"A Way to Empire" is a video installation that looks back on the formation and disintegration of historical myths. A ba-gua shaped (octagonal) display table is placed in the exhibition space, with a transparent rotating south-pointing chariot at the centre. There are four glass panes on the ba-gua, playing a loop of four short digital animations: "Legend", "Empire", "Priceless", and "Rarities". The films are mainly based on the collection of the NPM, condensing through humorous montages, five thousand years of historical symbols into a symbolic representation of the imperial, as a lead in to this special exhibition.