A dying man in Luzhou left his savings and his ashes to the woman he lived with, and the court gave everything to his wife

Huang Yongbin of Luzhou had been married to Jiang Lunfang for more than 30 years and they had an adopted son. From 1994 he saw Zhang Xueying, and from 1996 they lived together openly. He never divorced. In February 2001 he was admitted to hospital with late-stage liver cancer, and his wife cared for him there. On 18 April 2001 he wrote a will leaving Zhang his housing allowance, his housing fund, his death benefit, half the sale price of a flat (40,000 yuan) and a mobile phone. He also asked that she bury his ashes. The Naxi district notary office certified the will on 20 April. After he died, Zhang asked Jiang for the property and the ashes, and Jiang refused. Zhang sued in the Naxi District People's Court. On 13 July 2001 the district justice bureau revoked the notarisation of the death-benefit gift. On 11 October 2001 the court dismissed Zhang's claim. It held the will genuine and correctly made but void because it violated public order and good morals. Local people supported the ruling; many lawyers called it a wrong decision made under public pressure. Zhang appealed, and the Luzhou Intermediate People's Court decided the appeal later in 2001 without restoring the bequest. Most legal scholars criticised the result; a minority defended it as a warning against breaking up marriages. The General Provisions of Civil Law of 2017, now part of the Civil Code, also bar civil acts that violate public order and good morals.