Chinanews, Shenyang, December 28 – Liu and Shen, an old couple in Anshan, Liaoning Province, who sold a china jar, a brush pot made of red proclain and a round china box in 1977 to the local cultural heritage administration at 20 yuan. In 1978, the cultural heritage administration gave Liu and Shen another 350 yuan for the three treasures, without telling them the true value of those curios.

 

However, Liu found by himself that the china jar alone should be worth at least 230 million yuan, as a similar round jar was auctioned at 230 million yuan in 2005, and the jar Liu sold to the cultural heritage administration was in the octagonal shape, so it was much more precious than the round one.

 

“If they had told us the value of the jar, we would never have accepted such a low offer,” said Liu.

 

On December 25, the old couple asked their lawyer to sue the museum that keeps the three treasures at the Tiedong District Court in Anshan, hoping the contract of sale could be quashed, or at least they could get a higher compensation.

 

“We haven't received the summons from the court so far, but we will respond when we receive it,” said the spokesperson of the museum