The “Room of Precious Bottles”, founded by Department of History, was first open to the public on Nov. 7, 2003. Founder Clement Chang and President Horng-jinh Chang popped champagne corks to celebrate the opening of this room with its interesting collection. “In the noted foreign universities, such as Stanford U and Harvard U, various museums have been set up on the campus. In addition to the Maritime Museum and Carrie Chang Fine Arts Center, we add one more museum to enrich the teachers and students of TKU with art and culture,” Founder Chang added.

Along with the opening is a special display—“Exhibition of the Precious Wines of Taiwan, Kinmen, Matsu, and Mainland China.” As the name designated, the wines are all derived from different places in these four areas. The unusual shape of the wine bottle contains specific meaning and cultural characteristics. For example, wine containers from Kinmen are often shaped like a tank or a military officer; in Taiwan, there are wines dedicated to the President—“Longevity Wine” and various wine containers designed for seasonal greetings, such as National Day (double tenth) and the Mid-autumn Festival. Visitors of this exhibition will feel overjoyed when they taste wines from Machu Wine Plant and from the collection of Prof. Ho Yong-cheng.

Prof. Ho Yong-cheng, host of this room, made a humorous remark: “The culture of wine is interdisciplinary. The material of wine is related to College of Agriculture; the chemical process of making wine is related to College of Science; the making of the bottle concerns the College of Engineering; the art design and advertising relate to the College of Fine Arts and of Liberal Arts; and finally, the sale is attributed to College of Business.” He welcomes teachers and students of TKU to participate in the promotion and study of wine culture.

Prof. Ho added that every collected bottle had a story behind it. For example, it was adventurous to collect the bottles from Kinmen, because they were not permitted to bring to Taiwan in the past. Prof. Ho, who dubbed himself as then “old garbage collector,” appreciates his friends who have contributed some of their collections to form this “Room of Precious Bottles.”