The Institute of Painting and Calligraphy Connoisseurship maintains a primary focus on researching Chinese calligraphy and painting and the history of authentication and collection. Beginning in the twentieth century, specialists such as Xu Bangda and Qi Gong developed the study of calligraphy and painting connoisseurship on the foundations laid by previous scholars, brought the study of authentication into the domain of modern academic research, and established grounds for the history of calligraphy and painting connoisseurship as a unique scholarly field. This institute, while advocating the foundation laid by such predecessors, carries on their legacy of research methodology and academic achievements, while being based in the tangible cultural heritage resources and expertise of the Palace Museum, and conducts comprehensive research on the connoisseurs of successive dynasties, the imperial household’s collection enterprise, calligraphy and painting catalogues, provenance, and authenticity. The purpose of the institute is grounded in the legacy of the Palace Museum’s academic rigor with a focus on promoting academic innovation in the research of connoisseurship and playing a leading role in the field. Furthermore, the institute aims to accelerate cooperation and academic exchange with scientific and cultural entities and to positively promote the Palace Museum’s academic status and influence in the field while advancing cooperation with institutions of higher education in order to train up-and-coming talent at the Palace Museum and realize the academic legacy of painting and calligraphy connoisseurship at the Palace Museum.

Honorary Director: Wang Lianqi

Director: Zhao Guoying