Scripting a new record

Ancient scholar's prized letter set to attract stratospheric bids at an upcoming Beijing auction. Lin Qi reports.

A letter that a famed scholar wrote about 1,000 years ago will be auctioned in Beijing on Sunday. The letter, which has 124 characters, is expected to yield hundreds of thousands of yuan, giving it a very high value on a per-character basis.

On Sept 27, 1080, Zeng Gong wrote to a close friend whom he hadn't seen in three years.