Might is right

Nine years ago Hong Kong writer Louis Cha told a mainland newspaper that if State broadcaster CCTV treated a book of his as seriously as it had Romance of the Three Kingdoms (Sanguo Yanyi) and Outlaws of the Marsh (Shuihu) he would charge only 1 yuan for the rights.

His comment happened to be read by Zhang Jizhong, who had produced the two TV series Cha mentioned. He faxed Cha a letter, saying if they could work something out, it would make headlines.

Cha is the best-loved wuxia (martial arts and swordsman) novel writer of his time, boasting millions of readers in Chinese-speaking areas. Until 1999, though, no TV series or films of his work had been produced on the mainland.