The long river of history Art historian Li Lin-tsan, a long-time member of the National Palace Museum's staff, once likened the opening of the imperial palace collections for public viewing to a fifth great historical discovery of modern times, on a par with the oracle bones, the Han dynasty writings on bamboo strips, the treasures of Dunhuang and the imperial cabinet records.
展讀歷史的長河自稱是故宮「老博物館員」的藝術史學者李霖燦，曾把故宮的公開展覽，看做近世史學的第五大發現，可以與甲骨、漢簡、敦煌，和內閣檔案相互媲美。