 29 treasures to Taiwan for an exhibition - the first such cultural exchange in 60 years. The artifacts from Beijing's 北京 Palace Museum date from the Qing Dynasty , and will be shown for three months at the National Palace Museum 國立故宮博物院 in Taipei 台北...It will be the first time treasures have been lent to Taiwan since the end of that conflict, when the Chinese Communist Party 中国共产党 took power on the mainland...The exchange is being seen as the latest sign of improvement in relations between Taiwan and...China. Nevertheless, Taiwan remains reluctant to send any of the treasures it holds to China for fear that they may be impounded, although it has lent them to other countries."

The story is well-known of how the KMT 中國國民黨 shipped many of China's imperial art treasures to Taiwan at the end of the civil war 国共内战 in 1949. The priceless works of art were used by the Nationalist government to promote the propaganda that Taiwan was the last bastion of traditional Chinese culture (and by extension that Taiwan was a part of a larger Chinese state), in the face of the threat from the destructive communist hordes. Considering the damage done to China's artistic heritage during the lunacy that was the Cultural Revolution 文化大革命, there is some truth to the KMT's assertions. No doubt many of the pieces currently stored in the mountains behind the National Palace Museum would not have survived the revolutionary fervor of the Red Guards 红卫兵. But both Taiwan and China have changed a lot in the decades since. A sense of a separate Taiwanese identity has taken root in the post-martial law years, and the justification for keeping these works of art in Taiwan, and not in their rightful place in the Forbidden City 故宫 in Beijing, has gotten weaker during the same period. If Taiwan is a separate country from China, why should it continue to hold on to art works that have no little or no connection to the island? In order to solidify a separate Taiwanese identity, wouldn't it be best for all concerned to return the thousands of pieces of art to China? Otherwise, might a controversy arise similar to that of the Elgin Marbles being kept in the British Museum?

The easy answer, unless you're a rabid Chinese nationalist, would be to send it all back to Beijing, and develop instead a museum devoted to Taiwanese art. However, seeing as the National Palace Museum is one of the few world-class tourist sights in Taiwan, that might not be such a wise choice. Protecting these treasures from destruction, and putting them on display for all to see, was one of the few accomplishments the KMT could be proud of during the dictatorial period. One China or an independent Taiwan, it could be said the National Palace Museum has earned the right to hold on to the collection, at least until a clearer picture emerges of the direction in which China is now headed (a more democratic society? a continuation of a one-party dictatorship? a breakup of the state?). Eventually, the question of what to do with the art will have to be answered, but in the meantime, Taiwan should be in no hurry to give up what it has been holding onto these past 60 years or so.