Dangnian Mingyue(penname) 當年明月

Royalty Income: 5.75 million yuan (US$ 0.91 million)

Best seller: "Those Things of the Ming Dynasty" series

Buy it on Amazon.com, Chinese Edition

Born in 1979 in Wuhan, Hubei Province, Dangnian Mingyue (real name Shi Yue) is a former civil servant in the Bureau of Customs in Shunde, Guangdong Province. He made his name writing his "Those Things of the Ming Dynasty" series online, starting in 2006. He tells the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) stories in a vivid, interesting and humorous way, changing people's deep-rooted views that "history books are boring." His narration and interpretation have given people a much more accurate picture of a previously misunderstood historical period.

The seven-book series became a hit upon its publication, selling more than 10 million copies, making it the most popular historical work of literature in the past 30 years. With this successful series, Shi has edged into the list of richest Chinese writers every year since 2007.