Famous scholar's art stolen and auctioned off

By Chen Qian  |   2008-11-5  |     NEWSPAPER EDITION

PEKING University has launched an investigation after a collection of calligraphy and paintings belonging to Ji Xianlin, a famous writer, linguist and vice president of the university, was stolen and put up for auction.

Ji, 97, is a Chinese linguist, paleographer, historian, writer and one of China's greatest scholars of ancient Indian languages and culture, Beijing Evening News reported yesterday.

Ji donated most of his collection to Peking University and kept 184 works sent by friends as gifts in his bedroom. Ji is now living in a Beijing hospital.

The works that subsequently appeared at auction were those he kept at home, according to Tang Shizeng, a journalist at Xinhua news agency, who interviewed Ji on October 30.

Tang said he received tips from a man who had bought several items from Ji's collection at auctions since 2007.

The man was suspicious the items had been stolen from Ji's home.

Ji said he had never asked anyone to auction his personal collections off.

The tipster said he saw between 30 and 50 items from Ji's collection being auctioned. He bought 14 for 61,000 yuan (US$8,922).

When Tang called Ji's secretary to confirm the details, she refused to comment and transferred the phone to an unidentified man. The man insisted all the items at auction were fakes.

The secretary, Yang Rui, handles Ji's business and has keys to his bedroom.

The university is investigating, the newspaper said.