Chinese authorities have launched multiple investigations into allegations that staff at the state-run Nanjing Museum secretly removed cultural treasures from the collection and sold them on the open market. The scandal erupted after a 16th-century Ming dynasty painting, *Spring in Jiangnan* by Qiu Ying, appeared in a Beijing auction catalog with an estimate of 88 million yuan ($12.5 million), despite being part of a 1959 donation by collector Pang Laichen. The museum claimed the work and four others were deemed forgeries in the 1960s, deaccessioned in 1997, and sold to a provincial relics store in 2001 for 6,800 yuan. An 80-year-old retired employee, Guo Lidian, accused former museum director Xu Huping of orchestrating a large-scale theft and smuggling operation, including falsely certifying authentic works as replicas. Xu has denied involvement.
This case matters because it strikes at the heart of public trust in one of China's most historically significant museums, which safeguarded part of the Palace Museum's collection during World War II and is central to Beijing's cultural superpower ambitions. The controversy comes as China strengthens its cultural relics oversight with a revised Cultural Relics Protection Law that took effect in March, granting the country permanent rights to reclaim stolen or illegally exported heritage objects. The outcome could set a precedent for accountability in state-run museums and affect international confidence in China's cultural heritage management.