In the last few years, there have been quite a few Ch'ing-period television dramas in Taiwan, and the phones at the National Palace Museum are always ringing with people wanting to know the answers to questions such as, "Did the Dowager Empress Hsiao-chuang really marry below her station to Prince Regent Dorgon?" "Who did the K'ang-hsi Emperor really intend as his heir?" "Did the Yung-chêng Emperor actually review memorials from dusk till dawn?" "Is it true that the Ch'ien-lung Emperor was born into the Ch'en family of Hai-ning?" and "What do imperial edicts and palace memorials with vermilion rescripts actually look like?" Researchers in the Books and Documents Department do their best to answer each question and also develop exhibitions to educate the public about Ch'ing dynasty history. With this in mind, the permanent exhibition of "Treasures Among Ch'ing Historical Documents" is presented to the public. Through the rich collection of artifacts in the Museum collection, it is hoped that viewers may develop a greater and more direct understanding of China's last imperial dynasty.

Due to limitations of gallery space, and for conservation purposes, the documents on display are changed every three months. They are divided into the following four sections; "Imperial Mandates: Proclamations of the Emperor", "Memorials, Their Copies, and Archives", "Official Documents and Historiographical Compilations", and "Archival and Illustrated Materials on Taiwan Aborigines".