The Chinese TV series adapted from the historical novel Emperor Kangxi, which is now showing, has brought even more popularity to its author Ling Jiefang who writes under a pen name Eryuehe (February River).
Millions are now following closely the ups and downs of the empire under Kangxi's rule. Wanting to read the original work, many rush to bookstores to buy Eryuehe's other novels.
Fiction always has good sales and TV plays adapted from his works have made Eryuehe a millionaire.
He however does not regard money as the most important thing. "I was very poor in my youth. I dreamed of saving 2,000 yuan so that I could afford to see a doctor," he said.
"Now I am quite content with what I've achieved, which greatly exceeds that small sum," said Eryuehe.
Reports say he earned at least one million yuan (US$120,000s) in royalties for the script of the current TV series.
Eryuehe first showed his writing talent with the first volume of Emperor Kangxi published 16 years ago, after which he concentrated solely on historical novels, which are popular with Chinese readers worldwide.
Eryuehe has already written a million-word trilogy depicting the three successive rulers in the most prosperous period of the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911), namely Kangxi, Yongzheng and Qianlong.
A secondary school graduate, the novelist has had many dramatic experiences in his life. After serving in the army for ten years, Eryuehe began writing critical articles about China's greatest classical novel A Dream of the Red Mansions.
However most of his manuscripts were not published. An old and experienced reviewer suggested that he should shift to writing historical novels, which led to his later success.
Over 15 years of writing experience has given Eryuehe penetrating views on historical novels.
He says, "There are two great taboos in writing historical novels: one is to describe each detail according to documents, making a fictional story into a dull history textbook and the other is to accept various legends and tales as historical facts, thus calling unsubstantiated facts history."
Although professional critics have praised him highly, Eryuehe values the opinions of ordinary readers more.
"I don't mean to ignore the professionals, but ordinary people who buy my books with money from their not-too-thick wallets should be respected much more," he says.
Eryuehe has won many titles for his novels in recent years, but he especially treasures two prizes. One is "the most popular Chinese writer among overseas readers" and the other is "the most popular book" chosen by Hong Kong's middle school students.
The former one is selected through readers? votes as well as by surveys on library borrowing rates and bookstore sales, which Eryuehe considers the best way to know readers' preferences.
When talking about the latter prize, Eryuehe feels very gratified that teenagers can understand and enjoy his works.
Like many Chinese, the author has a computer in his study. However, he just uses it for computer games and not for writing novels.
He says, "people who like eating noodles all know that hand-made noodles taste more delicious than machine-made ones. It's the same for writing."
Although his historical novels are widespread among Chinese people throughout the world, Eryuehe insists on living in Nanyang City in central China's Henan Province.
Nanyang, an ancient city, has also gained fame because of the author, and an increasing number of people, including government officials, businessmen and ordinary readers, swarm into the city to get his signature or to chat with him.
Though the stream of visitors has disturbed his quiet life, the writer does not put on airs. "My door is opened to everyone," he says.
However, he also needs a quiet environment for writing. He says that a writer should not have too many social activities, adding, "I just want to be a writer".
(Xinnhua News Agency December 28, 2001)
