The National Palace Museum -- A Treasure House of Chinese Art

Most British people are happier discussing the most obscure work of Abstract Expressionism rather than any era of Chinese art. It's hardly suppression, since there seem to be so few points of reference that we can adapt from the European tradition.A big welcome then, to Lee & Lee's series of four CD-ROM's about Chinese art. The discs can be bought separately. This is the first of the set, and the one to buy if you can afford only one because it covers the collections from The National Palace Museum-- a 700,000-item start on the history of Chinese culture.

Decades of turmoil in China forced the national collection of treasures to be moved like a refugee around the country. Eventually it settled in Taipei, amazingly still intact, despite packing and re-packing. Some of the works travel the world but, other than visiting Taipei, this is the only chance you'll get to see most of them in such detail.

Despite being beautifully designed, with a simple, intuitive interface, the Museum disc has rather too much emphasis on the voice-over. It makes the disc feel like a videotape that you have to watch rather than a CD-ROM, where you expect to make non-linear moves. It's not a big problem,and easily compensated for by the delightful details of some of the museum's treasures accompanied by explanations of motifs and technique.Bearing in mind that I started from ignorance, I found these highlyinformative discs.

The next time I'm in John Lewis gift department,I'll cast a more discerning eye over all those Chinese-style things for sale.

-- Georgia Cameron-Clarke

Pros: Elegant design, very clear reproduction
Cons: Too much voice
Overall:

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