China Business Uncovered #6: How a Lost Masterpiece Sparked a Museum Scandal

Program description:

China Business Uncovered takes listeners inside China’s business world through the eyes of reporters who investigate it firsthand.

Featuring open conversations with Caixin journalists, each episode breaks down the most complex developments inside Chinese companies. Tune in to understand how critical stories are covered, what’s really happening beneath the surface, and why it matters for businesses and investors operating in and around China.

Recorded in Mandarin and produced in English with the help of AI, China Business Uncovered brings Caixin’s in-depth investigative reporting to a global audience.

Episode intro:

Spring in Jiangnan, a classical Chinese handscroll donated to the Nanjing Museum in 1959 by one of China’s most prominent collector families, suddenly showed up in an auction lot with an estimated value of 88 million yuan ($12.9 million), triggering public outcry over the mismanagement of treasured artifacts.

In this episode of China Business Uncovered, host Kelsey Cheng speaks with Caixin investigative reporter Xiao Hui and Wang Qiusheng, founder of the Society for the Ancient Chinese Art to trace the handscroll’s complicated journey: how it went from a prized donation to a work deemed fake, removed from the museum’s collection and then sold into private hands before reappearing on the auction market last year.

More importantly, the case offers a look at the development of China’s art auction market, the systems governing the country’s museums and how trust is built — or, in this case, broken — between collectors and public institutions.

Chapters:

(01:55) The $13 million handscroll that ignited a museum scandal

(03:16) Why Spring in Jiangnan matters

(05:39) Why the Pang family gave it away

(07:44) How the scroll vanished — and returned

(14:32) Eight years searching for answers

(17:19) How Caixin poked holes in the museum’s explanation

(20:35) Lessons from the incident

(23:37) Development of China’s art auction market

This episode of China Business Uncovered was recorded in Mandarin and produced in English with the help of AI. Based on these stories:

In Depth: A Lost Masterpiece’s Return Exposes Scandal at a Top Chinese Museum

China Recovers Stolen Museum Relics After Auction Tip-Off

Produced by Kelsey Cheng and Du Bohan.

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