Another month, another graded reader!
We just published another book of classic short stories in easy Chinese. It’s Six Ghost Stories in Easy Chinese, based on stories written by Pu Songling and published in 1766 as Liaozhai Zhiyi (聊斋志异, Strange Tales from a Chinese Studio). They’ve been retold by Yunjie Xiong, who lives in China and has been writing and translating for the past six years. Her work is really good!
Here are the stories:
- 毒茶 (Poisoned Tea)
- 陆判 (Judge Lu)
- 梅女 (Mei’s Daughter)
- 画皮 (The Painted Skin)
- 书生与女鬼 (The Scholar and the Ghost)
- 水鬼救母亲 (A Water Ghost Saves a Mother)
The stories are scary, but are suitable for readers of all ages. They’re told using a total of just 650 Chinese words, most of which are in the HSK3 vocabulary list. The book is 179 pages long, and includes Simplified Chinese, pinyin on the facing pages, English translation in the back, and a full glossary of all words used. There is also a free audiobook, which should appear on the Imagin8 Press channel on YouTube within the next week or so.
The book is available in paperback ($13.95) and ebook ($6.99) formats. Here’s how to buy:
Enjoy!
2 Comments
Kieran Murray March 04, 2025 - 00:06
Your ‘ Journey to the West’ series in Simplified Chinese is excellent. Any chance of a similar treatment of the ‘Water Margin’
Jeff Pepper March 04, 2025 - 08:11 – In reply to: Kieran Murray
We’re still thinking about our next big project, and “Water Margin” is one of the top contenders. Pretty complex story, but might be worth it. Thanks for the vote!