Qiu Jinxian

Qiu Jinxian was born in Shanghai in 1951. From 1972 to 1987, she worked in the restoration of ancient calligraphy and paintings at the Shanghai Museum, successively apprenticed to Xu Mokang of the Yangbang school and Hua Qiming of the Subang school, comprehensively mastering the traditional Chinese methods of restoring ancient calligraphy and paintings. In 1987, recommended by Professor Wei Tuo, a sinologist and scholar of Dunhuang studies and Chinese art history at the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London, and invited by Professor Rosen, Head of the Asian Department at the British Museum, she was hired by the British Museum's Restoration Department. In 1992, she obtained a permanent position at the British Museum.

She is the first person to bring the skills of restoring ancient Chinese paintings to Europe. Over the past 35 years, using traditional Chinese methods and high standards, she has restored many ancient Chinese calligraphy and paintings in the collection of the British Museum, including the important works such as: the Tang dynasty copy of Gu Kaizhi's "Admonitions Scroll," Dunhuang Mogao Grottoes silk paintings, the Yuan dynasty Sheng Mai's silk "Snow Scene" upright scroll, the Yuan dynasty Zhao Mengfu's silk "Double Horse" upright scroll, the Ming dynasty Wu Wei's silk "Nine Heavens Fairy" painting, the Ming dynasty Ni Duan's silk large hall "Petition for Favor" painting, and the Ming dynasty Zhu Bang's silk large hall "Forbidden City" painting, among others.