Kai Lung is a Chinese storyteller whose travels and exploits serve mainly as excuses to introduce substories. He is a man of very simple motivations; most frequently, he is animated by a desire for enough taels to be able to feed and clothe himself. This character usually comes into conflict with barbarians, bandits, and other people who are not classically educated, as well as various unscrupulous individuals who are intent on taking away his property. Ernest Bramah (1868-1942) was an English author. He published numerous thriller books, detective stories and supernatural tales, creating the characters Kai Lung and Max Carrados. Bramah’s detective stories were ranked with Conan Doyle, his politico-science fiction with H. G. Wells and his supernatural stories with Algernon Blackwood.