Li Wancheng, the main character of Lao She's Looking West to Chang'an, is based on the true story of Li Wanming, the most famous conman in China during the 1950s. Li joined the Kuomintang troops before 1949 and was imprisoned once for forgery. With the founding of New China, Li took advantage of this chaotic period and the people's trust in heroes and hid his past to win higher government posts. Eventually he was caught and jailed for three years.

He was released from prison early because of illness in 1951, however Li was back to his old tricks again, even making his way into the Communist Party. He faked transfer orders and traveled around the country, including staying in a comfortable sanatorium in a scenic region.

In 1952, he visited the former Soviet Union as a member of the Chinese farmers' delegation. Li was such a charmer he won the love of the delegation's interpreter and the couple had two sons.

In 1955, Li made a huge mistake by bragging about his military achievements in front of then Shaanxi governor Zhang Desheng, who happened to be the commander of the troops Li talked about. In 1957, Li was given a 15-year sentence and the People's Daily featured a major story. Then minister of Public Security Luo Ruiqing called on the Chinese writers to reveal Li's tricks just as Russian dramatist Nikolay Gogol (1809-52) did in his great play Imperial Envoy.

As most literary works of that time sang praise of the new country, few writers dared to touch the topic, which would inevitably ridicule the society and bureaucracy.

Lao She stood up to the challenge and disguised himself as a judge to visit Li in the prison in Xi'an of Shaanxi Province.

"Mr Lao She always believed in the variety of dramas. He said dramas must not be in the same style and he advocated satires and tragedies," said Shu Yi, son of Lao She, whose real name was Shu Qingchun.

Partly due to his insistence on portraying real life, Lao She was harshly criticized during the "cultural revolution" (1966-76) and beaten by Red Guards the day before he took his own life by plunging into Beijing's Taiping Lake in 1966. He was 67.

As for Li Wanming, he served his punishment and his first wife and sons left him. In 1984, he married a rural woman in Shaanxi. While working in a brick factory, he often lectured in schools and in public about his past.

In 1991, he died after complaining of stomach ache. There was no trace of the autobiography he always promised to write.

(China Daily February 6, 2007)