The public now has a chance to judge for itself the authenticity of the ancient calligraphy work Chushi Song (Eulogy of Launching the Campaign), which the Palace Museum bought for 22 million yuan (US$2.65 million).
The work, which appeared at the preliminary exhibition of the spring auction of the China Guardian Group this July, has triggered heated debate in the past two months over whether it is a forgery.
The Palace Museum is to show the piece and 16 other ancient calligraphy masterpieces in the exhibition "Calligraphy Works of Jin (AD 265-420), Sui (AD 581-618) and Tang (AD 618-907) Dynasties."
The exhibition, which will be held August 24 to 27, includes also Pingfu Tie by Lu Ji (AD 261-303) and Zhongqiu Tie by Wang Xianzhi (AD 344-386). Detailed explanations of the artistic value of the 17 pieces will be provided.
The authenticity of many pieces other than Chushi Song that have been collected by the Palace Museum have also been disputed, Shan Guoqiang, director and researcher with the museum's calligraphy and painting research department, reportedly said. One of those under a cloud -- the Pingfu Tie by Lu Ji -- is recognized as the earliest surviving calligraphy masterpiece.
Such controversies have always plagued major international museums such as the British Museum and the Metropolitan Museum of New York, Shan stressed.
According to Chinese press reports, Shan said the copy of Chushi Song collected by the Palace Museum may have been created in the Sui Dynasty, while the original work was created by calligrapher Suo Jing (AD 239-309) in the Jin Dynasty.
"When the original work no longer exists, such a good copy should be well preserved and properly used as the original," said Shan.
"When the time of creation can be dated as far back as the Jin Dynasty, there is not much sense in talking about whether the piece is an original or not," said Wang Ruizhang, famous collector and manager of the Wenyuan'ge Art Investment Company.
"Actually, even a copy is precious if it's ancient and well done," said Wang.
(China Daily August 18, 2003)
