From TIU to NTU: Exhibition on the Early Years of the University

The Gallery of NTU History launched a special exhibition on “The Early Years of National Taiwan University: Exceptional Commencement” to celebrate NTU’s 90th anniversary on November 15, 2018. The exhibition will run until September 30, 2019.

A regular exhibition about the milestones of NTU since its establishment as Taihoku Imperial University (TIU) in 1928 has been on display at the Gallery of NTU History. This anniversary exhibition, however, focuses on detailing the previously ambiguous school history ranging from TIU’s founding under Japanese rule to its reinstitution as NTU in the early retrocession period.

The exhibition traces the foundation and history of TIU, exploring its preparation and establishment 90 years ago. The TIU exhibition area introduces to the public the Taiwanese and Japanese perspectives about establishing a university in Taiwan back in the 1920s, the three key figures in facilitating TIU’s establishment (i.e., Takio Izawa, Taira Shidehara, and Kintaro Ooshima), where to obtain the resources required (including money, land, and labor), the development of TIU’s academic system after its establishment, TIU’s sources of students, and the first group of NTU-related Taiwanese figures during Japanese rule.

After WWII in 1945, the Nationalist Government sent officials to take over TIU and reinstitute the university as NTU. To familiarize visitors with the early period of NTU, the exhibition details the takeover process conducted under the leadership by President Tsung-Lo Lo (羅宗洛) and the hardships experienced and overcome in the early retrocession period. These include rapid changes of presidency, pivotal contributions made by NTU’s 4th President Ssu-Nien Fu (傅斯年), arrangements for management teams during times of change, and the sources of faculty members and students after most of the Japanese faculty and all the Japanese students were repatriated.

There are also historic artifacts on display at this exhibition, and most of them are early artifacts, documents, and devices donated by academic and administrative units on and off campus to the Gallery of NTU History over the years. These include Ernst Leitz Wetzlar microscopes, teaching aids such as glass panels, munafudas (棟札) left with the Japanese buildings in Taiwan, and the military water bottles and puttees left by students who joined the army during WWII. As these artifacts have been kept in the storage room away from public view, this exhibition provides a rare opportunity for visitors to take a look at these artifacts of historical significance.

Opening Hours: 9:00-17:00, 2018/11/15-2019/9/30 (closed on Tuesdays and National Holidays)
Venue: Chyun-liu Exhibition Hall, Gallery of NTU History
Organizers: NTU Library, Gallery of NTU History, and NTU Museums
Group Tours: Contact Mr. Wu at 886-2-33663817
*Each tour lasts 30-40 min and a reservation is required 5 workdays prior to visit. We only accept groups of 10-25 people from institutions above high school level.