Over the past two decades, Tsing Hua Department of Chinese Literature professors Yang Rurbin and Fang Sheng-Ping had built an impressive collection of more than one thousand articles related to the East Asian Confucian studies. The couple’s collection included calligraphy writings, paintings, documents, maps and books, and many of which had been exhibited in Japan and Taiwan several times, winning much acclaim and attention. Having taught for a long time at Tsing Hua, the professors have developed a special fondness for the university and thus have decided to donate their treasured collection to help build Tsing Hua Museum. Their collection is expected to enrich the university culture in the arts as well as improve its reputation. As the museum would require extensive time to build, Tsing Hua decided to sign a memorandum of agreement with Yang and Fang as a way to show its sincerity in this collaboration. A signing ceremony was held at 10am on November 3, 2008.

Tsing Hua president Chen Wen-Tsuen was appreciative of Yang and Fang's benevolence. Endorsing the plan to build Tsing Hua Museum, Chen asked Tsing Hua vice president Chang Shih-Lin to invite colleagues to participate in the organization of the museum. In a meeting last May, it was decided to invite scholars and experts to assess collections as well as hold a public exhibition to introduce the important collection to faculty and students at Tsing Hua.

Entitled "Taiwan in East Asia: Tsing Hua Musuem Planning Exhibition," the first exhibition was held at the Arts Center from October 28 to November 7, 2008. It was organized into seven categories: 1. Taiwanese calligraphy works and paintings; 2. Calligraphy writings by provincial governors and governor-generals; 3. Calligraphy work and paintings exchanges between Japan and Taiwan; 4. Calligraphy writings by Chinese Confucian scholars; 5. Calligraphy writings by East Asian scholars; 6. Maps, title deeds for land and documents and writings; 7. Academic documents during the Republic of China period. The categories show that the exhibition focused on Taiwan but expanded to include other areas in East Asia while basing its context on the history of culture and ideas. The subtitle of the exhibition was "Tsing Hua Museum Planning Exhibition" because any major event of the university should be a collective decision made by all faculty and students, including the establishment of the museum. The articles shown in this exhibition are only the beginning of many more wonderful collections to come. Yang and Fang believes that Tsing Hua should install an outstanding museum with comprehensive measurements to manage its collections. They also hope the collection quality and quantity will continue to improve. This first exhibition acted more like a calling for a public building that can harbor lasting, magnificent and valuable collections in the future.

On the day of the ceremony ten calligraphy historians from home and abroad just so happened to be visiting Tsing Hua. Impressed by the collections, they were also delighted to bear witness to a milestone in the establishment of Tsing Hua Museum. Yang personally gave a guided tour on that day and offered fascinating insights and stories behind the collections.