The son of one of China's most renowned writers has filed a lawsuit in Beijing against a local editor for allegedly damaging his reputation.

Zhou Haiying, the son of Lu Xun, is seeking 10,000 yuan (US$1,205) and a public apology on the front page of the city's Xinmin Evening News. The Beijing Xicheng People's Court accepted the case on Wednesday.

The editor, Shui Weiting, has previously filed a suit against Zhou for violating his reputation.

His suit, filed with the Shanghai Hongkou District People's Court in June, is asking for 50,000 yuan.

The dispute arose from Zhou's autobiography "Lu Xun and Me," which was published in September 2001 to mark the 70th anniversary of the death of Lu Xun, whose real name was Zhou Shuren.

The two had signed a contract to work on the book together with Zhou providing the text and Shui editing the volume.

In October 2002, Shui sued Zhou for a share of the copyright.

Before lodging the case, Shui issued a press release to media outlets in Shanghai in July 2002, claiming Zhou's draft was very poorly done and in need of rewriting.

The Shanghai No. 1 Intermediate People's Court mediated the case last year, allowing Shui to drop his claim, while Zhou gave Shui 23,000 yuan as payment and Shui returned Zhou's handwritten draft.

"However, Zhou told media the result was a court ruling and Shui was ordered to return the draft," said Zhang Yi, Shui's attorney. "Shui had to shoulder strong pressure afterwards."

"Shui has devoted much effort and creation to improve the book's quality. His demand for a share of the copyright was not groundless," Zhang added. "Since they reached a mediation, Shui just didn't want to talk about the dispute. But Zhou shouldn't have claimed that it was a court decision. Other people may pose misunderstanding on Shui."

(Shanghai Daily August 21, 2004)