Writer's family seeks halt to manuscript sale

The family of writer Zhou Zuoren, who died in 1967, has demanded the cancellation of a weekend auction of a manuscript they say was looted from their home by Red Guards in the Cultural Revolution.

Zhou's grandson Zhou Jiyi said yesterday that his lawyers had also sent a letter to China Guardian Auctions asking it to reveal the client's name and documentation proving legal ownership of the manuscript.

He also said he would consider further action if the auction house failed to comply.

He said he recognised the manuscript instantly after a newspaper report on April 27 about the planned auction that led him to the auction house's website, where a photo of the manuscript was uploaded. It set the asking price for tomorrow's auction at between 650,000 and 700,000 yuan (HK$799,000 and HK$860,000).

'I've demanded the auction house return the manuscript because it's an item I couldn't be more familiar with,' he said. 'I'm so happy that we can still see it after more than 40 years, though I'd never expected it to surface this way.'

The lawyer's letter to the auction house says the Zhou family is the indisputable owner of the manuscript under mainland law, including the 2007 Property Law, and any dealings in the item without the family's consent would be subject to compensation and could even constitute a crime.