• 2025-09-30

The National Central Library has long been devoted to the preservation of ancient books, the safeguarding of knowledge, and the promotion of humanistic education. This summer, it launched a special exhibition titled “A Shared Sky: The World of Chinese Texts and Cultural Exchange,” offering a fresh curatorial perspective. The exhibition, held from July 18 to August 29 at the NCL Arts and Culture Center, brought together rare ancient texts, cross-cultural research, and an immersive exhibition design to present a comprehensive view of how the Chinese writing system has served as a vital bridge for the transmission of knowledge and the dialog of civilizations across Asia throughout history.

“A Shared Sky” symbolizes the ancients’ contemplation of cosmic order and metaphorically evokes how Chinese classics, like constellations, have traversed diverse civilizations over the centuries, weaving together the shared cultural fabric of East Asia. Through this exhibition, NCL sought to create a platform that, via the lens of knowledge and the depth of culture, responds to contemporary society’s growing interest in history, language, and cultural heritage—thus embodying the Library’s mission and responsibility as a nexus of knowledge and a source of cultural inspiration.

This exhibition featured several dozen classical works and special collections from the holdings of the National Central Library, spanning fields such as geography, medicine, literature, and religion. Highlights include Illustrated True Forms of the Deities, Classic of Mountains and Seas Illustrated, Treasured Mirror of Eastern Medicine, Collected Works from the Tribute Herb Garden, and Records of Travels Beyond the Seas. Together, these works trace the vibrant currents of knowledge and cultural integration that transcended geographic boundaries. Organized into five thematic sections, the exhibition explored the evolution of writing technologies, the diffusion of Chinese characters across Asia, intercultural exchange within ancient texts, Taiwan’s cultural documentation, and NCL’s collection of rare and exquisite treasures. Through this curatorial journey, visitors were invited to discover how ancient books serve as vessels of historical memory and witnesses to the migration of knowledge across time and space.

Beyond the display of texts and artifacts, the National Central Library thoughtfully incorporated elements of contemporary exhibition aesthetics and digital interactivity to create an immersive cultural experience. The exhibition began with a grand reproduction of Zheng He’s Nautical Chart, inviting visitors to embark on a “voyage of knowledge.” As they passed through a spatial installation composed of constellations, ships, and book pages, visitors symbolically journeyed from the past toward the future in a continuous cultural odyssey. Design features such as illuminated constellations, rippling water projections, transparent acrylic book-page structures, and an interactive Embark Zone transformed ancient books from static documents into a dynamic landscape of knowledge—sparking new imagination about the convergence of traditional reading and cultural technology.

NCL Director-General Han-ching Wang remarked that the value of ancient books lies not only in their material form but also in their role as vessels of cultural inheritance, sources of educational inspiration, and bridges for diverse understanding. Throughout history, Chinese classics have constituted a continuously evolving network of knowledge. As a shared written language across East Asia, Chinese characters have not only connected different cultures but have also fostered the exchange of ideas across regions. Through this exhibition, the National Central Library hoped to help the public gain a deeper understanding of the place of ancient Chinese books within a global cultural context, thereby enriching appreciation for one’s own heritage while cultivating respect for others.

To promote public engagement and equitable access to knowledge, the exhibition offered bilingual Chinese–English guides, along with interactive games and a family-friendly experience zone suitable for visitors of all ages. Guests also had the opportunity to receive limited-edition souvenirs each day, extending the cultural experience into everyday life. Through these encounters, visitors were invited to return to the origins of knowledge—embarking on a dialog across millennia amid the vast sea of books and the starry sky of history.