Blog buzz

Topic: Museum banner mix up

Staff at the Palace Museum sent a silk banner to Beijing police last Friday thanking them for catching a thief who stole art. Yet, due to an erroneous Chinese character, the banner says the force "shakes" China's prosperity, rather than "defends" it. Both words are pronounced the same. A museum director refused to admit it was a mistake.

I finished my studies in the fourth grade and do not know many characters. I want to consult scholars to see if the characters were interchangeable in the past. If they weren't, is it suspected the museum is showing ingratitude in the face of kindness by satirizing the police? The museum couldn't make such a mistake.