National Taiwan Museum – Cultural Mosaics

There’s another museum in Taipei – yes, Taipei is not just the National Palace Museum – that focus on the history of the island of Formosa. National Museum of Taiwan is often overlooked, but it’s worth some time to understand the history of this fascinating island.

The Cultural Mosaic of Taiwan

This is the story of Taiwan and her people told by the National Taiwan Museum (NTM) through its collections from the last 100 years. Through this story, the past of Taiwan comes together through a series of material imprints made at different times. Combining the collection with artistic creations, the “home” of Taiwanese people, its formation and meanings, are represented and reflected.

The Aborigines of Taiwan 台湾原住民

The story of the people of Taiwan started here. Before the island was inhabited by the Han people from the Mainland, it is already home to the Pacific islanders that is now collectively known as the Taiwanese aborigines 原住民.

Vineqacan • The Founding Family House 《VINEQACAN 創始家屋》

Kacalisiyan (Paiwan Tribe 排灣族, originally means people on the slope), Ravar (Ravar Group 拉瓦爾群, originally means “battle dress in motions”), Tavadran (Tjavadran Village 達瓦蘭部落, originally means seedling) is located around Mt. Taivuv 大母母山 on the western side of the southern Central Mountain Range. It is the origin place of the Ravar Group, Paiwan Tribe. Over thousands of years, many spiritual and material properties have accumulated within the civilization that forms the unique Paiwan culture.

Vinegacan is the founding family house of Tjavadran Village 達瓦蘭部落. As the scale of the founding family house was larger in the past, here is presented only the most sacred interior space of a family house: the main building. The interrelations between the house and the lives of people, animals, and plants are presented in a sectional view. The roof window is the place for ascendance. Above the tomb and the place where the umbilical cord is stored (ancestral spirit pillar 祖靈柱), an ancient pottery rack is a channel down which fire may descend from the sun. The interior of the family house includes the ancestral spirit pillar, eldest son bench, worship shrine, pottery rack, cooking area, fishing and hunting gear, farming tools, and dining ware.

Every Being is Spiritual 萬物友靈

The indigenous view of the world around us does not separate people from other aspects of existence; instead, it insists that there is “spiritual power” to be drawn from departed relatives, and from beings that float in the air, fly in the sky, climb in the woods, run on the ground and swim in the water of the environment.

Ceramic Figurines from Yami/Tao Tribe 雅美/達悟族 陶偶

Collected from Taitung County Lanyu Village 臺東縣蘭嶼鄉椰油部落 1927~29入藏

All of these elements together constitute the order of the world, and are an indispensable part of the whole world of life. Through their connection with these other beings, the world has a more complete significance for indigenous peoples. The cultural concept and social practice of venerating and worshiping these spiritual powers became an element of the cultural order and life of indigenous society.

The Ceremonial Objects of Taiwan Indigenous People 臺灣原住民的祭儀用具

Outside of animism and veneration of ancestors, the “priest” 「祭師」 plays an important role in the traditional religious activities of Taiwan indigenous people through communication with deities and connection with spiritual beings.

Wooden Twin-cup of the Paiwan Tribe 排灣族 連杯 古機社/今屏東縣來義鄉來義村 1927~29入藏

Besides performing sacred rituals, the priest often heals illness, performs divination and interprets dreams for people, and is also the interpreter of tribal beliefs, history, and legends.

Ritualistic Animal Bones of the Bunun Tribe 布農族 收穫祭用祭骨

Collected from Nantou County Xinyi Village 巒大社/今南投縣信義鄉雙龍村 1927~29入藏

The priest performs a range of ceremonies within each indigenous group, and the ceremonial objects used also vary. For example, the divination box 占卜箱 of the Paiwan Tribe 排灣族, the ritual pot of the Amis 阿美族, the divination beads (tsriyanan) 巫珠 of the Atayal 泰雅族, the bronze statue used in the rainmaking ritual of the Taokas 道卡斯族, the ceremonial drum mallet of the Pazeh 巴宰族, and the ceremonial bone 祭祭骨 used in the millet harvest ritual of the Bunun people 布農族 are all ceremonial objects carrying specific meanings.

Ritual Bronze Statue of the Taokas Tribe 道卡斯族 祭祀青銅鑄像

Collected from Miaoli County Houlong Town (ca end of 19th century) 苗栗新港社/今苗栗縣後龍鎮新港地區 約19世紀末到20世紀初

They may vary from one ethic group to another, but all reflects how indigenous peoples use objects to communicate with beings in the spiritual world.

The Ancestral Beliefs of Taiwan Indigenous People 原住民祖靈信仰

Ancestral belief is the core supernatural tenet of Taiwan’s indigenous peoples. It conveys the continuation of basic values and beliefs that have been passed down from generation to generation. By way of pictorial depictions and related traditional symbols, this connection is expressed throughout all aspects of life.

Ceramic Pot 褐釉陶罈 (15), Ceramic Pot (Anping Pot) 安平壺 (16-18)

約19世紀末到20世紀初

The Paiwan take the roles played by clan ancestors in the development of the tribe as the lifeblood of clan authority. Therefore, the “ancestral spirits” are praised by the nobility in every aspect of life. Its sacredness is a source of stabling power in the tribe. The Yami/Tao Tribe values the common ancestry and blood kinship formed through inter-generational inheritance.

Carved Wooden Figure of the Paiwan Tribe 排灣族 大型雕刻人像

古樓社/今屏東縣來義鄉來義村 1927~29入藏

The story of the ancient gods imparting various skills to enable the tribe to thrive has become an important element of their ancestral beliefs. The Pingpu people in the northeast of Taiwan use various pictorial symbols to create images of ancestral spirits and scenes of life used in their home construction, funeral objects, and decorations, which are uniquely significant in the history of indigenous life.

MIT: Made in Taiwan

There is this song by one of my favourite singer Wakin Chau 周华建 called 讓世界叫響這個名字, and in the lyrics was the words MIT that stands for “Made in Taiwan”. This was a label that took over from “Made in Japan” for cheap goods with low quality. But since then, MIT has progressed from white goods and other replaceable to semiconductors and innovation in hardware. Now Mainland China is trying hard to displace this pole position with “Made in PRC”.

The Homeless Deity Statues of Taipei Lungshan Temple 臺北龍山寺的無主神

Although deity statues are supposed to be enshrined in temples, these deity statues from Lungshan Temple in Taipei are “homeless”.

Over the last decade or so, abandoned deity statues have often been found at the temple’s entrance. After “de-dedication”, the temple kept them safe; however, by July 2015, it had accumulated over 500 abandoned ones and donated 271 of them to the NTM in the same month.

The various types of homeless deity statues represent the diverse and hybrid aspect of folk religious beliefs in Taiwan. They include gods from Buddhism, Taoism, and Confucianism, as well as spirits or ghosts from traditonal folklore. It is a special social phenomenon in Taiwan, also an epitome of folk religious beliefs among Taiwanese.

The Others in Objects 物件裡的他者

Throughout the history of Taiwan, images of the other have not only appeared in pictures, but also in three-dimensional objects. There are the packaging papers for Taiwan Oolong tea produced in the Qing Dynasty, ethnic figurines made during the Japanese Period, Taiwanese puppets from the 1960s and 1970s, and three-dimensional sculptures of indigenous people.

Images of the other exist in multiform objects from different ages, and have been reproduced, constructed, collaged, appropriated and reshaped, or become the subject of artistic expression and symbols used in commodity branding. The results are both fresh and familiar.

“The Racial Models of the Japanese Empire” by the Inoue Geographical and Historic Specimens Production Studio, Hakata, Japan 日本博多「井上式地歷標本製作所」《日本帝國人種模型》系列

This series of racial models were developed and manufactured by the Inoue Geographical and Historic Specimens Production Studio, Hakata, Japan around 1910-30. Mainly made for the use of schools or educational institutions to familiarise with different races in the empire, these racial models, combining pottery making techniques from Hakata figurines craft master Kiyosuke Inoue and academic accreditation from professor Shogoro Tsuboi, head of anthropology department, Tokyo Imperial University, has become popular medium for exhibition/ teaching at that time. The models here were bought by the Taiwan Governor-General’s Office Museum and put to display on her history chamber for long-term.

Taiwanese Hand Puppet Cross-mountain 金光布袋戲偶

約1960-80年代

The beliefs and spiritual views of different groups of people are expressed and examined through museum objects, and their outcomes eventually become stories of the encounters, interactions, and naturalization of the people of Taiwan. Here’s the NTM’s story of the People of Taiwan.

Visited Sep 2023

About National Taiwan Museum

National Taiwan Museum 國立臺灣博物館, established in 1908, is the oldest museum in Taiwan. The Japanese government wanted to commemorate the opening of the west coast railway and so established the Taiwan Governor Museum 「臺灣總督府民政部殖產局附屬博物館」on October 24, 1908. At its opening, there were more than 10,000 pieces of collections in the museum.

In 1913, funds were collected to build the Governor-General Kodama Gentaro and Chief Civil Administrator Goto Shinpei Memorial Museum at current site in 228 Peace Memorial Park. In 1915, after two years of construction, the museum was completed. It is one of the most noteworthy public buildings in Taiwan.

From the colonial-era Taiwan Governor Museum to the National Taiwan Museum today, the building has witnessed the history of Taiwan and also recorded the natural and anthropological development of this land. The collection and research continue to focus on the research of anthropology, earth sciences, zoology, and botany. Today, the museum is divided 4 separate buildings spread across Taipei covering different topics of Taiwanese history.

• Main Building – Located in the 228 Peace Memorial Park 228 和平紀念公園, this building houses the permanent collections of taxidermy that are left behind from the colonial days, as well as special exhibitions of local history.
• Natural History Branch – Located opposite the Main Building in the former Taiwan Land Bank 臺灣土地銀行, this Natural History Branch focuses on Palentology and history of the original occupiers of the building. The admission ticket for the Main Building covers this exhibition too.
• Nanmen Branch – Located in the camphor factory of the Monopoly Bureau 專賣局舊樟腦工廠, it is part of the historical monument reuse program which combines the historical architecture with the museum exhibitions.
• Railway Department Park – Located onn the site of the former Railway Department of the Transportation Administration 台灣總督府交通局鐵道部, features exhibitions on Taiwan’s railway history.

Two more branches are planned to be opened in the near future that would cover the Tobacco Monopoly Bureau and old Mitsui Bussan Company building.

The museum has witnessed Taiwan’s history and recorded its natural and humanitarian developments. Through this window, one may catch a glimpse of Taiwan’s evolution with regard to the fields of earth sciences, humanitarian developments, zoology, and botany.