Fall from grace

[Photo by Yuan Peide/CFP]

Novelist Zhou Daxin's latest offering is about an imaginary Chinese official whose death triggers both tears and joy. Xing Yi reports.

Acclaimed novelist Zhou Daxin recently released a new book depicting the life of an imaginary provincial governor, saying that the graft case against Gu Junshan, a disgraced Chinese general, had pushed him to write the novel.

Gu, a former deputy director of the general logistics department of the People's Liberation Army, was prosecuted for embezzlement, bribery, misuse of government funds and abuse of power in March last year. He is alleged to have amassed more than 600 million yuan ($98 million) in wealth, according to investigators.

Zhou's latest novel, Qu Zhong Ren Zai (The Last Song), begins with an obituary of Ouyang Wantong, the governor of a fictional Chinese province, and tells the story of his life through the author's interviews with 27 characters, including Ouyang's family members, friends, colleagues and subordinates.

But Ouyang isn't portrayed as a greedy official from the book's start. He comes from a farmer's family, rises up in his career path from the grassroots, but still has many limitations. If he wants to be an honest official, he must fight a lot of pressure from his relatives, bosses and businessmen for whom bribery isn't a dirty word.

From the words of the interviewees, Zhou tries to present different facets the high-ranking official's life: the dilemma he faces, the decisions he makes and his mistakes in the end.

Zhou uses a news report about the funeral to end Ouyang's story.