On Saturday (August 16), Fan Xiaohui, the daughter of Chinese calligrapher and painter Fan Zeng, posted that she has been unable to contact her father, quoting staff as saying that her father was taken away by his stepmother, Xu Meng. Fan Xiaohui also said she learned that before Xu Meng took her father away from home, she had been moving a large number of Fan Zeng’s early stored calligraphy and painting works as well as antique collections.
Fan Xiaohui wrote on Weibo that her father had been away since his birthday party on July 5. During that time, Fan Zeng was still able to contact her via WeChat messages, and she was told that Xu Meng was in poor health and that Fan Zeng was accompanying her in the hospital, temporarily not returning to their luxury Banshui Manor villa.
She said that afterwards, each time she messaged via WeChat, Xu Meng replied that she was still receiving treatment. “I was suspicious, and even after repeatedly asking, I could not get a clear answer; later, when I called friends who were in frequent contact with my father, they also didn’t know where he was, so I decided to return to China immediately.”
Fan Xiaohui said that after returning to China, she and friends drove to Banshui Manor to check, only to find the house’s gates tightly shut, with official seals on the door, and the place empty. Only the chef, assistant, housekeeper, and doorman—who had served her father for over a decade—remained at home, while Xu Meng had taken away all the newly-hired domestic helpers. “I immediately questioned them on-site and learned that those employees who knew more were all dismissed by Xu Meng with large severance payments. For the remaining family and staff, she said nothing about where she had gone or what she was doing.”
Fan went on to say she was shocked to learn that before Xu Meng took her father away, “she had, on several occasions while neither my father nor I were home, transferred large quantities of his early stored calligraphy and paintings and antique collectibles, forcibly instructing staff to turn off room surveillance and threatening them not to spread the news, or else she would report them to the police. After this, Fan Zeng’s calligraphy, paintings, and antiques collected over fifty years were packed up, crated, and shipped away in batches. However, the staff did not know where things were sent, and felt too frightened to speak out.”
She wrote that staff said her father was taken away by Xu Meng on July 13, and that all daily necessities were removed, making it look as if he would not return to live there. “My father being taken away in this way by Xu Meng makes me, as his daughter, very worried. I have called him multiple times over several days, but his phone has always been switched off. I immediately sent a WeChat message to Xu Meng, the only contact channel, but she still did not tell me my father’s whereabouts.”
Fan Xiaohui also mentioned she would actively contact Fan Zeng’s friends to obtain his exact address and go to be by his side.
Public records show that Fan Zeng was born in 1938 into a scholarly family and was admitted to the History Department of Nankai University in Tianjin in 1959. Two years later, he transferred to the Central Academy of Fine Arts to study art history, and then to the Chinese Painting Department. He studied under several masters, including Wu Zuoren, Li Keran, Jiang Zhaohe, Li Kuchan, and Liu Lingcang. After graduating in 1962, Fan was assigned to work at the National Museum of Chinese History. At the end of the 1970s, he taught at the Central Academy of Arts and Crafts, later established the Department of Oriental Art at Nankai University, and served as its director.
Fan Xiaohui wrote on Weibo that her father had been away since his birthday party on July 5. During that time, Fan Zeng was still able to contact her via WeChat messages, and she was told that Xu Meng was in poor health and that Fan Zeng was accompanying her in the hospital, temporarily not returning to their luxury Banshui Manor villa.
She said that afterwards, each time she messaged via WeChat, Xu Meng replied that she was still receiving treatment. “I was suspicious, and even after repeatedly asking, I could not get a clear answer; later, when I called friends who were in frequent contact with my father, they also didn’t know where he was, so I decided to return to China immediately.”
Fan Xiaohui said that after returning to China, she and friends drove to Banshui Manor to check, only to find the house’s gates tightly shut, with official seals on the door, and the place empty. Only the chef, assistant, housekeeper, and doorman—who had served her father for over a decade—remained at home, while Xu Meng had taken away all the newly-hired domestic helpers. “I immediately questioned them on-site and learned that those employees who knew more were all dismissed by Xu Meng with large severance payments. For the remaining family and staff, she said nothing about where she had gone or what she was doing.”
Fan went on to say she was shocked to learn that before Xu Meng took her father away, “she had, on several occasions while neither my father nor I were home, transferred large quantities of his early stored calligraphy and paintings and antique collectibles, forcibly instructing staff to turn off room surveillance and threatening them not to spread the news, or else she would report them to the police. After this, Fan Zeng’s calligraphy, paintings, and antiques collected over fifty years were packed up, crated, and shipped away in batches. However, the staff did not know where things were sent, and felt too frightened to speak out.”
She wrote that staff said her father was taken away by Xu Meng on July 13, and that all daily necessities were removed, making it look as if he would not return to live there. “My father being taken away in this way by Xu Meng makes me, as his daughter, very worried. I have called him multiple times over several days, but his phone has always been switched off. I immediately sent a WeChat message to Xu Meng, the only contact channel, but she still did not tell me my father’s whereabouts.”
Fan Xiaohui also mentioned she would actively contact Fan Zeng’s friends to obtain his exact address and go to be by his side.
Public records show that Fan Zeng was born in 1938 into a scholarly family and was admitted to the History Department of Nankai University in Tianjin in 1959. Two years later, he transferred to the Central Academy of Fine Arts to study art history, and then to the Chinese Painting Department. He studied under several masters, including Wu Zuoren, Li Keran, Jiang Zhaohe, Li Kuchan, and Liu Lingcang. After graduating in 1962, Fan was assigned to work at the National Museum of Chinese History. At the end of the 1970s, he taught at the Central Academy of Arts and Crafts, later established the Department of Oriental Art at Nankai University, and served as its director.
According to Yicai, he was hailed in Japan as “one of the top ten modern Chinese painters.” In 1984, the Fan Zeng Art Museum was established in Okayama, Japan, making him the second non-Japanese artist, after French painter Picasso, to have a dedicated museum in Japan.
Among living Chinese calligraphers and painters, Fan Zeng is considered to be one of the “most valuable artists.” In 1998, his work “Ladies in Procession” (“Li Ren Xing”) fetched HKD 12 million (SGD 1.96 million) at a Hong Kong auction; in 2011, “The Eight Immortals” (“Ba Xian Tu Jing Xin”) was sold for RMB 69 million (SGD 12.3 million); in 2019, his works achieved a total public auction turnover of RMB 158.3 million, ranking fifth in the 2020 Hurun China Art List.
Yicai also reported that Fan Zeng’s title as a “master of Chinese studies” has not been without controversy. In 2010, Wen Hui Bao published three articles: “Artists Still Need to Be Judged by Their Work,” “The Loneliness and Hype of Painters,” and “Can Money Intercede for God, or for Ink?” In the latter, art critic Xie Chunyan wrote: “Money has indeed now greased the wheels for many so-called Chinese painting masters… Mr. Fan’s eight-character formula for selling paintings is the most typical case.”
Collector Guo Qingxiang commented in “Artists Still Need to Be Judged By Their Work” that “There is a certain calligraphy and painting master, always talking about philosophy, Chinese learning, classical literature, and the arts on TV and in the newspapers, who is in fact probably the product of excessive packaging.” Guo criticized Fan Zeng for “assembly line” painting practices, and went on to criticize his character, artistic ability, painting methods, creative intentions, and artwork prices, claiming “mediocre talent,” “showing off,” “ostentation,” and “hypocrisy.” This art criticism ultimately resulted in litigation between the two parties.
Ultimately, Beijing’s Changping District People’s Court ruled in Fan Zeng’s favor, finding that Guo Qingxiang’s article lowered Fan Zeng’s social standing and caused emotional distress, thus constituting an infringement of his right to reputation.
Fan Zeng has been married four times. Fan Xiaohui is the daughter of Fan Zeng and his second wife, Bian Baohua. On April 10 last year, Fan Zeng announced that he had entered his fourth marriage, with Xu Meng, who is 50 years his junior.
Yicai also wrote that the elderly artist, worth billions and suffering from a cerebral infarction, is now missing and his condition is unknown. Until the truth becomes clear, the real situation cannot be known. The multiple marriages of Fan Zeng, as well as the resulting complex relationships and ensuing family inheritance issues, are long-standing roots of this situation.