A research project this summer “retrac[ed] the routes taken by the imperial treasures in the 1930s and 1940s, when they were being safeguarded from the ravages of civil war and Japanese aggression, not to mention floods, bandits and warlords. The project is extraordinary because it was organized by rival museums, the Palace Museum of Beijing and the National Palace Museum in Taiwan, each of which claims to be the rightful home of the artifacts.”