Rare books and documents[edit]
Rare books in the National Palace Museum range from the Song (960–1279) and Yuan (1271–1368) dynasties to the Ming (1368–1644) and Qing (1644–1912) dynasties, amounting to over 200,000 volumes.[40][41] Yongle Encyclopedia and Siku Quanshu (Complete Library of the Four Treasuries) are among the examples.[42][43]
Historical documents in the museum include Jiu Manzhou Dang, a set of Manchu archives that are the sourcebook of Manwen Laodang and a primary source of early Manchu history.[44] Other official documents such as the court archives are available for research in the history of the Qing Dynasty.