Yan Zhen/Shanghai Daily news

A rare old diploma that was donated to Fudan University last week might not be the priceless find the school thought it was.
After local media wrote about the donation last week, a collector contacted the school over the weekend to say that he had a similar degree in his collection. While school officials said the diploma isn't from Fudan, it does date back to the late Qing Dynasty (1616-1911), making it similar to the donated certificate.
Luo Tiansheng, a 60-year-old local retiree, called Shanghai Daily over the weekend, saying that one of the 1,500 pieces in his collection was surprisingly similar to the Fudan diploma, which he had seen pictures of in a newspaper.
"I was quite surprised to find that my collection was so similar to the most valuable treasure in Fudan's centenary history," said Luo, who specializes in collecting old stock certificates and treasury bonds. "I just want to have some people unveil possible connections between the two old diplomas," he added.
Zhuge Hui, director of Fudan's news center who has examined Luo's collection at his home on Saturday, said that the diploma probably has no relation with Fudan.
"But it is still valuable if it can help researchers probe into background of higher education at that time," Zhuge said.