Chinese authors are still struggling to carve a niche in the global gallery of contemporary literary greats

The last book to have notched up outstanding sales in the English-speaking market is Shanghai Baby by Wei Hui (translated by Bruce Humes/Robinson Publishing UK) in 2001. The somewhat morbid tale of a waitress-turned-writer of erotic novels - torn between an artist who overdoses on heroin and a German businessman who she knows is cheating on her - is thought to have sold over 300,000 copies.

Going by more conservative projections, a Chinese book that sells 5,000 copies in English is supposed "to break even", according to Huang Youyi, vice-president of China International Publishing Group (CIPG) and secretary-general of the Translators Association of China. "Occasionally when a book goes beyond 10,000 copies, it is considered a great success."

So far it is only the Chinese classics like A Dream of the Red Mansions, Three Kingdoms, Journey to the West and The Outlaws of the Marsh that have "enjoyed such continued sales", he informs.

attached to: Shanghai Baby