Pham Tang is a leading Chinese painter and bookwriter.
At the age of 87, he was suddenly involved in a scandal over his marriage and assets, becoming the focus of controversy on social media.
The Chinese QQ site reported that since August 16, the information that his wife - Mrs. Tu Mong (50 years younger than him) was accused of appropriating her husband's assets of more than 2 billion yuan ($278 million), including paintings, calligraphy, antiques, attracted hundreds of millions of reads and millions of comments.
His daughter, Pham Hieu Hue, said that her stepmother had taken her father away since mid-July, but did not reveal where he is currently living.
While the rumors about the mysterious disappearance of the painting were circulating, a friend of Pham Tang affirmed that he was still healthy, not missing but was "close to writing books".
This friend said that Pham Tang asked him to speak up to deny rumors related to his family.
Another friend said he met Pham Tang in Beijing (China) in early August and that the paintings are still in good health.
However, because the famous paintings have not appeared directly, the public is still skeptical.
Many opinions questioned why Pham Hieu Hue did not report to the police but only shared it on social networks.
A lawyer in Beijing stated that with signs such as no contact, sealing villas, and missing assets, the reporting was completely well-founded. Some people think that this may be just an internal conflict within the family over the division of assets.
QQ page added details that Tu Mong established the "Pham Tang Art Fund", holding most of the digital rights of the works.
Tu Mong's Douyin account has more than three million followers, regularly livestreaming with the behind-the-scenes of Pham Tang's paintings. Recently, she deleted a photo with her husband, only keeping her personal image, claiming to be "pham Tang phu nhan".
Originally from an unknown background, after cosmetic surgery and image building, Tu Mong had the opportunity to approach the family of writer Pham Tang through his illegitimate child. At that time, the famous actor's ex-wife was seriously ill, creating conditions for Tu Mong to be close and take care of her. After that, Tu Mong married him in April 2024.
Pham Tang was born in 1938, considered a master of documentary painting, and has helped shape the style of pen-taking in contemporary Chinese painting. His work has been sold for millions of USD at international auctions many times, in which Bat Tien Do was once sold for up to 69 million yuan (9.6 million USD).
