Even then Mr Wen ate simply and wore an army greatcoat, which Mr Wu noticed years later on television he was still wearing.

ECONOMIST: Populist politics in China

His martial valour (and patrician snobbery) are less appreciated in the battlefield of politics, when he runs for consul at the urging of his mother, Volumnia (splendidly played, with steely ambition couched in soft tones, by Vanessa Redgrave in a military greatcoat).

ECONOMIST: New film