A visitor asked, “This is your family?”“I’m Liu Wencai’s grandson,” Mr. Liu said. The Liu family, like many wealthy Chinese, considered fleeing to Hong Kong, fearing what might happen under the new Communist government, Mr. Liu said. In 1958, local officials eager to demonstrate their fervor for Maoist class struggle presented Liu Wencai as the prototype of the exploiting landlord. “What the hell are they talking about?” was his private comment on one newspaper article about Liu Wencai, according to his grandson Liu Shizhao. Liu Wencai died in October 1949, the same month that Mao Zedong proclaimed the founding of the People’s Republic.

Source: International New York Times July 26, 2016 08:43 UTC