Ma Chengyuan

Ma Chengyuan 马承源
Ma Chengyuan in front of the Jin Hou Su bianzhong
Born	3 November 1927 Shanghai, China
Died	25 September 2004(2004-09-25) (aged 76) Shanghai Suicide
Residence	Shanghai
Fields	Archaeology
Institutions	Shanghai Museum
Alma mater	Daxia University
Known for	Authority on Chinese bronzes
Notable awards	John D. Rockefeller III Award Legion of Honour
Spouse	Chen Zhiwu

Ma Chengyuan (3 November 1927 – 25 September 2004) was a Chinese archaeologist, epigrapher, and president of the Shanghai Museum. He was credited with saving priceless artifacts from destruction during the Cultural Revolution, and was instrumental in raising funds and support for the rebuilding of the Shanghai Museum. He was a recipient of the John D. Rockefeller III Award, and was awarded the Legion of Honour by French President Jacques Chirac.

Ma was an authority on ancient Chinese bronzes and published more than 80 books and academic papers, including a 16-volume encyclopedia of the bronzes. He was responsible for recovering ancient relics including the Jin Hou Su bells and Warring States period bamboo strips, which are now considered China's national treasures.

Ma suffered from depression in his final years, and committed suicide in September 2004.

Ma Chengyuan was born in 1927 in Shanghai. In 1946, he joined an underground cell of the Communist Party of China, and graduated from the history department of Daxia University in Shanghai, a predecessor of East China Normal University, in 1951. He worked for the education department of the Shanghai Municipal Government before joining the Shanghai Museum in 1954. Ma was originally assigned to be a manager and Communist Party secretary of the museum, but he resigned from his political positions in 1956 to focus on academic work, and later became director of the bronze research department.

As the Cultural Revolution erupted in 1966, Chairman Mao Zedong called for the destruction of the Four Olds, and teenage Red Guards rampaged through people's homes to destroy relics of pre-Communist China. Desperate Shanghai collectors sought protection of their antiques at the Shanghai Museum, and Ma slept in his office to take phone calls and to dispatch museum employees around the clock.