Huffington Magazine Issue 16 | Page 60

HUFFINGTON 09.30.12 THE DISRUPTOR Of the guests who did show were Liu Xiadong and his wife, Yu Hong, both famous Chinese artists, the latter of whom went to high school with Ai’s wife Lu Qing, he emphasized. “When his wife saw me, they just turned away,” Ai said incredulously. “I was kind of shocked, like, hm, this is very strange.” Liu’s reaction couldn’t have been that strange, though. At a panel for the U.S.-China Forum on Arts and Culture in November 2011, Liu, a faculty member at CAFA, called Ai a “naughty boy,” in a moment the Wall Street Journal described as “uncomfortable.” “I’m not kidding,” Liu continued. “When I first knew him he had nothing and I had more than him.” Liu is what Asia Society moderator at the event, Meli