Written/Compiled and Reported by Wei Ruyu
Recently, the Palace Museum has been quite lively in the middle of the night, with porcelain dolls like the “White Porcelain Baby Pillow from the Ding Kiln of the Northern Song Dynasty” making appearances. They guide visitors into the “Dwelling in the Fuchun Mountains” painting, exploring its features and meanings, and even conversing with the figures within; they also hang out with supporting characters such as the “Jade Duck” and “Jade Exorcist,” and the elegant white horse from Giuseppe Castiglione’s “Hundred Horses” of the Qing Dynasty. Together, they get to know Huang Tingjian’s “Flower Fragrance Intoxicates the Person” calligraphy scroll, and return to the open fields where the little white horse once galloped...
This is the sequel to the popular Palace Museum video “Treasure Guardians Mobilized”—“Treasure Guardians Enter the Treasure Mountain.” It can now be viewed on the Palace Museum’s official website (www.npm.gov.tw/digital/archives). Join the characters from famous paintings as they journey through the 3D spaces of exhibition halls and artworks—it’s vivid and highly entertaining.
Through the vivid 3D animation of “Treasure Guardians Enter the Treasure Mountain,” viewers gain a deeper appreciation for ancient artifacts. (Image provided by the National Palace Museum)
Besides visiting the Palace Museum online, technological creativity is also showcased on-site through videos like the ten-meter-long “Animated Ancient Paintings” and the blending of past and present in “Roaming Through Time: Savoring Life.” There are also the results of the “One Billion Pixel Cultural Relics Photography” project, a collaboration between the Palace Museum and Microsoft Research Asia.
“Animated Ancient Paintings” combines the format of traditional handscroll paintings with the essence of animation. The content is drawn from the Palace Museum’s renowned treasures, including the “Qing Version of the Along the River During the Qingming Festival” and “After the Red Cliff by Zhao Boju, Imitated by Wen Zhengming of the Ming Dynasty.” The animation team selected the most representative and story-rich scenes from the paintings, faithfully modeling, coloring, and layering them to reproduce 100% of the original style, brushwork, character details, silk texture, and authentic colors.
You can freely zoom in on the details of the artwork at the “Treasure Appreciation Interactive Table.” (Image provided by the National Palace Museum)
The “One Billion Pixel Cultural Relics Photography” is a collaboration between the Palace Museum and Microsoft Research Asia (MARA), using prototype equipment to photograph two popular Palace Museum collections: “Dwelling in the Fuchun Mountains” by Huang Gongwang of the Yuan Dynasty and “Spring Morning in the Han Palace” by Qiu Ying of the Ming Dynasty. The public can experience these works firsthand via touchscreens at the “Treasure Appreciation Interactive Table” in the exhibition hall.
“Roaming Through Time: Savoring Life” interprets the Palace Museum’s collection of calligraphy and paintings through innovative dynamic multimedia. Through the fantastical journey of the animated protagonist, it introduces ancient life aesthetics such as the “Four Arts of the Literati” (music, chess, calligraphy, painting) and the “Four Arts of Living” (tea preparation, incense burning, hanging paintings, flower arranging). It is screened daily in the Palace Museum’s B1 Multimedia Theater at 11:30 AM, 2:30 PM, 4:30 PM, and 6:00 PM.