An annual report released by Hurun Reports and Artron on Chinese artists was withdrawn due to data errors, the Nanfang Daily reported on March 31.

The China Art List, a collection of the top 100 Chinese artists according to sales in 2013, has miscounted sales data and artist rankings due to the upgraded database, Artron said on its official website March 27.

Now in its 7th year, the report has been beset by a series of minor errors. For instance, birth places and offices of the artists are often misplaced. Such errors have led to many complaints from within and outside the business, though Rupert Hoogewerf, the publisher of the report, stressed at a press conference that it is intended for art market outsiders, the paper said.

But the biggest problem is that the report lacks a solid foundation of data. The report is edited on the basis of sales by living artists from the previous year, while the Chinese art market is distraught with fraud, which enables the public to impugn the accuracy of the records.

“The sales numbers are hard to verify, even for the recognized organization Arton,” said an anonymous artist to the paper. “Its data may not give a full picture of how an artist did in the market. The problem is closely tied to the current market environment in China. ”

Even Rupert Hoogewerf admitted that the editors usually take into account the artists’ global sales, number of items sold and a single work’s price to determine rankings. They will adjust the ranking as long as they discover from the media that certain items are unpaid.

Supporters said the list is nothing but a collection of data by commercial organizations, which will not have a significant market impact. But for Sun Jinlong, a painter following the market, such records may be misleading. “It is wrong to release such records to the wider community, knowing that they may be false. I hope more professional organizations will take the problem seriously, and release information in a more responsible way,” the artist said.