The person in charge of the Palace Museum stated that an input numerical error caused the instrument to crush the cultural relic.
Introduction: Regarding the widely circulated online rumor of "a Palace Museum employee breaking a Song Dynasty porcelain", after a "Tai Chi"-like response the day before yesterday, the Palace Museum changed its statement yesterday, confirming that a treasured Song Dynasty Ge Kiln porcelain, a first-class national cultural relic, was damaged during analysis and testing on July 4 due to a staff operational error.
A Song Dynasty Ge Kiln porcelain was crushed during analysis and testing.
Regarding the widely circulated online rumor of "a Palace Museum employee breaking a Song Dynasty porcelain", after a "Tai Chi"-like response the day before yesterday, the Palace Museum changed its statement yesterday, confirming that a treasured Song Dynasty Ge Kiln porcelain, a first-class national cultural relic, was damaged during analysis and testing on July 4 due to a staff operational error.
The Palace Museum stated that all testing work was suspended after the incident, and the accident investigation team provided some opinions and suggestions on the cause of the accident and corrective measures, and had an initial discussion on the handling of relevant responsible persons. The related situation explanation text shows that the Palace Museum has not yet reported this matter to the relevant competent authorities as required.
[Focus 1] How was the national treasure damaged?
Staff operational error crushed the porcelain plate.
The afternoon of the day before yesterday, netizen "Long Can" posted on Sina Weibo, stating that while extracting a first-class national cultural relic Song Dynasty Ge Kiln porcelain from storage, the staff of the Palace Museum accidentally dropped it and broke it. That evening, our reporter confirmed this with the Palace Museum, receiving the reply, "We have seen this Weibo post and are urgently verifying whether it is true. Once the situation is clarified, we will announce it to the public as soon as possible." (See detailed report in yesterday's newspaper)
Yesterday at noon, the Palace Museum sent our reporter the "Explanation of the Situation Regarding the Damage of a Song Dynasty Ge Kiln Porcelain During Testing". This explanation states that at around 10 o'clock in the morning on July 4, scientific researchers in the Ancient Ceramics Testing Research Laboratory of the Palace Museum were conducting non-destructive analysis and testing on a Song Dynasty Ge Kiln Celadon Chrysanthemum Mouth Plate (Class B First Grade) extracted by the Department of Antiquities when the cultural relic was damaged.
After the incident, laboratory scientific researchers reviewed relevant materials, tested the equipment involved in the accident, repeatedly simulated the experimental process, held multiple collective discussions, and invited experts outside the museum to participate in the argumentation and analysis of the cause of the accident. On July 21, they formed a preliminary draft of the accident cause investigation report. The report preliminarily determined that the main reason for the accident was a mistake made by laboratory scientific researchers in operating the instrument, which caused the sample platform inside the instrument to rise too far, causing the porcelain to be squeezed and damaged.
[Focus 2] How was the accident handled?
An initial discussion has been held on how to handle the responsible parties.
The explanation states that after the accident occurred, scientific researchers immediately stopped the instrument operation, protected the scene, and reported it to their department leader. Relevant department leaders and principal leaders of the Palace Museum quickly arrived at the scene to handle the situation, deciding to suspend all testing work in the laboratory and test the equipment. Subsequently, an accident investigation team consisting of relevant museum leaders and department heads was established.
In the afternoon of July 5, the investigation team held a meeting, listened to the situation reports from relevant personnel, analyzed the possible causes leading to the accident, and further clarified the tasks and progress.
Based on the review of the accident cause investigation report formed on July 21 by members of the investigation team, on July 26, the investigation team specifically discussed the report collectively, providing some opinions and suggestions on the accident cause analysis and corrective measures, requiring further supplementation to the report so that it could be submitted to the Ministry of Culture and the National Cultural Heritage Administration as soon as possible. At the same time, an initial discussion was held on the handling of accident-related responsible persons.
[Focus 3] Why was the test conducted?
There are many difficulties in the research of the five famous kilns of the Song Dynasty.
Netizens have raised doubts about the "non-destructive analysis and testing" of the Palace Museum after the destruction of a thousand-year-old treasure. The explanation also responded to this, stating that given the long-standing difficulties in the academic research of the five famous kilns of the Song Dynasty, in recent years, the Palace Museum has combined traditional research methods with modern scientific techniques to gradually conduct inspections and research, hoping to promote the resolution of some important issues.
Since last year, as part of the research topic on Song Dynasty official kiln porcelain, the Palace Museum has successfully completed the analysis and testing of more than 50 ceramic artifacts using this non-destructive detection instrument.
[Focus 4] Has the situation been reported?
The accident situation has not yet been reported to the competent authorities.
Article 48 of the "Cultural Relics Protection Law of the People's Republic of China" stipulates that if a first-class cultural relic in a collection is damaged, it should be investigated and handled by the administrative department of cultural relics under the State Council. If other cultural relics in collections are damaged, they should be investigated and handled by the administrative department of cultural relics under the people's governments of provinces, autonomous regions, or municipalities directly under the Central Government.
The "Emergency Management Measures for Sudden Events of the National Cultural Heritage Administration" stipulates that state-owned cultural heritage institutions should report within two hours after knowing or should know about the occurrence of a sudden event. If there is a case of loss or damage of first-class cultural relics, the cultural heritage administration departments at or above the county level should report within two hours after receiving the report, to the same-level people's government and the superior cultural heritage administration department, and simultaneously to the National Cultural Heritage Administration.
Our reporters learned from the Ministry of Culture and the Beijing Municipal Cultural Heritage Bureau yesterday that neither of them had received relevant reports. Staff members of the National Cultural Heritage Administration said that questions regarding this issue could only be answered on Monday.
Why, nearly a month after the accident, is related information still kept secret? In the situation explanation, the Palace Museum stated: The accident investigation team requires a comprehensive and meticulous investigation, thoroughly investigating the cause of the accident, while preparing relevant materials. After the cause of the accident is fully investigated, it will be reported to the Ministry of Culture and the National Cultural Heritage Administration according to national regulations.
[National Treasure Profile]
Name: Ge Kiln Celadon Chrysanthemum Mouth Plate Birthday: Song Dynasty
Size: Height 4.1 cm, Diameter 20.2 cm, Foot Diameter 7.5 cm
Characteristics: Shaped like a six-petaled chrysanthemum flower, shallow body, flat bottom. The abdominal wall protrudes with 6 ridges inward, and the foot ring also follows the changes in the abdominal wall. The entire piece is covered with a bluish-gray glaze, with fine crackle patterns on the surface. The exposed foot ring is black-brown. Elegant and dignified in shape, with varied lines, it is a representative work of Ge Kiln.
[About Ge Kiln]
Ge Kiln is one of the five famous kilns of the Song Dynasty (Guan, Ge, Ru, Ding, Jun), known for its crackle patterns. Its characteristics can be summarized as: black body thick glaze, purple mouth iron foot, and large and small crackle patterns on the glaze surface. Since the site of the Ge Kiln from the Song Dynasty has not yet been discovered, today's people can only interpret the history of Ge Kiln through extant works.
Data from the "Digital Library" on the official website of the Palace Museum shows that currently, the Palace Museum houses a total of 1,797 first-class national cultural relics, including 10 exquisite pieces of Song Dynasty Ge Kiln porcelain.
This edition was written by reporter Zhang Ran.
Dialogue theme: A first-class national cultural relic, a precious Song Dynasty Ge Kiln porcelain, was damaged during research at the Palace Museum.
Dialogue time: 15:00 on July 31
Dialogue location: Palace Museum
Dialogue participants: Chen Lihua, Vice President of the Palace Museum and head of the Accident Investigation Team
Song Jirong, Vice President of the Palace Museum
Miao Jianmin, Director of the Cultural Heritage Science and Technology Department of the Palace Museum
Luo Wei, Director of the Cultural Heritage Management Department of the Palace Museum
Feng Naien, Spokesperson of the Palace Museum
[Keyword] Testing Equipment
Inputting incorrect values caused the instrument to crush the artifact
This is produced by the American EDAX company, and at least seven or eight institutions in our country have purchased and adopted this equipment.
Reporter: Firstly, from a professional perspective, was this accident a low-level mistake?
Miao Jianmin: The Ancient Ceramic Testing Research Laboratory of the Palace Museum was established in 2005, and this equipment has been in use from the beginning until now. The party involved frequently used this device and was one of the earliest people to handle this equipment. Last year, we started the official kiln detection work of the five famous kilns of the Song Dynasty, detecting more than 50 intact artifacts without any problems, very smoothly. This year, we began the detection work of Ge Kiln. Regrettably, during the operation process, the scientific researcher made a mistake.
Reporter: How did this mistake happen?
Miao Jianmin: It happened like this: There is a large sample stage in the testing instrument. When placing the artifact on the sample stage for testing, it needs to be lifted to a certain height for focusing. Due to errors in the input values by the scientific researcher, the sample stage inside the instrument rose too far, causing the porcelain to be squeezed and damaged.
Reporter: Could you introduce this testing instrument?
Miao Jianmin: This is produced by the American EDAX company, and at least seven or eight institutions in our country have purchased and adopted this equipment.
[Keyword] Testing Personnel
Graduated with a master's degree in engineering, deeply regretful after the incident
The laboratory was established in 2005, she was among the first batch to work in the laboratory, considered experienced.
Reporter: What qualifications are needed to conduct tests on first-class cultural relics? Does the party involved have these qualifications?
Miao Jianmin: She is a graduate student with a master's degree in engineering. She came to this laboratory in 2004 and underwent formal training. For quite some time, she operated this equipment. Her technical title is intermediate. Since our laboratory was established in 2005, she was among the first batch to work in the laboratory, considered experienced. She also participated in the detection of more than 50 ancient porcelains last year without any issues.
Reporter: Why did this operational error occur this time?
Miao Jianmin: There are both subjective and objective reasons. Objectively, there are still places where the instrument can be improved according to the special needs of the Palace Museum. For example, after inputting a value on this instrument, there is no function for reconfirmation. Just like when deleting a message on a mobile phone, it prompts the user whether they really want to delete it, but this instrument does not have this function. However, we still believe that we should look for reasons subjectively; it was caused by our own operational mistakes. The party involved is deeply regretful; this is not just a personal responsibility issue. This piece of cultural relic is a precious porcelain collected by the Palace Museum, and due to our mistake, it has suffered irreparable losses, which is probably impossible to compensate for, and everyone feels very regretful.
[Keyword] Degree of Damage
The porcelain plate is broken into six pieces; restoration is not a problem
This cultural relic is broken into six pieces. Although the damage condition is somewhat complex, restoration should not be a problem.
Luo Wei: According to national regulations, precious cultural relics are divided into first, second, and third grades. First-grade cultural relics are the most precious. The Palace Museum divides first-grade cultural relics into Class A and Class B. As long as it reaches the first grade, it is very precious. Our institute has a total of 63 Ge Kiln cultural relics, of which 57 are first-grade products, including Class A and Class B. Currently, this cultural relic is broken into six pieces. Although the damage condition is somewhat complex, restoration should not be a problem. Domestically, there is rich experience in ceramic restoration, not only in the Palace Museum but also in cultural institutions such as the Shanghai Museum, which have mature restoration experiences.
[Keyword] Concealment of Information
Complex causes, need to investigate clearly before reporting
First, the reasons for the accident must be understood clearly before reporting to superiors and the public. If the cause is not clear, it may cause harm to the manufacturer and the parties involved.
Reporter: Netizens question whether the Palace Museum concealed information about this incident. Why didn't you quickly report it to the Ministry of Culture and the National Cultural Heritage Administration?
Chen Lihua: The doubts of netizens can be understood. Because this accident involves both human factors and machine usage. We required the immediate cessation of testing work upon the occurrence of the accident and requested checks and tests on all instruments. The complexity lies in the testing process of the machine. If it can simply be determined as an operator's mistake, this would cause certain subsequent issues. The party involved initially felt that the input values were correct. Therefore, testing was necessary, simulating the data she entered... After each simulation, discussions were held, inviting experts from the School of Archaeology and Museology at Peking University and professors from the Physics Department of Beijing Normal University for related analyses and discussions. Finally, it was determined to be a human operational error. I am the head of the investigation team, and the institute required me to clarify the facts within a month. During this period, I was very anxious. But the process was complex.
Miao Jianmin: Since the data entered by the party involved was not directly recorded in the computer, we had to find ways to check relevant records that could indirectly reflect this situation. The institute established an accident investigation team, and we also established a similar investigation team at the technical level. Through continuous simulation and replication of the testing process, in the face of facts, the party involved realized her mistake.
Song Jirong: This is something the Palace Museum has never encountered before, involving both the damage of cultural relics and instruments, as well as people. Faced with this new situation, the institute was very cautious. We carefully investigated the matter based on a scientific attitude and handled it cautiously.
Reporter: Why wasn't it reported promptly to the Ministry of Culture and the Cultural Heritage Administration?
Luo Wei: The Cultural Relics Law stipulates that in cases of robbery, theft, or loss of cultural relics, an immediate alarm must be raised, and reports must be made to the superior business authority. For damages occurring during business work, reports need to be submitted to relevant national cultural relics authorities for review and handling, but there is no specified time limit. Given the complexity of the accident causes, our institute set a one-month deadline. This way of handling should be a relatively normal approach. First, the causes of the accident must be understood clearly before reporting to superiors and the public. If the cause is unclear, it may cause harm to the manufacturer and the parties involved, leading to other related issues. This is a scientific and rigorous attitude, and there is no concealment.
Reporter: Netizens question that the recent theft case, the "club scandal," and today's damage case at the Palace Museum were all first disclosed online, and your responses were passive. How do you view this?
Chen Lihua: Just regarding the current accident, it is entirely for the sake of obtaining a scientifically accurate answer. The institute required everything to be done meticulously, accurately, and scientifically. This accident is entirely due to its complexity that led to such a time process. But indeed, there is no so-called concealment issue as questioned by netizens.
[Keyword] Reflections on the Accident
The research direction is correct, don't abandon it because of one failure
During measurement, people from the Department of Ancient Objects and scientific researchers were present at the same time. But now, only one scientific researcher is present during measurements.
Reporter: Will this accident affect the Palace Museum's related scientific research?
Miao Jianmin: Combining social science research methods with modern scientific methods to comprehensively study ancient ceramics is a development direction. From our previous achievements, this path is correct, and this direction will not change. What we need to achieve now is to prevent such incidents from happening again under all circumstances.
Feng Naien: The Palace Museum will not stop this research due to one accident. But we need to learn lessons from the accident. The corrective measures proposed in our report are aimed at guiding future work on how to avoid and eliminate such accidents, and we cannot give up because of one failure.
Reporter: What lessons do you think need to be learned?
Miao Jianmin: After the incident, we reflected deeply. The Palace Museum has always considered cultural relic safety very carefully in the past. Normally, the Ancient Ceramic Testing Research Laboratory does not come into direct contact with cultural relics. During measurements, people from the Department of Ancient Objects and scientific researchers are present at the same time. But now, only one scientific researcher is present during measurements. If there were two scientific researchers present, they could verify each operational step mutually, thus maximizing the prevention of similar accidents. This is what needs to be strengthened and improved in the future.
[Keyword] About Cultural Relics
The Palace Museum's collection of cultural relics is cherished like the pupil of our eyes
Our task is to collect, study, and display cultural relics well. Please believe that we will do our job well, please trust the reverence of the Palace Museum people towards the Palace Museum.
Reporter: Mr. Feng Naien, as the spokesperson for the Palace Museum, what do you want to say to the public?
Feng Naien: I hope the public maintains trust in the Palace Museum. First, the Palace Museum has years of experience in cultural relic management. More importantly, the Palace Museum treats its collections as precious as the pupil of our eyes. This incident is a very painful lesson for us, and we will analyze the causes of the accident and identify areas that need improvement in our future work to ensure that such phenomena do not occur again in our future research and preservation work, at least not due to human factors. Although objective factors are unpredictable, we can meet the needs of cultural relic safety and research through personnel management and system establishment. Cultural relic research is not just the Palace Museum's own concern; studying cultural relics well aims to serve the public because the Palace Museum itself is a public cultural institution. Our task is to collect, study, and display cultural relics well. Please believe that we will do our job well, please trust the reverence of the Palace Museum people towards the Palace Museum. According to Xinhua News Agency.
■ Related News
Ma Weidu talks about the damaged cultural relics:
Even those inferior to it can fetch tens of millions of yuan in auctions.
Beijing Morning Post: First, please introduce Ge Kiln porcelain.
Ma Weidu (collector, curator of the Guanfu Museum): The term 'Ge Kiln' only appeared after the Ming Dynasty; there was no such saying during the Song and Yuan periods. Because among the five famous kilns of the Song Dynasty, only Ge Kiln has not found its kiln site yet, and the origin of existing Ge Kiln porcelain remains controversial. Therefore, over the years, Ge Kiln has always been an unsolved mystery in the archaeological community.
Beijing Morning Post: Have you seen the damaged Song Dynasty Ge Kiln Celadon Chrysanthemum Mouth Plate before? How do you evaluate it?
Ma Weidu: I have seen it in the museum before; it was very good, elegant, and dignified. It should be noted that the appreciation value of Ge Kiln is prominently manifested in "transforming imperfection into wonder." The crackle pattern on the surface of Ge Kiln was originally a defect in the firing process of ceramics, but after being recognized by scholars, it was acknowledged as a kind of beauty. Therefore, Ge Kiln is a typical example of beauty in imperfection, like the Venus de Milo, belonging to another category and realm of beauty.
Beijing Morning Post: Many netizens lamented the damage to this cultural relic, saying there are only three such pieces worldwide, with an estimated value of hundreds of millions of yuan. Is that true?
Ma Weidu: It is a fact that Ge Kiln porcelain is rare, but it is not limited to just a few pieces. To my knowledge, there are hundreds of pieces worldwide. If we consider economic value, in recent auction sessions, Sotheby's sold a Ge Kiln porcelain for 1 million pounds in London last May, and another piece for $1.76 million in New York in the autumn of the same year. The highest recorded price in recent years was approximately $3 million, equivalent to more than 20 million yuan. Of course, items from the Palace Museum are definitely more valuable and cannot be judged solely by these standards.
Beijing Morning Post: From the perspective of a museum manager, what thoughts does this incident bring to you?
Ma Weidu: There must be strict procedures for cultural relics to be taken out of storage in museums. In the Palace Museum, staff who can come into contact with first-class cultural relics are definitely not ordinary personnel and must have undergone training. Such incidents happening suggest that it might be a problem of responsibility. Even the most complete systems are dead rules, and if executed by people without a sense of responsibility, problems will inevitably arise.