Exhibitions, Stories
Ma Weidu: Scholar of the Past, Craftsman of the Present – An Interview on Collecting, Cultural Practice and Responsibilities of Our Time
By Cecilia Aisin-Gioro | Columnist
As one of China’s most influential cultural figures, Ma Weidu has long stood at the intersection of scholarship, craftsmanship, and public education.
Best known as the founder of Guanfu Museum, the first officially recognized private museum in China, he has reshaped how contemporary audiences experience antiquities and cultural heritage.
When Guanfu Museum was approved on October 30, 1996, private museums were virtually nonexistent in China. Its establishment marked a turning point: an era when individuals, guided by knowledge and conviction, could participate in building the nation’s public cultural landscape.
In the early 1990s, China’s art market was still emerging. Exhibitions by private collectors were rare—and at times seen as boundary-breaking.
In 1992, Ma Weidu held his first private exhibition in Beijing. Its independent curatorial approach and high-quality objects caught the attention of the cultural world.
“That exhibition made me realize that a collection only fulfills its meaning when it is seen by the public,” Ma later recalled.
At the time, individuals could not register museums; the policy simply did not exist.
Yet Ma continued collecting, studying display methods, and preparing.
When China finally opened museum registration to social entities in 1996, Guanfu Museum emerged from years of patient groundwork. Ma invested his own savings, designed the galleries himself, and shaped a model that would inspire a new generation of private museums.
The museum’s name comes from the Dao De Jing:
“When all things flourish together, I observe their return (guan fu).”
“Guan”—to observe—is the work of insight.
“Fu”—to return—is the movement of restoration, renewal, and return to essence.
For Ma, the name expresses a belief in civilizational cycles: that all cultural creation returns to authenticity and nature.
The symbolism echoes the I Ching’s Hexagrams of “Observation” and “Return,” forming the spiritual foundation of the museum:
to observe the ancient in order to illuminate the present; to restore the past in order to understand the way forward.
Ma Weidu became a household name in the 2000s through widely watched programs such as Lecture Room and Guanfu Dudu, bringing antiquities into everyday life with humor and clarity.
As his public presence grew, “Guanfu” and “Ma Weidu” became nearly inseparable—beneficial for visibility, but also a source of vulnerability.
In May 2024, a minor corporate labor dispute involving a company that once shared the “Guanfu” name escalated online. When the company changed its registered name during a routine restructuring, many on social media misinterpreted it as a problem with the museum or with Ma personally.
In reality, Guanfu Museum is an independent nonprofit legal entity, entirely unaffected.
Ma apologized publicly out of responsibility—even though he was not involved in the business in question—demonstrating the burden he carries as a public cultural figure.
This moment revealed a broader challenge facing cultural institutions worldwide:
when a museum becomes synonymous with a single individual, boundaries easily blur in the public eye.
Similar cases have occurred globally:
- United States: The Sackler Family
Major museums removed the “Sackler” name due to controversies surrounding the opioid crisis (Guggenheim removal in 2022; Met removal in 2021). - Europe: Private Museums
Studies have shown that many European private museums depend heavily on their founders’ personal identities, making institutions vulnerable when reputations or finances shift. - Art Market Trends
The Private Museum Report 2023 notes that founder-funded museums worldwide lack institutional buffers, creating a structural fragility.
These examples reflect a universal issue:
when cultural identity relies too heavily on individuals, institutions become susceptible to misinterpretation and instability.
Among all of Guanfu Museum’s cultural symbols, none is as unexpectedly beloved as the “Guanfu Cats.”
During the pandemic, the museum adopted nearly a hundred stray cats. They were named, written about, painted, photographed, and eventually became the museum’s gentle, living spirit.
More than sixty beautifully produced art albums—recreating classical paintings with these cats as motifs—have since been published.
They transformed the museum into a place with emotional resonance, where cultural artifacts coexist with living creatures.
The “Guanfu Cats” are not simply a branding element; they represent warmth, care, and the human texture of cultural life.
Ma Weidu’s standards for craftsmanship are famously uncompromising.
One striking example comes from his commission of a teapot for Guanfu:
- a Yixing potter said: “Your requirements are too difficult,”
- a Taiwanese potter said: “Your expectations are reasonable,”
- a Japanese craftsman replied simply: “This is the basic standard.”
That sentence convinced Ma to entrust the work to Japanese artisans.
For him, craftsmanship is not a matter of price or prestige—it is a cultural attitude:
respect for skill, respect for time, respect for the state of mind through which art is made.
“Guanfu needs works that can be passed down,” he said.
“Not commercial products.”
This philosophy underlies the museum’s approach to cultural creativity: from ceramics to printed catalogues, from design to public programming, everything reflects an insistence on craft, quality, and continuity.
When asked how he defines himself, Ma says:
“Somewhere between a scholar and a businessman.”
He understands the market, but is not controlled by it.
He uses commercial tools, yet always places cultural ideals above commercial goals.
This rare balance has allowed Guanfu to become:
- academically grounded yet accessible,
- independent yet warmly public,
- rooted in tradition yet open to innovation.
The phrase “Guanfu” itself embodies Ma Weidu’s philosophy:
To observe (guan) — to understand history with clear insight;
To return (fu) — to restore what is essential, timeless, and humane.
In an age defined by speed and consumption, Ma reminds us that culture is not a slogan, but a way of life that requires patience, gentleness, and integrity.
With the heart of a scholar and the hands of a craftsman, he brings warmth back to time, and gives Chinese culture a renewed dignity and breath in the 21st century.
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