ReadingRate · Best Books · 2026

The best books from China

Ranked by literary regard, Chinese writing is led by Dream of the Red Chamber, Sima Qian's Records of the Grand Historian, the Tao Te Ching and the Analects, followed by Journey to the West and the poetry of Li Bai and Du Fu. It is the longest continuously written tradition in the world, and this list ranks the top 100 works in ReadingRate's catalogue with a difficulty score for each.

A computed ranking from literary-regard scores. China's list rewards reading the difficulty column closely: the Analects and Lu Xun's stories are among the most approachable entries on this site despite their standing, while the Zhuangzi is one of the hardest things here. The four classical novels sit in between, and are far more readable than their reputation suggests.

1–10

  1. Dream of the Red Chamber by Cao Xueqin (1791, difficulty 7.8/10)
  2. Records of the Grand Historian by Sima Qian (-94, difficulty 6.9/10)
  3. Tao Te Ching by Laozi (-400, difficulty 6.4/10)
  4. Analects by Confucius (-479, difficulty 5.1/10)
  5. Zhuangzi by Zhuangzi (-300, difficulty 8.3/10)
  6. The True Story of Ah Q by Lu Xun (1921, difficulty 3.8/10)
  7. Journey to the West by Wu Cheng'en (1592, difficulty 4.9/10)
  8. The Selected Poems of Li Po by Li Bai (762, difficulty 5.5/10)
  9. Water Margin by Shi Nai'an (1589, difficulty 4.7/10)
  10. The Poetry of Du Fu by Du Fu (2016, difficulty 3.9/10)

11–20

  1. Mencius by Mencius (-300, difficulty 5.8/10)
  2. Call to Arms by Lu Xun (1923, difficulty 6.3/10)
  3. Selected Poems of Su Tung-p’o by Su Shi (1101, difficulty 5.8/10)
  4. A History of Modern Chinese Fiction by C. T. Hsia (1961, difficulty 5.4/10)
  5. Romance of the Three Kingdoms by Luo Guanzhong (1522, difficulty 5.2/10)
  6. The Songs of the South by Qu Yuan (-278, difficulty 7.7/10)
  7. Strange Tales from a Chinese Studio by Pu Songling (1766, difficulty 6.3/10)
  8. Dawn Blossoms Plucked at Dusk by Lu Xun (1928, difficulty 4.2/10)
  9. The Selected Poems of Wang Wei by Wang Wei (761, difficulty 5.8/10)
  10. Traditional Chinese Stories: Themes and Variations by C. T. Hsia (1968, difficulty 3.3/10)

21–30

  1. The Book of Songs by Anonymous (Chinese Classical) (-600, difficulty 6.1/10)
  2. Fortress Besieged by Qian Zhongshu (1947, difficulty 4.1/10)
  3. The Selected Poems of T’ao Ch’ien by Tao Yuanming (427, difficulty 5.2/10)
  4. The Peony Pavilion by Tang Xianzu (1598, difficulty 6.3/10)
  5. Border Town by Shen Congwen (1934, difficulty 5.7/10)
  6. Rickshaw Boy by Lao She (1937, difficulty 4.9/10)
  7. Wandering by Lu Xun (1926, difficulty 4.5/10)
  8. Selected Poems of Po Chü-i by Bai Juyi (846, difficulty 4.8/10)
  9. The Art of War by Sun Tzu (-500, difficulty 4.1/10)
  10. Teahouse by Lao She (1957, difficulty 6.5/10)

31–40

  1. The Complete Poems of Li Qingzhao by Li Qingzhao (1155, difficulty 5.4/10)
  2. I Ching: The Book of Changes by Anonymous (Chinese Classical) (-800, difficulty 7.9/10)
  3. Han Feizi by Han Fei (-233, difficulty 6.0/10)
  4. The Scholars by Wu Jingzi (1750, difficulty 6.6/10)
  5. The Plum in the Golden Vase by Lanling Xiaoxiao Sheng (1617, difficulty 6.7/10)
  6. Family by Ba Jin (1933, difficulty 4.1/10)
  7. Wild Grass by Lu Xun (1927, difficulty 5.5/10)
  8. Xunzi by Xunzi (-250, difficulty 5.5/10)
  9. Tales of Hulan River by Xiao Hong (1942, difficulty 6.2/10)
  10. The Song of Everlasting Sorrow by Wang Anyi (1995, difficulty 6.1/10)

41–50

  1. The Story of the Western Wing by Wang Shifu (1300, difficulty 5.8/10)
  2. Miss Sophia's Diary by Ding Ling (1928, difficulty 5.7/10)
  3. Four Generations Under One Roof by Lao She (1949, difficulty 5.7/10)
  4. Frog by Mo Yan (2009, difficulty 7.0/10)
  5. Lust, Caution by Eileen Chang (1979, difficulty 7.1/10)
  6. Midnight by Mao Dun (1933, difficulty 5.5/10)
  7. The Field of Life and Death by Xiao Hong (1935, difficulty 6.3/10)
  8. The August Sleepwalker by Bei Dao (1988, difficulty 7.1/10)
  9. The Rice-Sprout Song by Eileen Chang (1955, difficulty 6.2/10)
  10. To Live by Yu Hua (1993, difficulty 5.0/10)

51–60

  1. Half a Lifelong Romance by Eileen Chang (1948, difficulty 5.6/10)
  2. The Republic of Wine by Mo Yan (1992, difficulty 7.8/10)
  3. Wild Swans: Three Daughters of China by Jung Chang (1991, difficulty 4.7/10)
  4. Cold Nights by Ba Jin (1947, difficulty 5.4/10)
  5. Sandalwood Death by Mo Yan (2001, difficulty 7.0/10)
  6. The Legend of the Condor Heroes by Jin Yong (1959, difficulty 5.0/10)
  7. Lenin's Kisses by Yan Lianke (2004, difficulty 7.4/10)
  8. Mozi by Mozi (-390, difficulty 5.2/10)
  9. The Literary Mind and the Carving of Dragons by Liu Xie (501, difficulty 7.3/10)
  10. The Classic of Mountains and Seas by Anonymous (Chinese Classical) (-200, difficulty 6.4/10)

61–70

  1. Death's End by Liu Cixin (2010, difficulty 6.6/10)
  2. Love in a Fallen City by Eileen Chang (1943, difficulty 3.9/10)
  3. Chronicle of a Blood Merchant by Yu Hua (1995, difficulty 5.0/10)
  4. Life and Death Are Wearing Me Out by Mo Yan (2006, difficulty 6.2/10)
  5. Cold Mountain Poems by Hanshan (800, difficulty 6.0/10)
  6. The Sun Shines over the Sanggan River by Ding Ling (1948, difficulty 5.3/10)
  7. Dream of Ding Village by Yan Lianke (2006, difficulty 6.7/10)
  8. Big Breasts and Wide Hips by Mo Yan (1995, difficulty 5.2/10)
  9. A Thousand Years of Good Prayers by Yiyun Li (2005, difficulty 5.8/10)
  10. Six Records of a Floating Life by Shen Fu (1809, difficulty 5.0/10)

71–80

  1. Baotown by Wang Anyi (1985, difficulty 6.1/10)
  2. Soul Mountain by Gao Xingjian (1990, difficulty 6.6/10)
  3. Raise the Red Lantern by Su Tong (1990, difficulty 3.1/10)
  4. Ruined City by Jia Pingwa (1993, difficulty 6.6/10)
  5. Cries in the Drizzle by Yu Hua (1991, difficulty 6.3/10)
  6. China in Ten Words by Yu Hua (2011, difficulty 5.6/10)
  7. Waiting by Ha Jin (1999, difficulty 5.4/10)
  8. The Wandering Earth by Liu Cixin (2000, difficulty 5.6/10)
  9. Brothers by Yu Hua (2005, difficulty 3.2/10)
  10. The Three-Body Problem by Liu Cixin (2008, difficulty 6.5/10)

81–90

  1. Old Tales Retold by Lu Xun (1936, difficulty 4.4/10)
  2. Beijing Coma by Ma Jian (2008, difficulty 7.2/10)
  3. The Boat to Redemption by Su Tong (2009, difficulty 6.3/10)
  4. Life and Death in Shanghai by Nien Cheng (1987, difficulty 4.9/10)
  5. Frontier by Can Xue (2008, difficulty 7.4/10)
  6. The Vagrants by Yiyun Li (2009, difficulty 6.3/10)
  7. The Garlic Ballads by Mo Yan (1988, difficulty 5.5/10)
  8. Wolf Totem by Jiang Rong (2004, difficulty 5.5/10)
  9. Red Dust: A Path Through China by Ma Jian (2001, difficulty 5.5/10)
  10. The Crazed by Ha Jin (2002, difficulty 5.9/10)

91–100

  1. Love in the New Millennium by Can Xue (2013, difficulty 5.1/10)
  2. The Day the Sun Died by Yan Lianke (2015, difficulty 6.7/10)
  3. Red Azalea by Anchee Min (1994, difficulty 5.1/10)
  4. Elsewhere by Yan Ge (2024, difficulty 4.9/10)
  5. The Last Lover by Can Xue (2005, difficulty 5.9/10)
  6. Rice by Su Tong (1991, difficulty 3.3/10)
  7. War Trash by Ha Jin (2005, difficulty 5.5/10)
  8. One Man's Bible by Gao Xingjian (2000, difficulty 6.1/10)
  9. Strange Beasts of China by Yan Ge (2006, difficulty 6.6/10)
  10. Red Sorghum by Mo Yan (1987, difficulty 5.9/10)

Questions people actually ask

What are the best Chinese books?
By literary regard: Dream of the Red Chamber, Records of the Grand Historian, the Tao Te Ching, the Analects and the Zhuangzi lead, with Journey to the West, Water Margin and the poetry of Li Bai and Du Fu close behind. ReadingRate ranks the top 100.
What are the Four Great Classical Novels?
Dream of the Red Chamber, Journey to the West, Water Margin, and Romance of the Three Kingdoms. All four appear on this list, and by the difficulty data Journey to the West and Water Margin read considerably more easily than Dream of the Red Chamber.
Where should I start with Chinese literature?
The Analects or Lu Xun's The True Story of Ah Q. Both hold high literary regard at some of the lowest difficulty scores on this list — short, direct, and a real entry point rather than a compromise.
Is the Tao Te Ching hard to read?
It is short and scores moderately, but the difficulty is interpretive rather than technical: the sentences are plain and the meaning is deliberately open. Translations differ from each other more than for almost any other book on this list, so which one you pick matters.