According to Liu Nanshan, the director of the Shanghai Archive Bureau, over 100 documents are on display in the show, the great majority of them recognized as among the most valuable in China.

"These documents are not only of high historical value, they are also of high artistic value and they will widen the horizon of the viewers in an interesting rather than boring way," said Liu.

The archives are divided into five sections according to chronological order, with a total time span of over 1,200 years - those of the Tang Dynasty (618-907), Yuan Dynasty (1271-1368), Ming Dynasty (1368-1644), Qing Dynasty (1644-1911) and the Republic of China (1912-1949).

One of the highlights of the exhibition is the earliest existing documents created in the Kaiyuan Reign of the Tang Dynasty (714AD) - written by senior officials to the emperor.

Researchers at the Shanghai Archive Bureau believe the most eye-catching exhibits from the Yuan Dynasty section are a series of official documents issued by various emperors appointing senior officials to rule the Tibet region.

But they thought the item which would attract the greatest attention from viewers would be the Jinshu Tiequan, a document inscribed on a steel plate and supposedly able to protect its owner from being killed by the emperor.

The document, in fact, is a certificate issued by Emperor Yingzong to his senior official Li Wen in 1458 during the Ming Dynasty, in order to reward Li's achievements in many battles.

This document is regarded as the highest award ever presented by an emperor, since, even if its owner committed deadly crimes, the emperor promised in advance to absolve him of all culpability

(Shanghai Star January 26, 2005)