A collection of outstanding artifacts from Sanxingdui in Sichuan Province is now on display at the National Palace Museum in Taipei for the first time ever. Such cross-strait exchanges have been going on for some time, but this exhibit propels the relationship to a higher level. Now that the Sanxingdui exhibit has brought over a huge bronze statue of a man and many other exotic items, another blockbuster exhibit from the mainland has been scheduled for October. The autumn event will feature the superbly preserved silk paintings found at the Mawangdui site in Hunan Province as well as the stunning jade pieces discovered in Guangzhou at the royal tomb of the Nanyue kingdom. Going in the other direction, a private Taiwanese collection (Ku Yue Ko) was put on exhibit four years ago at the Palace Museum in Beijing. These cross-strait exchanges are giving us an ever clearer picture of ancient Chinese civilization.

Archeology and history buffs in Taiwan have long been anxious to get a look at the artifacts unearthed in 1986 at the Sanxingdui site in Sichuan Province. Quite a few people had made plans to see these items when they went on display last year in Japan, but many canceled their airplane reservations when it was announced that the monumental discoveries of Sanxingdui would be making their way to the National Palace Museum in Taipei.

Skipping over the water

In late March, a collection of more than 250 of the most outstanding items unearthed at Sanxingdui went on display at the National Palace Museum. Included in the exhibit, which is still in progress, are three items listed by China as national treasures: a large bronze statue of a man, a sacred tree, and a mask. Insured for US$60 million, the collection was flown over on a chartered jet to Chiang Kai-shek International Airport, then transported under tight security to the National Palace Museum. The collection was escorted by a security contingent of 20 to 30 men, with police vehicles leading the way and following along behind.

After the ROC government lifted the ban on cultural contacts with mainland China, practitioners of traditional Chinese theater enthusiastically took advantage of the opportunity to visit the land where their art was born. Those with antiquarian interests, too, were very excited about the loosening of restrictions, for even though many of China's greatest archeological treasures are already to be found right here in Taiwan, extremely important new archeological discoveries had been made in mainland China during the previous two decades.

Many scholars from the mainland also began traveling to Taiwan. Museum curators from China were taken aback when, during a visit to Taipei's National Museum of History, they came across a stone pagoda dating from the Northern Wei dynasty (386-534) on display there, for the finial from the peak of that pagoda is still to be found in Shanxi Province. A more fitting metaphor could not be found to describe the way China's ancient cultural relics have come to be separated by the Taiwan Strait. It is a cause of regret for scholars and, indeed, for all Chinese people.

As a result of these newly established contacts, relics from many of the biggest Chinese archeological finds of recent years have made their way to Taiwan, including life-size clay soldiers from the tomb of the first emperor the Qin dynasty, lacquer ware and a set of bronze bells from the tomb of Marquis Yi of Zeng in Hubei Province, and items from the royal tomb of the Nanyue kingdom in Guangzhou. This latter tomb dates back to the Western Han dynasty (AD 25-220). Cooperation is also growing in the area of research. High-level administrators from museums in Taiwan and the mainland make frequent trips back and forth in connection with collaborative research efforts. In 1992, Taipei's National Palace Museum and Beijing's Palace Museum jointly published a book on national treasures in Taiwan and the mainland, thus reuniting (if only on paper) relics that had years earlier gone separate paths.

Of all the mainland exhibits that have come to Taiwan, the current Sanxingdui exhibit is the largest in scale, and the negotiations gave ample proof of the veracity of the old saying that "good things don't come easy." Chang Kuang-yuan, chief curator of the Department of Antiquities at the National Palace Museum, traveled to Sichuan Province in 1994 to take part in an academic conference on Sanxingdui and examine the excavation work at the sacrificial burial pits.

According to Chin Hsiao-yi, Director of the National Palace Museum, "It was a good three years ago that we first got the idea to have an exhibit in Taipei featuring relics from Sanxingdui and from Famen Temple in Shaanxi Province." Chin viewed these items as going far beyond the usual significance of most cultural relics: "We were particularly interested in them because they filled an important lacuna in our knowledge of Chinese history. The find at Sanxingdui showed that the Yangtze River basin was an important cradle of early Chinese civilization, and thus disproved the idea that everything can be traced back to the Yellow River area, as had long been supposed."

A price on the priceless

Although the National Palace Museum thought the exhibit would be a good idea, the response from the mainland was less than enthusiastic, and the project was dropped. The idea was revived two years ago, however, when Chang Yu-sheng, president of Taipei's Pacific Cultural Foundation, traveled to Sichuan to visit the graves of his ancestors. While in Sichuan he got his first look at the stunning relics of San-xingdui. He immediately asked the curator at Sanxingdui whether an exhibit could be shipped to Taiwan, and received the support of the Sanxingdui museum and the Sichuan provincial government's Taiwan Affairs Office. When he returned to Taipei and contacted the National Palace Museum, they were naturally quite happy to see the ball rolling once again.

The project received the green light from the Sichuan Province Culture Department. and from the PRC central government's Ministry of Culture, Cultural Relics Bureau and Taiwan Affairs Office. Another major roadblock, however, remained. As Chang Yu-sheng explains, "We were far apart on price." When the exhibit went to Japan last year, organizers in Japan paid ¥100 million, and when the exhibit travels to the United States later this year, a fee of US$700,000 will be paid. In Taiwan, however, the average base fee for an exhibit from the mainland runs about US$40,000. To break the logjam, Chang Yu-sheng traveled to China and argued that the cultural relics of ancient China ought to belong to all Chinese people. In the end, the Taiwanese side agreed to pay the base fee plus an additional US$60,000 to fund an expansion of the museum at Sanxingdui.

The two sides then began consulting on the details of shipment, insurance, and other arrangements. At the same time, government agencies in both Taiwan and the mainland had their own paperwork to process before these globetrotting relics (they had already been to several countries including Britain, the US and Japan) could be brought to Taiwan. The formal negotiations lasted almost a year. Due to the fact that the relics were already scheduled to be exhibited in the US for a second time in July, the National Palace Museum had to get busy and schedule the Taipei exhibit for late March through June. The total expense to the National Palace Museum will approach NT$40 million (approximately US$1.25 million). In addition to the US$40,000 base fee, other expenses include shipment, insurance, and costs for staff who have accompanied the exhibit to Taiwan, such as airplane tickets, hotels, and meals.

This exhibit represents a number of "firsts" for all involved. For one thing, the formal negotiations for an exhibit have never before been concluded so quickly. Secondly, the base fee was by far the lowest yet for the Sanxingdui relics. And thirdly, this is the first time that Taipei's National Palace Museum has ever hosted an exhibit like this from mainland China. The event has generated intense interest in the news media, and the publicity has attracted huge numbers of visitors. In terms of both quantity and quality, the exhibit has turned out to be a great success. That gives rise to a new question, however: Will it be possible to take relics from the National Palace Museum and organize an exhibit in the mainland?

Time to reciprocate?

Says Chin Hsiao-yi, "It's not that we are unwilling to send an exhibit to the mainland, mind you, but they have to be able to assure us that the relics will make it back to Taiwan." The National Palace Museum has always required that any country to which it dispatches an exhibit must have legislation passed by the national legislature to prevent the confiscation of ancient cultural relics. Before the exhibit begins, the overseas government must once again release an official statement guaranteeing that no nation shall be allowed for any reason to confiscate the relics during the term of the exhibit. When the National Palace Museum organized the Splendors of Imperial China exhibit two years ago in the United States, this type of federal legislation played an important role in enabling the event to take place. In addition, both France and Germany have enacted similar legislation in the past two years to facilitate exhibits of national treasures from the National Palace Museum.

More cross-strait projects are scheduled to take place after the Sanxingdui exhibit. The National Palace Museum is now planning a major exhibit on the culture of the Han dynasty, scheduled to take place in late 1999. Four main types of items will be on display: bronzes and jades from the museum's own collection; stone reliefs, tile reliefs, and other items to be borrowed from various private collectors in Taiwan; items from the famed Mawangdui site in Hunan Province; and items from the royal tomb of the Nanyue kingdom in Guangzhou. In addition, administrators from the Pacific Cultural Foundation will travel to the mainland to discuss an exhibit of artifacts from Northeast China's Hongshan culture. It looks like we will be seeing a lot of important state guests in the fall of 1999.

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The Sanxingdui exhibit marks the the first time that Taipei's National Palace Museum has ever hosted an exhibit like this from mainland China. Museum director Chin Hsiao-yi has announced that another major exhibit, on the culture of the Han dynasty, will travel to Taiwan in late 1999. Relics to be displayed include selected items from the museum's own collection, items from the famed sites of Mawangdui and the royal tomb of the Nanyue kingdom, and other items to be borrowed from various private collectors in Taiwan. This exhibit will give a clear feel for the vast sweep of Han culture. (photo by Pu Hua-chih)