Former Nanjing Museum President Taken Away for Investigation; Jiangnan Spring Appearing at China Guardian Auction Has Its Reasons

Museum scandal investigation unfolds in Nanjing

[People News] The latest information shows that Xu Huping, former president of the Nanjing Museum, who was deeply entangled in the mysterious disappearance of five precious calligraphy and painting works donated by the descendants of Pang Laichen—an eminent collector of modern Chinese art—to the Nanjing Museum, has been taken away for investigation after being questioned by multiple parties and reported by former museum staff.

As for how much Xu Huping will reveal, how much of the truth can be restored, and how many cultural relics may still have been embezzled from within the Nanjing Museum, it is really hard to say under CCP rule, which has long been accustomed to covering up the truth—especially since it is unknown which high-ranking officials who took away the relics are involved. But if the handling of the case once again amounts to perfunctory treatment, using the excuse that one of the parties involved, Lu Ting, has already passed away and thus there is no way to verify the facts, that would only add fuel to an already boiling public anger.

According to available information, Lu Ting was a collector of ancient Chinese books and calligraphy and paintings. In 2004, he began building the Yilan Zhai Art Museum. According to a 2006 report by Southern Weekly, Lu Ting possessed tens of thousands of cultural relics, including more than 3,000 Yuan-, Ming-, and Qing-dynasty calligraphy and painting masterpieces. Among them were dozens of national-treasure–level works, including Qiu Ying’s Ming-dynasty handscroll Jiangnan Spring. In the same year, a paper titled An Examination and Debate on Qiu Ying’s “Jiangnan Spring” Scroll, published in the Journal of Nanjing University of the Arts and signed by Ding Weiwen, stated that the Jiangnan Spring scroll in the Yilan Zhai collection was obtained from the descendants of the Pang family. Ding Weiwen and Lu Ting were husband and wife.

This year, Jiangnan Spring was auctioned at China Guardian for 88 million yuan, but was withdrawn after being questioned by members of the Pang family. The Pang family could not understand why a famous painting that had been properly donated to the Nanjing Museum would appear at an auction. So how did the Jiangnan Spring held by Lu Ting and Ding Weiwen come from the descendants of the Pang family? Was it in fact the same piece donated by the Pang family to the Nanjing Museum? If it was the same work, then how did it move from the museum into Lu Ting’s hands?

According to mainland media reports, Lu Ting once served as an advisor and secretary of the Jiangsu Provincial Collectors Association, while Xu Huping was a founding president of the same association. The two must have known each other and been close friends. One piece of evidence is that after Lu Ting passed away at the age of 65 in May this year, Xu Huping wrote a eulogy titled In Deep Mourning for Mr. Lu Ting: A Talented Man Who Devoted His Life to the Cause of Collecting and Died with Regrets.

It is reported that on May 8, 1997, the Jiangnan Spring scroll—identified by experts as a forgery—along with other works, was transferred to the former Jiangsu Provincial Cultural Relics General Store, and on April 16, 2001, it was sold for 6,800 yuan. The sales list clearly identified it as Imitation of Qiu Ying Landscape Scroll. The buyer on the sales list was listed only as “customer,” with no name recorded. Interestingly, at that time, the legal representative of the Jiangsu Provincial Cultural Relics General Store was Xu Huping himself, and the list bears his signature approving the transfer of the relevant paintings. There are reports that the buyer of Jiangnan Spring was precisely Lu Ting.

Whether the painting flowed out through such means is not difficult to verify. The parties involved—Xu Huping, Ding Weiwen, and the employees of the cultural relics store—are still alive.

So why did Jiangnan Spring ultimately end up being auctioned by China Guardian? It is highly likely related to the distribution of Lu Ting’s estate after his death. Then why China Guardian in particular?

Founded in May 1993, China Guardian Auctions Co., Ltd. is one of the earliest comprehensive auction companies in China to engage in Chinese cultural relics and artworks, and together with Beijing Poly International Auction Co., Ltd., it is one of the two major auction houses in mainland China. Its founder is Chen Dongsheng, now 68 years old.

Chen Dongsheng’s ex-wife, named Lu Ang, was his college classmate and also one of Guardian’s shareholders—and his cousin is precisely Lu Ting. After Lu Ting’s death, it is therefore not surprising that Jiangnan Spring was handed over to China Guardian for auction.

It is worth noting that in 1996, Chen Dongsheng began an extramarital affair with Kong Dongmei (daughter of Li Min and granddaughter of Mao Zedong), and the two had three children. In 2011, Chen Dongsheng divorced Lu Ang and married Kong Dongmei, holding their wedding at the Diaoyutai State Guesthouse.

Perhaps benefiting from the Mao family background, Chen Dongsheng’s business career flourished. In 1996, he also founded Taikang Life Insurance Co., Ltd., serving as chairman and CEO. His business empire includes Taikang Life, China Guardian, and ZJS Express. In Fortune magazine’s 2012 ranking of China’s 50 Most Influential Business Leaders, Chen Dongsheng ranked 19th. In New Fortune magazine’s 2013 “New Fortune 500 Rich List,” Chen Dongsheng and Kong Dongmei ranked 242nd with a combined wealth of 5 billion yuan.

Undoubtedly, behind the internal theft at the Nanjing Museum lie many more explosive revelations—especially regarding which high-ranking officials are holding the two cultural relics borrowed from the Pang family. This is well worth close attention. However, it will require further disclosures from insiders, because relying on the CCP to expose its own scandals is extremely difficult.

(First published by People News) △