Careless caretaker

Management issues are said to be the root cause of a series of scandals that have plagued the Palace Museum in Beijing. Cheng Yingqi reports.

Ten scandals in the past three months at Palace Museum have raised doubts about management at the world famous Beijing museum. The trouble started on May 8, when a thief broke into Palace Museum and removed nine rare items that were being shown and belonged to a Hong Kong collector. Beijing police recovered some stolen items but the museum then committed a faux pas by writing an incorrect character on a banner when thanking them for their assistance. Museum management then came under fire for a series of other mishaps, including damaging a rare antique porcelain dish and trying to cover up the accident; in addition to losing some 100 old books. "In recent years, since the Palace Museum has commercialized its operations, it has had to replace some traditional practices and work with commercial organizations, so I believe the problem results from making necessary adjustments in a timely fashion," says Pan Shouyong, a museology professor at Minzu University of China.

In 1925, after the last emperor of China, Puyi, was evicted, the Palace Museum was established inside Forbidden City and its deputy curator Ma Heng established a set of rules related to registering pieces in the collection, administration and exhibition, which laid the foundation for museum management nationwide up to the present day.