Nanjing Museum issues apology letter

Apology Letter from Nanjing Museum In the past period of time, our museum has violated the trust and entrusted of Mr. Pang Zeng by improperly handling the related paintings donated by him, such as the "Jiangnan Spring" scroll. Later, due to inappropriate remarks made by some employees in related articles, the reputation of Mr. Pang Zeng was damaged. At the same time, we failed to timely respond to the demands of Mr. Pang Zeng's family, hurting their feelings. We sincerely apologize to Mr. Pang Zeng's family, including Mr. Pang's niece, and to the public who have been following this matter deeply! This incident exposed shortcomings in our institution's system, management chaos, weak implementation of policies, and lack of respect for donors and their families in the past. Particularly in the process of transferring and allocating the "Jiangnan Spring" scroll and other paintings, our museum violated relevant regulations of the national cultural relics administrative department, arbitrarily removed museum collections, formalities took precedence over review procedures, irregularly applied for the transfer of cultural relics, and handled the transfer of relics irresponsibly; the original provincial cultural relics store sold relics without authorization, leading to the loss of relics and severely damaging the credibility of our museum. We earnestly accept criticism from all sectors of society, reflect deeply, learn from this lesson, and will sincerely rectify the prominent issues pointed out by the national cultural relics administration working group and the provincial investigation team. By strengthening internal management, improving collection management systems, particularly enhancing systematic management and implementation of the entire process from classification, accountancy, to entering and leaving storage, protection, and utilization of collections, issuing the "Nanjing Museum Social Donation Management Measures," establishing a committee for social supervision of collection management, safeguarding the right to information and oversight of donors and their families, improving employees' professional ethics and the transparency of collection management, we will firmly maintain the bottom line of safeguarding cultural relics with a sense of reverence. We will deeply reflect on this painful experience. With the firm determination and practical actions of "rebirth through fire," we will rebuild our image, regain trust. Sincerely thank all sectors of society for their concern and supervision! Nanjing Museum February 9, 2026