"Opening Up the Mountains and Pacifying the Aborigines": The Qing Empire and Taiwanese Indigenous Peoples

Presented at the National Palace Museum in 2022, this exhibition takes its title from a Qing-era imperial policy — "Opening Up the Mountains and Pacifying the Aborigines" — that shaped the fate of Taiwan's indigenous communities during the empire's rule. Through historical documents, maps, artifacts, and visual materials drawn from the museum's rich collections, the show invites visitors to reconsider the complex and often fraught relationship between the Qing imperial administration and the diverse indigenous peoples of Taiwan. The exhibition sheds light on processes of territorial expansion, forced assimilation, and cultural encounter, while also foregrounding indigenous perspectives and lived experiences that have long been marginalized in mainstream historical narratives.