Wang Guangmei

CHINA: ANTIQUES BELONGING WIDOW OF FORMER STATE PRESIDENT AUCTIONED

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• published: 21 Jul 2015
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Natural Sound Six antiques belonging to the widow of China's former state president were sold at auction in Beijing Tuesday for 566,000 yuan (dlrs 68,000). They were the only possessions Wang Guangmei got back after her dowry was ravaged by radical followers of former Chinese leader Mao Tse-tung. Proceeds from the sale of the five porcelain pieces and a ivory brush holder will benefit a charity that helps poor peasant mothers find jobs. The focus of attention at Tuesday's auction was on the six pieces offered by Wang Guangmei, widow of China's former state president Liu Shaoqi ( Pron: "Liu Shao-chee"). The objects were gifts from her wealthy capitalist family when she married Communist revolutionary Liu Shaoqi in 1948. Nineteen years later President Liu became the chief target of Communist Party Chairman Mao's purges during the Cultural Revolution of the late 1960s. Youthful radical Maoist supporters known as Red Guards ransacked Wang and Liu's home and dragged the couple away for interrogation. Wang spent 11 years in prison. She did not know until after her release in 1978 that Liu had died in 1969 -- denied medical treatment by the Maoists as "the No. 1 capitalist roader" and a "lackey of imperialism." The government did return to Wang the six small items from her dowry but not much else. Though still alive and active, Wang was not there to witness the sale. But her daughter, Liu Ting was present at the auction as a sponsor, having helped form an auction company last year. Wang's pieces included a 1,000-year-old Song Dynasty porcelain bowl, and two bowls, two plates and the brush holder from the Qing, China's last dynasty. They were among the few relics that attracted spirited bidding at the auction. With relics from five-thousand years of history, China has many artifacts to sell, and the government has been keen to cash in on the business. Auction houses have sprung up in recent years, and Chinese, newly rich from eighteen years of hyperactive reforms, have become prime buyers. You can license this story through AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/metadata/youtube/e964f6d9fcc3f9150fbc9111557c120f Find out more about AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/HowWeWork