From November 18, 2009 to May 31, 2010, an exhibition on the natural history of flora in Taiwan will be held at the Sunshine Passage of the National Museum of Natural Science in Taichung.

The world was first introduced to Taiwan’s flora in 1854 through sample collections and publications. In the century and a half that followed, the island’s flora quietly changed during the Dutch occupation, under the rule of Chengkung Cheng, through the annexation by the Qing dynasty and the cession to the Japanese, and finally under the Chinese KMT government that came to Taiwan. By backtracking the footsteps of various botanists who collected plants in Taiwan since 1854 and focusing on the plant Wuweishan Drupetea, the exhibition introduces viewers to the natural history of flora in Taiwan ( http://newsletter.teldap.tw/news/NewsContent.php?nid=3204&lid=315).

 

The Taiwan e-Learning and Digital Archives Program (TELDAP) International Conference 2010 will be held at the Building for Humanities and Social Sciences, Academia Sinica, Taipei, Taiwan on March 2－4, 2010 (http://collab.teldap.tw/teldap2010/). The conference provides an international forum for researchers throughout the world to exchange and share their experiences, new ideas, latest research results and future development suggestions. The Conference covers topics such as the progress status of TELDAP's results, in-depth application of TELDAP content, new applications and technologies based on digitized contents and e-Learning, etc.

Digitalization has become an important way to preserve, represent and provide public access to cultural heritage. The ways in which humanities scholars work has been changed by the development of information technology. What new research tools and methodologies have we brought to humanities? What new research materials and issues are discovered? How do we expect these methodologies and the role of the humanities scholar to change in the future under the influence of IT?

These topics and much more will be discussed in the International Conference of Digital Archives and Digital Humanities on December 1 and 2, 2009. The conference is hosted by National Taiwan University (http://www.digital.ntu.edu.tw/DADH/indexEN.php).

From September 26, 2009 to January 17, 2010, National Palace Museum (Library Building) is showcasing a violin collection of the Chi Mei Museum (http://www.npm.gov.tw/en/visiting/exhibit/exhibit_08.htm?docno=602).
Exhibited, in a roughly chronological order, are 118 items that include 39 masterpieces from various violin-making schools, 30 bows, as well as violin-related paintings, sculptures, and handicrafts. The whole exhibition, with Giuseppe Guarneri del Gesu’s priceless “Ole Bull,” is valued at close to NTD 1.5 billion.

The art form of calligraphy has been part of the Chinese cultural tradition over the ages. From October 1 to December 25, 2009, National Palace Museum will present selections from its calligraphy collection for a general overview (http://www.npm.gov.tw/en/visiting/exhibit/exhibit_02.htm?docno=591). Arranged in chronological order from Ch'in (221-206 B.C.E.) to Ch'ing dynasty (1644-1911), these pieces convey the history and development of Chinese calligraphy.