Zheng Yuanjie (鄭淵潔)

 Royalty income: 26 million yuan (US$4.17 million)

Bestseller: "Pipilu" series 《皮皮魯總動員》

Age: 57

2011 Ranking: 3

Considered the "King of Chinese Fairy Tales," Zheng Yuanjie has become synonymous with fairy tales in China. Born in 1955 in Hebei Province, Zheng only received four years of primary school education. Since he began writing in 1977, he has created many famous fictional characters for Chinese children. Among his most popular characters are the naughty but nice boy Pipilu, and his little sister, Luxixi; the big grey wolf, Luoke; and the two little smart mice, Shuke and Beita.

Zheng is the founder of and sole contributor to highly-regarded children's literature magazine "King of Fairy Tales," which has remained popular since its launch in 1984. From 2006 to 2010, his "Pipilu" series, which comprises 54 books telling stories about Pipilu, Luxixi, Luoke, Shuke and Beita, have sold about 20 million copies, at an average of 4 million per year.