Judge Fang knew that Dr. X controlled legions of criminals ranging 
from spankable delinquents up to international crime lords; that half of the 
Coastal Republic officials in Shanghai were in his pocket; that within the 
limited boundaries of the Celestial Kingdom, he was a figure of considerable 
importance, probably a blue-button Mandarin of the third or fourth rank; that 
his business connections ran to most of the continents and phyles of the wide 
world
and that he had accumulated tremendous wealth. All of these things paled in 
comparison with the demonstration of power represented by this scroll. I 
can pick up a brush at any time, Dr. X was saying, and toss off a 
work of art that can hang on the wall beside the finest calligraphy of the Ming 
Dynasty.