Cultural Revolution 'hero' lists company

A once-renowned figure who submitted an almost blank examination paper as a protest against intellectuals during the Cultural Revolution (1966-76) has drawn attention recently as his company was listed on the stock market on Wednesday.

Zhang Tiesheng, one of the founders and honorary chairman of Wellhope Agri-Tech Joint Stock, one of the biggest livestock fodder companies in Northeast China, will earn 189 million yuan ($30.26 million) based on the offering price, the Beijing Morning Post reported Thursday. The initial price was 5.88 yuan per share.

He shot to fame in 1973 when he took the college entrance examinations, handing in a blank paper and writing a letter to the education authorities on the back of the paper.

In the letter, he said that he was too occupied with physical work to devote time studying, whereas the bookworms who have done nothing but lived leisurely were all enrolled by universities. "I'm not convinced by their success," he wrote.

The "educated youth" had been sent to live and work in a rural area in northeastern China's Liaoning Province during the Cultural Revolution, and his contributions to the country, he thought, should be taken into account by the people grading the tests.

Jiang Qing, Mao Zedong's wife, applauded him for his bravery and honesty because of that letter.

But he was jailed for subversion in 1976 after a change in the political landscape. After 15 years in prison, he co-founded Wellhope and now has a 6.8 percent stake in it.