The richest authors in China are those who write books for young people. The top three authors on the 2010 25 Richest Chinese Writers list, Yang Hongying, Guo Jingming and Zheng Yuanjie, all write fiction aimed at children and teens.

Writer Han Han

The list, published annually since 2006 by the Chengdu Business Daily, is viewed skeptically, both because of its definition of "being rich" and its accuracy in calculating the fortune figures. Some accuse Wu Huaiyao, the list's compiler, of confusing financial success with literary merit.

But Wu defended himself saying: "I use wealth just to show the current condition of Chinese writers." According to Wu, writers, especially those who produce serious work, have to grapple with the dual challenges of piracy in Chinese market and competition from best-selling writers from abroad.

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