During the Western Chin dynasty (265--316) there was an author named Tso Ssu, of unprepossessing features but profound erudition. He planned to write an essay in rhythmic prose called "On the Three Capitals" describing the features, customs, and products of Ye, Chengtu, and Chienye, the capitals of Wei, Shu, and Wu, known as the Three King doms (220--265). A famous writer of the time, Lu Chi, scoffed at this saying, "Humph! When he's done, the manuscript paper will be used for plugging up wine kegs!"
After ten years of meticulous labor, Tso Ssu finally finished his essay. The famous scholar Huangfu Mi praised it and wrote a preface for him. The scholar Cheng Hua also admired the piece and said that it rivaled the works of such first-rate literary masters as Pan Ku and Chang Heng of the Han dynasty (206 B.C.--220 A.D.).
Tso Ssu was famous! Since everyone bought paper to have it copied, the price of paper in Loyang, the capital of the time, skyrocketed. Even Lu Chi felt compelled to express his admiration.
The phrase "paper in Loyang becomes expensive" has since been used to describe an excellent piece of writing that takes the literary world by storm.
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