The British Museum has been accused of copyright infringement by a Vancouver-based poet and translator, Yilin Wang. Wang has claimed that they did not receive any credit of reimbursement when their translations of poetry by Qiu Jin (1875-1907) were used in the museum’s exhibition ‘China’s Hidden Century’, which opened on 18 May 2023 and is due to close on 8 October.

‘China’s Hidden Century’ is an exhibition aiming to demonstrate “the resilience and innovation of 19^th-century China”. It is supported by a four-year research project funded by the Arts and Humanities Research Council which provided a grant to researchers of £719,000. British Museum Chinese Ceramics curator Jessica Harrison-Hall and Julia Lovell, a Modern Chinese History Professor at Birkbeck University organised the exhibition, which brings together 300 objects including textiles, cloisonné vases, photographs, prints, furniture, and more.

Alongside many of these items is a celebration of the legacy of Qiu Jin, who was a revolutionary feminist poet who was executed at the age of 31. The exhibition ends with a rotating display of photos of Qiu next to English translations of her poetry. A recording of one of her songs is also featured, performed by the London Chinese Philharmonic Choir.

On 18 June, translator Wang tweeted the British Museum stating that they were using her translations without permission. The British Museum told the Guardian that “it makes every effort to contact copyright owners of images, print and digital media it uses, and has removed the assets in question as an act of good faith until the matter is resolved.” They further added that “the British Museum takes copyright permissions seriously. We have been in touch with Yilin Wang directly to discuss this matter.” They subsequently told ARTnews that the absence of the credit line was an “unintentional human error for which the Museum has apologised to Yilin Wang.” They also responded to recent criticism their staff have faced on social media due to the incident, writing that they deemed it “unacceptable” as it “is through their scholarship and efforts, and those of their collaborators, that we have been able to present this period of Chinese history, through people-centred stories, to the thousands visiting the China’s hidden century temporary exhibition at the British Museum. We stand behind our colleagues fully and request those responsible for these personal attacks to desist as we work with Yilin Wang to resolve the issues they have raised concerning the use of their translations within the exhibition.”

While Wang has said she does not support the harassment the British Museum’s staff have received, she added that “the public statement does not feel sincerely apologetic in my opinion.” Wang said that she was contacted by the museum with an offer for them to send her a permission form, to which she requested a list of locations where the translations appear. According to Wang, the museum replied they had removed their translations from the exhibition and that “we will not be reinstating the translations in the exhibition […] and therefore you will not be acknowledged in the exhibition as your work will not be featured.”