Throngs of tourists visiting the Palace Museum in Beijing on Oct. 1, China’s National Day Photo: IC PHOTO

As an interdisciplinary field, Gugongology, or Gugong Studies encompasses not only research on the architecture of the Forbidden City itself, but also extends to related areas such as history, art, religion, and folk culture, contributing to a comprehensive understanding of ancient Chinese political systems, philosophies, aesthetics, and social phenomena. The field inherently relies on multi-disciplinary collaboration. With advances in information technology, knowledge graphs have become an essential tool for organizing and processing vast amounts of information, making their application in Gugong Studies both indispensable and highly significant. This study applies scientific knowledge graph methods to examine the literature on Gugong Studies, identifying its key research themes, trends, and clusters across subfields, and exploring the field’s overall knowledge structure and evolution.

Data sources, research methods

Drawing on materials from the China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI), the research focuses on academic papers and review articles published between 2003 and 2023. During the data collection process, the keyword “Gugong Studies” was used, and the search was limited to works indexed in the Chinese Social Sciences Citation Index (CSSCI). A total of 1,478 relevant documents were identified and included in the final dataset. To analyze these materials, the study adopts bibliometric analysis, a quantitative research method, and CiteSpace, a visualization tool, enabling a systematic examination of the developmental trajectory and academic influence of Gugong Studies.

Current status of research

Gugong Studies output: From 2003 to 2023, academic attention and publication volume in Gugong Studies have shown a significant upward trend. In the initial stage (2003–2008), the number of publications was relatively low but gradually increasing. The concept and proposition of “Gugong Studies” was first formally introduced in October 2003, and in 2004, the Journal of Gugong Studies was launched, marking a new starting point for research in the field. In the intermediate stage (2009–2019), as domestic and international interest in Chinese culture grew, publication volume increased markedly. To further strengthen academic research and cultural heritage in this domain, the Palace Museum established the Institute of Gugongology in 2009, reflecting a serious commitment to developing an “academic Gugong.” In the recent stage (2020–2023), Gugong Studies has shown steady growth in output, along with improvements in research quality and scholarly depth, reflecting the field’s increasing sophistication and maturity.

Author network analysis: Author collaboration networks can reveal the relationships among researchers within a scientific field. The network comprises a professional team centered on the Palace Museum, with prominent nodes such as Zheng Xinmiao and Li Ji, indicating their active and influential status in this area. Key contributions to Gugong Studies and research on court history are evident in the work of Zheng Xinmiao, Yu Hui, and Lyu Chenglong.

Institutional network analysis: The Palace Museum, along with its Department of Artifacts and Research Office, has engaged in deep collaboration on artifact research, conservation, and exhibition planning. Other institutions, such as the School of Archaeology and Museology at Peking University and the China Academy of Art, have also established ties with the Palace Museum. Beyond Beijing, nodes extend nationwide and internationally, including the School of Literature and Journalism at Shandong University, the Nanjing University of the Arts, and the Department of Archaeology at Durham University in the UK.

Research focuses, emerging themes

In network analysis, “keyword co-occurrence” refers to the frequency and correlation with which two or more keywords appear together in texts. This method helps to understand relationships between concepts and their mutual influence. In Gugong Studies, scholars have focused on keywords such as “Qing Dynasty,” “traditional culture,” “the Forbidden City,” and “museum.” The development trajectory of Gugong Studies and the construction of its theoretical system are also key areas of inquiry. This includes the study of the academic history of Gugong Studies and its development as an independent field. Keywords such as “heritage,” “repatriation of cultural relics,” and “lost artifacts” indicate scholarly attention to the protection, management, and recovery of Forbidden City artifacts.

In the realm of digitization and innovation, frequently occurring keywords such as “digitization,” “innovation,” “new cultural and creative products,” “cultural products,” and “cultural dissemination” suggest a focus on employing modern technologies for cultural transmission and innovation. This includes the intrinsic need and development trend of digitally preserving and exhibiting the cultural heritage of the Forbidden City. Historical document research is also significant. Clusters of keywords such as “Dunhuang manuscripts,” “Dunhuang documents,” “history of Dunhuang,” “Dunhuang Studies,” “archives,” “registers,” and “ledgers” indicate that, like Dunhuang Studies, the collation, study, and utilization of historical documents constitute an important part of Gugong Studies.

Evolution of research

Using CiteSpace, this study conducts a chronological analysis of high-frequency keyword evolution across 1,478 publications. Based on keyword distribution and the density of their interconnections, research on Gugong Studies demonstrates three distinct stages: 2003–2008 marks the first (or formative) stage, when keywords appeared relatively independent of one another; 2009–2019 represents the second (exploratory) stage, with more refined and interconnected keywords; and 2020–2023 constitutes the third (developmental) stage, characterized by emerging and evolving terms.

The research trajectory and characteristics of each stage can be summarized as follows. During the formative stage, studies primarily focused on topics such as Emperor Qianlong, the concept of unity between humanity and nature, and the divine right of kings. Research emphasized fundamental theory construction and offered preliminary interpretations of the historical status and cultural value of Gugong Studies. The dispersion and independence of keywords reflected the field’s early exploratory nature.

In the exploratory stage, research keywords became more specialized and interconnected, suggesting the field was expanding both in depth and scope. Scholars began addressing more specific issues—such as cultural heritage preservation—and integrated Gugong Studies with fields including digital technology.

The developmental stage is marked by the continuous emergence of new terminology, with research concentrating on artifact restoration, cultural and creative products, and digitization. Topics such as promoting sustainable museum development and strengthening cultural exchange and collaboration in a globalized context have emerged as central areas of inquiry.

Research frontiers

The latest research frontiers are revealed through keyword timelines, which analyze and visualize the temporal evolution of a research field. Using CiteSpace’s keyword co-occurrence function, this study extracted a timeline of keywords in Gugong Studies to systematically display the field’s evolving frontiers. According to the timeline, key terms—arranged from top to bottom—include the Forbidden City, museum, innovation, creativity, Qianlong, Gugong Studies, Song Dynasty official kilns, and forgery. These frontiers can be grouped into three major thematic areas.

The first area examines the new image and international influence of the Palace Museum. As one of China’s most important cultural heritage sites, the Forbidden City carries the dual mission of preserving and exhibiting its vast collection of artifacts while also fulfilling its educational and public-outreach roles. Maximizing these functions and making the Palace Museum a key site for public engagement with history and culture has become a major concern in Gugong Studies. Experts and scholars from various departments of the Palace Museum and related disciplines have adopted a model of close collaboration—jointly engaging in research and conservation while drawing on successful domestic and international experiences. Through cooperation with other museums and institutions, they continue to enhance the Museum’s research capacity and global influence.

The second area involves innovation and cultural inheritance at the Palace Museum. The rapid development of multimedia digital technology and artificial intelligence has provided new tools and opportunities for the Palace Museum in its efforts to preserve and transmit cultural heritage. The Museum has embraced innovative development strategies and explored new paths in cultural creativity. By pioneering advancements in digital museums, it has forged a fresh global image for museums worldwide and set new trends in museological innovation. Moreover, the Museum’s integration of culture, technology, and AI has established a new developmental model that has generated a wide and lasting social impact.

The third area is the scholarly significance of Song Dynasty imperial kilns and forgery identification. Ceramics from the Song Dynasty imperial kilns are both rare and of high artistic value, making them prime targets for imitation and forgery. Researchers in Gugong Studies therefore employ an interdisciplinary approach—combining aesthetic theories from art history, scientific dating methods from archaeology, and textual verification from historical documents—to authenticate and restore the historical status and value of these artifacts.

Looking ahead, as Gugong Studies continues to evolve amid the joint forces of digitization and globalization, it is poised to embrace new opportunities for growth and to emerge as a vibrant field of scholarly inquiry.

Cai Rongjiang, Zhao Shufang, and Wang Xi (visiting Professor) are from the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences at Macao Polytechnic University. This article has been edited and excerpted from the Palace Museum Journal, Issue 5, 2025.