魏清德是日治時期《臺灣日日新報》的漢文記者，自1910年起至1940年之間任職報社，在報上發表漢詩、偵探小說、遊記。身為當時大報記者，成為臺灣人與世界知識的橋樑，具有文明啟蒙思想，推崇漢詩，愛好書畫，在當時文藝界頗為活躍。
魏清德處在一個現代／傳統文化衝突、掙扎中發展的關鍵時期，南畫風格是魏清德個人書畫收藏的主要方向，然而南畫不僅是他個人偏好之獨特品味，其中也隱含魏清德對身處時代的回應與文化上的期許。在中國、日本、香港的數次旅行中，魏清德觀察到這些地區現代化帶來的改變，他知悉在西方霸權的威脅下，要國家富強必須現代化，他深切體會學習西方的必要性，所以支持日本為首的大東亞共榮圈思想，以與西方抗衡；但在文化、美術上的現代化發展，魏氏認為臺灣美術的發展，不可忽略現代的因素，但更要的是建構出自己獨特的特色；他認為在文化上一味洋化，只會導致與西洋的相似性，主張只有建構獨特的美術文化形式，才足以超越西方，因此堅持臺灣鄉土藝術，要朝向具有東方文化特徵的南畫風格發展。
本文以魏清德的書寫探究其收藏背後文化認同的選擇與其對臺灣美術的期許，由《臺灣日日新報》上魏氏的旅行書寫與評論臺灣美術發展之撰述，解析魏清德對現代化的理解與文化現代性的反思。

Wei Qingde was one of the most influential journalists working for Taiwan nishi nishi shimpo from 1910 to 1940, during the Japanese period. His writings include traditional Chinese poetry, travel articles, and Chinese translations of Western fiction. As a journalist he was a bridge between the people of Taiwan and the rest of the world, influencing Taiwan's movement toward modernity. In addition, he was active in Taiwan art circles and had expertise in traditional ink paintings and calligraphy.
Wei Qingde lived through a period of conflict between traditional and modern cultural values. His preference for the nanga style over the nihonga style was reflected in his collection, which also reflected Wei Qingde's views on both modernization and modernity in Taiwan. The idea of modernity affected his view on the development of Taiwanese art during the colonial period.
Wei's travel writings were composed during several trips to mainland China, Hong Kong and Japan; his art critiques on the annual Taiwanese art exhibition were published in his newspaper. This study aims to investigate Wei's published ideas on modernization and modernity in Taiwan's colonial period. Wei Qingde recognized the need of modernization, so he supported the idea of Pan-Asianism to counterbalance European imperialism. On the other hand, Wei strongly emphasized the establishment of a distinctive art that retained an element of “Taiwaneseness”: Wei convincingly illustrated in both his writings and collection strategy that nanga, in the traditional ink style, was the real representation of modernity in Taiwan. Although he realized Taiwan's need for modernization; that modernization for him would not necessary be accomplished through the Westernization of culture.