Southward Evacuation of Relics

The southward evacuation of relics refers to the relocation of the national treasures housed in the Palace Museum, the Summer Palace, and other places in Beijing to the southern regions to protect them from warfare from the 1930s to 1950s. The whole process was divided into several phases including southward relocation, westward relocation, east return, relocation to Taiwan, and return to Beijing.

In 1933, about 20,000 boxes of relics were moved south to Shanghai in five waves, including 13,427 boxes and 64 packs from the Palace Museum in Beijing. In 1936, they were relocated from Shanghai to Nanjing. In 1937, with the further escalation of the Chinese People's War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, the relics were moved again to southwestern rear areas, such as Guiyang, Chongqing, Hanzhong, and Leshan, along three routes. In 1945, the relics stored in the southwestern regions were transported to Chongqing and then to Nanjing. In 1948, 2,972 boxes of relics were transported to Taiwan, which are now stored in the Palace Museum in Taipei. After the founding of the People's Republic of China in 1949, more than 10,000 boxes of relics evacuated southward were transported back to Beijing from Nanjing in three waves, with the remaining 2,221 boxes kept in Nanjing.

An endeavor that mobilized nationwide forces and lasted for 15 years, the southward evacuation of relics spanned more than 20 cities, traversing thousands of miles. In the process, none of the some 20,000 relics were lost, and all of them remained basically intact, which is considered a miracle in the history of world culture. During this period, some relics were even exhibited in London, Moscow, Shanghai, Nanjing and other places.

The southward evacuation of relics was a "Long March" of national treasures, representing an episode of history etched in the memory of the Chinese nation, a brilliant chapter written by cultural heritage workers in the preservation of national history and culture, and a miracle of cultural heritage protection for mankind.

文物南遷路線圖

The routes of the southward evacuation of relics.

文物南遷

文物南遷是20世紀30至50年代，故宮博物院、頤和園等單位為躲避戰亂，將國寶級文物精品運往南方安全保存的一段歷史，可分為南遷、西遷、東歸、遷臺和北返等多個階段。

1933年，約兩萬箱文物分五批南遷至上海，其中故宮文物13427箱又64包。1936年，由上海遷轉至南京文物庫房。1937年，抗日戰爭戰事日趨緊張，南遷文物分三路向西南后方遷移，輾轉保存于貴陽、重慶、漢中、樂山等地。1945年，存于西南諸省的文物集中到重慶后東歸南京。1948年，2972箱文物被運至臺灣，現存臺北故宮博物院。中華人民共和國成立后，一萬余箱南遷文物分三批從南京運回北京，剩余2221箱留于南京。

文物南遷舉國合力，歷時15年、行程上萬里，跨越大半個中國20多個城市，而約2萬件文物中沒有一件丟失，基本完整保存，堪稱世界文化史上的奇跡。其間，部分文物在倫敦、莫斯科、上海、南京等地展出。

文物南遷是偉大的國寶長征，承載著一段深刻雋永的中華民族記憶，是文物工作者為民族歷史文化保存寫下的時代篇章，創造了人類保護文化遺產的奇跡。