Yang Hongying (楊紅櫻)

 Royalty income: 20 million yuan (US$3.21 million)

Bestseller: "Diaries of the Smiling Cat" 《笑貓日記》

Age: 50

2011 Ranking: 4

Yang Hongying, born in 1962 in Chengdu City, Sichuan Province, is currently the most popular contemporary female writer of children's literature in China. Once a primary school teacher, Yang is able to create stories that capture children's hearts. Her most famous books include "Girls' Diary," "Boys' Diary," "Pretty Teacher and Naughty Boys," "Mo's Mischief," and "Diaries of the Smiling Cat."

Yang's "Mo's Mischief" series (known in Chinese as "Naughty Boy Ma Xiaotiao") focus on the humorous stories and adventures of protagonist Mo Shen Ma, a naughty but helpful Chinese primary school boy. Since first published in 2003, the series has sold more than 16 million copies on Chinese mainland, making it the best-selling book of children's literature after 1949. From 2008, Yang has begun publishing her new series "Diaries of the Smiling Cat," which soon became another popular series among Chinese children and teenagers.