In the novel The Scholars, a classical Chinese literary work, there's a character named Yan Jiansheng, who may be rated as the stingiest miser in the history of Chinese literature.

On his deathbed, Yan Jiansheng couldn't stop his breath peacefully, with two fingers stretched out. All the people present made wild guesses, trying to find out what was worrying him, but none got it right. Finally, Yan's wife came up to him and said: "no one knows you better than I do. You are worrying about the two wicks in the lamp. It's a waste of oil. One wick is enough." Yan Jiansheng nodded and breathed his last on seeing his wife remove the extra wick. This plot has become a classic case of a miser in the history of Chinese literature.