An Anecdote About China's Countyside

This anecdote about China's countryside came from Chinese writer Wang Meng's (王蒙) book titled 我是王蒙 (or I am Wang Meng, Tuanjie Publishing Press, 1996).

In Sichuan province (四川省) in the 1980s, a villager succeeded in convincing every one in the village that he was emperor. In no time at all, countless villagers "surrendered" their daughters to him as "concubines."

Initially, the Party secretary in the area opposed the move. But when they saw villagers kneeling down to pay respects to the "emperor", they did likewise.

So what was Wang's point?

That rural China still has a long way to go in eradicating illiteracy, backwardness, and its feudal mindset.