Who wins and who loses in Wang Baoqiang's divorce
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File photo of actor Wang Baoqiang and his wife Ma Rong [Photo: Agencies]

It started with a heartfelt and revealing social media post in the early hours of Sunday.

And each day since then there's been a cascade of claim, counterclaim and intrigue.

In his initial Weibo post, superstar Chinese actor Wang Baoqiang told the world his marriage was over and blamed the break down on his cheating wife.

Papers filed in a Beijing court next day, outlined the whole sorry tale - Wang alleges that his wife, Ma Rong, had an affair with his agent Song Zhe, hid and transferred property, and "hurt his family members."

On the same day, his wife staged a limited fight back - also on social media.

Ma Rong accused Wang of compromising her reputation by making the statement on Weibo, which led to massive amount of verbal abuse from netizens directed against her.

Ma then filed her own suit with a Beijing court, demanding Wang delete his statement and apologize.

There then followed a flurry of information from official and unofficial sources.

On Wednesday, a so-called insider from Ma Rong's side speaking to ifeng.com, claimed that Wang had met a mistress as long ago as last year, and said that Ma denied having any affair with Song.

Another source said the wife of Song Zhe, Wang's agent, had already collected enough evidence against Song and had handed the evidence to Wang.

Millionaire film star can't afford legal fees?

According to The Beijing News, Wang needed to pay 240,000 yuan legal fees for his case. But it seems the film star, who is believed to own a property worth 100 million yuan, apparently couldn't find the money.

It's rumored that Wang's legal team raised the money on his behalf.

163.com reports a source, said to be a bank employee, who revealed that when Wang checked his account at the bank, he found it had been cleared out, with all the money transferred away.

Yansubagua reports that most of Wang's accounts are registered under his wife's name. His nine homes are also registered under the names of Ma's parents, and his company's assets have also been transferred to his agent Song.

Wang's company seal, financial seal, and seal of legal representative have all apparently been 'lost'.

Are there wider repercussions?

Wang's case is hardly the first celebrity divorce case to come under spotlight. But never has a case drawn so much attention. Why now?

The case first became a hot topic in entertainment circles, but later it spread far beyond, attracting the attention of major outlets across China. A single topic on Sina Weibo has been viewed more than 6 billion times.

Wang Baoqiang is a Chinese actor, who specializes in comedy acting. He is best known for his simple and honest character in the film "A World without Thieves". For many he captured the spirit of the ordinary man who works hard trying to make a better life for himself.

And maybe that's one of the reasons why the case has struck a chord.

When Wang got married, he and his wife were held up as model couple by the public, because of their faithful and loyal attitude to each other.

The failure of Wang's marriage seems to have triggered soul searching about the purpose of marriage in society today.

Chinese traditionally see marriage as more than a just personal choice. Choosing a lifetime partner matters to the honor of one's family and is even regarded as a measurement of one's success and happiness.

As such, people tend to place great emphasis on family background, income, appearance, and even diplomacy.

But such emphasis maybe threatens the stability of a marriage. What about love?

Statistics from China's civil administration authority show that in 2013 alone China saw 3.5 million divorces, an increase by 12.8 percent compared with 2012.

The end of Wang's marriage has maybe sounded an alarm bell. People are saying it's more important to ask why one gets married, rather than what one can get from marriage.

But the story is far from over. And the media is bound to be filled with further revelations in the future.

It's too early to say who wins in this case - perhaps no one, apart from the purveyors and consumers of celebrity gossip?