Two months after the Shanghai Museum publicly pointed out that the famous calligraphy piece purchased by Chinese collector Liu Yiqian was fake, Liu and his Long Museum officially responded and confirmed the authenticity of the calligraphy at a news conference in Beijing on Tuesday.

At the conference, the Long Museum, based in Shanghai and founded by Liu to exhibit his collection, publicly showed experts and media the highly controversial calligraphy: The Gong Fu Tie by ancient Chinese writer and calligrapher Su Shi  (1037-1101) of the Northern Song Dynasty (960-1127).

According to the explanation by Huang Jian, executive curator of the museum, by applying high-definition technology and inviting different authoritative experts to appraise the calligraphy, they have confirmed its authenticity­ by examining various aspects including the characteristics­ of the writing, the paper itself and the seals found on the work.

"When I saw their essays on January 1, I was really disappointed as this differed from their previous appraisal of the work," said Liu.

In September 2013, Liu bought the piece at a Sotheby's auction in New York at the price of $8 million.

Deemed as possibly the only authentic calligraphy by Su still existing today, Liu's purchase meant the treasure had finally returned to China.

However, on December 21 of last year, it was reported by the Xinmin Evening News that three Shanghai Museum researchers, Shan Guolin, Zhong Yinlan and Ling Lizhong, discovered that the work was actually a replica made during the late Qing Dynasty (1644-1911) setting off concerns­ throughout art circles.

With all the controversy around the Gong Fu Tie, Sotheby's has stood by the authenticity of the work. On January 13, they published their own research results to refute the findings of the three Shanghai Museum researchers.

Setting a precedent for the appraisal of ancient Chinese paintings and calligraphy, this highly controversial case seems to have drawn to a temporary close with Liu's confirmation of the authenticity of the Gong Fu Tie.

However, curiosity and interest among the public have not yet faded since the protagonist of the debate, the work itself, hasn't met face to face with the public just yet.

The good news is that the Long Museum plans to exhibit the work late this March when its new branch museum opens in the Puxi District in Shanghai.