BEIJING, May 27 -- Liang Jinsheng just celebrated his 60th birthday. But rather than look forward to his retirement, the Beijinger has grown anxious about leaving his work - because it could mark the end of an imperial legend of sorts.

    The Liang family has been working for the Imperial Palace (the Palace Museum) for five generations, the only one among thousands of palace employees in the capital able to make that claim.

Liang Jinsheng, a member of the fifth generation of the Liang family, works for the Palace Museum in the Forbidden City in Beijing.(Photo Source: China Daily/Jiang Dong) Photo Gallery>>>

    From imperial painters and antique inspectors, to escorts of national treasures during the chaos of war, the family's destiny has always been tied with the palace.

    What makes the family's story more remarkable is how it was separated on both sides of the Taiwan Straits, after some of its members escorted some treasures to Taiwan in 1949.

    The family was reunited only four decades later.

    "Our family history is entirely linked with the Palace, in other words, our family matters are the palace's matters," Liang says, grinning with pride.

    Being an optimist, the director of the collection management department at the Palace Museum makes few references to his family's heartbreaking separation.

    "I think it is great to be able to follow the older generations' footsteps," he explains. "My grandfather transferred national treasures out of Beijing, while my father was responsible for sending them back.

    "And I have been charged with putting them in order."

    Even now, Liang still rides a bicycle to work, not because he cannot afford to buy a car, but because he loves drinking, so a bike makes things a little more convenient for him.

    In the morning, he cycles through Donghuamen, the east gate of the Palace, to reach his office, a traditional quadrangle, or siheyuan, surrounded by trees inside the Palace.

    The Palace's red, thick wall completely blocks the office from the outside world - no towering mansions or annoying traffic. The buildings in the compound are shrouded in silence, with only the occasional cawing of crows.

    Despite being an antique manager, there are no relics in Liang's 8-sq-m office, except for one fake porcelain piece left by a visitor.

    "As someone working for a museum, it will be better not to have a habit of collecting or displaying personal collections in the office, which can complicate things," he says.

    Liang's great-great-grandfather, Liang Derun, was in charge of the Palace studio in the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911), which can be traced back 150 years. He focused on various subjects, and was particularly good at figure painting.

    More than 50 pieces of his artwork are in the Palace's collections, which Liang is very proud of.

    Because of Liang Derun's reputation, Liang's great-grandfather Liang Shieng and grandfather Liang Tingwei, were successively asked to paint for the royal family. Liang Tingwei later became an antique inspector of the Palace after China's last emperor, Puyi, was driven out of the Forbidden City in 1924.

    Following the invasion by Japan in 1931 and in order to protect the Palace's national treasures, all top quality art pieces were fitted into more than 14,000 chests, to be transported out of the capital.

    In 1933, Liang Tingwei left his family in Beijing and escorted the treasures to Nanjing, capital of Jiangsu province.

    "The shipment was not unloaded when the train arrived in Nanjing, as the government had not found a suitable place to store the treasures. So they had no choice but head for Shanghai instead," Liang recalls.

    Four years later, the treasures were sent back from Shanghai to Nanjing, where a new warehouse was built to house them. Liang's family was reunited briefly that same year.

    However, the situation deteriorated after the outbreak of the July 7 Incident, which marked the beginning of the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression (1937- 45).

    The Palace's priceless pieces had to move again, this time headed for Sichuan province.     

    The transport routes were divided into three sections: A northern one by train, a middle option by ship and a southern route by bus. Liang's family followed the rail route.

    It was a thrilling ride. The group faced various risks - bad weather, dangerous road conditions, bombing by Japanese forces and bandits.

    "They didn't lose any treasure chests, as the journey was part of a convoy of Kuomintang troops. The troops had machine-guns on each carriage to guard against attacks," Liang recalls.

    It took eight years to transfer all the treasures to Sichuan, where Liang's father, Liang Kuangzhong, had to give up his studies because of financial difficulties. He started working for the museum as a warehouse keeper at the age of 17.

    Liang Kuangzhong named his five children based on the places where they were born, reflecting vividly the process of the treasures' movement.

    For instance, Liang's eldest brother was born in Emei, Sichuan, so he was named "Esheng", while Liang was called "Jinsheng", because he was born in Nanjing (known as "Jinling" in the past) in 1948, one year after the treasures were returned to the city following the victory over the resistance war.