In 1999 Sylado published the novel Ca Bau Kan (The Courtesan), which dealt with the trials and tribulations of Chinese Indonesians in pre-independence Indonesia. In 2001 Nia Dinata adapted the novel for her first feature film. Entitled Ca-bau-kan, the movie was critically panned, though Dinata was satisfied. Between 1999 and 2007 Sylado wrote an average of two novels yearly.
