ReadingRate · Best Books · 2026

The 100 best books from China

The 100 best books from China, ranked by literary regard. Difficulty and reading-time estimates where measured.

These 100 books are the highest-scoring eligible works currently in the catalogue for this selection. 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.

These 100 books are the highest-scoring eligible works currently in the catalogue for this selection. This is a computed ranking ordered by literary regard, with a consistent order for equal scores. Membership follows authors and co-authors, not translators or editors. Catalogue coverage and the historical canon both limit what this list can represent.

About 1,033 hours for 99 of 100 books with measured lengths. Estimates use a 250-word-per-minute baseline adjusted for each book's difficulty. At two hours a day, about 517 days for those books.

1–10

  1. Dream of the Red Chamber by Cao Xueqin (1791, difficulty 7.8/10, 69 hours)
  2. Records of the Grand Historian by Sima Qian (-94, difficulty 6.9/10, 50 hours)
  3. Tao Te Ching by Laozi (-400, difficulty 6.4/10, 3.5 hours)
  4. Analects by Confucius (-479, difficulty 5.1/10, 2 hours)
  5. Zhuangzi by Zhuangzi (-300, difficulty 8.3/10, 11 hours)
  6. The True Story of Ah Q by Lu Xun (1921, difficulty 3.8/10, 1.5 hours)
  7. Journey to the West by Wu Cheng'en (1592, difficulty 4.9/10, 5.8 hours)
  8. The Selected Poems of Li Po by Li Bai (762, difficulty 5.5/10, 2.2 hours)
  9. Water Margin by Shi Nai'an (1589, difficulty 4.7/10, 33 hours)
  10. Mencius by Mencius (-300, difficulty 5.8/10, 5 hours)

11–20

  1. The Poetry of Du Fu by Du Fu (2016, difficulty 3.9/10, 54 hours)
  2. Call to Arms by Lu Xun (1923, difficulty 6.3/10, 3.8 hours)
  3. Romance of the Three Kingdoms by Luo Guanzhong (1522, difficulty 5.2/10, 40 hours)
  4. Selected Poems of Su Tung-p’o by Su Shi (1101, difficulty 5.8/10, 2.1 hours)
  5. A History of Modern Chinese Fiction by C. T. Hsia (1961, difficulty 5.4/10, 8.2 hours)
  6. The Songs of the South by Qu Yuan (-278, difficulty 7.7/10, 5.6 hours)
  7. Strange Tales from a Chinese Studio by Pu Songling (1766, difficulty 6.3/10, 19 hours)
  8. Dawn Blossoms Plucked at Dusk by Lu Xun (1928, difficulty 4.2/10, 1.9 hours)
  9. The Selected Poems of Wang Wei by Wang Wei (761, difficulty 5.8/10, 1.6 hours)
  10. The Book of Songs by Anonymous (Chinese Classical) (-600, difficulty 6.1/10, 4.1 hours)

21–30

  1. Fortress Besieged by Qian Zhongshu (1947, difficulty 4.1/10, 6.8 hours)
  2. Traditional Chinese Stories: Themes and Variations by C. T. Hsia (1968, difficulty 3.3/10, 5.6 hours)
  3. The Selected Poems of T’ao Ch’ien by Tao Yuanming (427, difficulty 5.2/10, 1.6 hours)
  4. Border Town by Shen Congwen (1934, difficulty 5.7/10, 3.2 hours)
  5. The Peony Pavilion by Tang Xianzu (1598, difficulty 6.3/10, 9 hours)
  6. Rickshaw Boy by Lao She (1937, difficulty 4.9/10, 6.7 hours)
  7. Wandering by Lu Xun (1926, difficulty 4.5/10, 2.6 hours)
  8. Selected Poems of Po Chü-i by Bai Juyi (846, difficulty 4.8/10, 2.5 hours)
  9. I Ching: The Book of Changes by Anonymous (Chinese Classical) (-800, difficulty 7.9/10, 9.2 hours)
  10. Han Feizi by Han Fei (-233, difficulty 6.0/10, 6.9 hours)

31–40

  1. The Art of War by Sun Tzu (-500, difficulty 4.1/10, 2.1 hours)
  2. The Plum in the Golden Vase by Lanling Xiaoxiao Sheng (1617, difficulty 6.7/10, 44 hours)
  3. The Scholars by Wu Jingzi (1750, difficulty 6.6/10, 18 hours)
  4. Teahouse by Lao She (1957, difficulty 6.5/10, 1.9 hours)
  5. The Complete Poems of Li Qingzhao by Li Qingzhao (1155, difficulty 5.4/10, 1.2 hours)
  6. Family by Ba Jin (1933, difficulty 4.1/10, 8.6 hours)
  7. Xunzi by Xunzi (-250, difficulty 5.5/10, 11 hours)
  8. Wild Grass by Lu Xun (1927, difficulty 5.5/10, 1 hours)
  9. Tales of Hulan River by Xiao Hong (1942, difficulty 6.2/10, 4.9 hours)
  10. Miss Sophia's Diary by Ding Ling (1928, difficulty 5.7/10, 1.3 hours)

41–50

  1. The Story of the Western Wing by Wang Shifu (1300, difficulty 5.8/10, 5.3 hours)
  2. Four Generations Under One Roof by Lao She (1949, difficulty 5.7/10, 21 hours)
  3. The Song of Everlasting Sorrow by Wang Anyi (1995, difficulty 6.1/10, 13 hours)
  4. Midnight by Mao Dun (1933, difficulty 5.5/10, 14 hours)
  5. The Field of Life and Death by Xiao Hong (1935, difficulty 6.3/10, 3.8 hours)
  6. Lust, Caution by Eileen Chang (1979, difficulty 7.1/10, 1.2 hours)
  7. The August Sleepwalker by Bei Dao (1988, difficulty 7.1/10, 1.4 hours)
  8. Half a Lifelong Romance by Eileen Chang (1948, difficulty 5.6/10, 9 hours)
  9. To Live by Yu Hua (1993, difficulty 5.0/10, 4.8 hours)
  10. The Rice-Sprout Song by Eileen Chang (1955, difficulty 6.2/10, 4.4 hours)

51–60

  1. Frog by Mo Yan (2009, difficulty 7.0/10, 10 hours)
  2. Wild Swans: Three Daughters of China by Jung Chang (1991, difficulty 4.7/10, 15 hours)
  3. The Republic of Wine by Mo Yan (1992, difficulty 7.8/10, 13 hours)
  4. Cold Nights by Ba Jin (1947, difficulty 5.4/10, 5.8 hours)
  5. Sandalwood Death by Mo Yan (2001, difficulty 7.0/10, 18 hours)
  6. The Literary Mind and the Carving of Dragons by Liu Xie (501, difficulty 7.3/10, 5.2 hours)
  7. Mozi by Mozi (-390, difficulty 5.2/10, 8.7 hours)
  8. The Classic of Mountains and Seas by Anonymous (Chinese Classical) (-200, difficulty 6.4/10, 5.3 hours)
  9. The Legend of the Condor Heroes by Jin Yong (1959, difficulty 5.0/10, 60 hours)
  10. The Sun Shines over the Sanggan River by Ding Ling (1948, difficulty 5.3/10, 9.5 hours)

61–70

  1. Love in a Fallen City by Eileen Chang (1943, difficulty 3.9/10, 6.3 hours)
  2. Lenin's Kisses by Yan Lianke (2004, difficulty 7.4/10, 16 hours)
  3. Life and Death Are Wearing Me Out by Mo Yan (2006, difficulty 6.2/10, 16 hours)
  4. Cold Mountain Poems by Hanshan (800, difficulty 6.0/10, 52 min)
  5. Big Breasts and Wide Hips by Mo Yan (1995, difficulty 5.2/10, 14 hours)
  6. Six Records of a Floating Life by Shen Fu (1809, difficulty 5.0/10, 3 hours)
  7. Chronicle of a Blood Merchant by Yu Hua (1995, difficulty 5.0/10, 5.3 hours)
  8. Dream of Ding Village by Yan Lianke (2006, difficulty 6.7/10, 8.3 hours)
  9. Death's End by Liu Cixin (2010, difficulty 6.6/10, 15 hours)
  10. A Thousand Years of Good Prayers by Yiyun Li (2005, difficulty 5.8/10, 5.3 hours)

71–80

  1. Baotown by Wang Anyi (1985, difficulty 6.1/10, 3.3 hours)
  2. Raise the Red Lantern by Su Tong (1990, difficulty 3.1/10, 1.9 hours)
  3. Soul Mountain by Gao Xingjian (1990, difficulty 6.6/10, 14 hours)
  4. Waiting by Ha Jin (1999, difficulty 5.4/10)
  5. Ruined City by Jia Pingwa (1993, difficulty 6.6/10, 18 hours)
  6. China in Ten Words by Yu Hua (2011, difficulty 5.6/10, 4.5 hours)
  7. Cries in the Drizzle by Yu Hua (1991, difficulty 6.3/10, 7.9 hours)
  8. Beijing Coma by Ma Jian (2008, difficulty 7.2/10, 22 hours)
  9. The Three-Body Problem by Liu Cixin (2008, difficulty 6.5/10, 8.1 hours)
  10. Brothers by Yu Hua (2005, difficulty 3.2/10, 14 hours)

81–90

  1. Old Tales Retold by Lu Xun (1936, difficulty 4.4/10, 2.2 hours)
  2. The Wandering Earth by Liu Cixin (2000, difficulty 5.6/10, 7 hours)
  3. The Boat to Redemption by Su Tong (2009, difficulty 6.3/10, 9.5 hours)
  4. Life and Death in Shanghai by Nien Cheng (1987, difficulty 4.9/10, 13 hours)
  5. Frontier by Can Xue (2008, difficulty 7.4/10, 10 hours)
  6. The Vagrants by Yiyun Li (2009, difficulty 6.3/10, 8.6 hours)
  7. The Garlic Ballads by Mo Yan (1988, difficulty 5.5/10, 7.1 hours)
  8. Wolf Totem by Jiang Rong (2004, difficulty 5.5/10, 14 hours)
  9. Red Dust: A Path Through China by Ma Jian (2001, difficulty 5.5/10, 7.6 hours)
  10. The Crazed by Ha Jin (2002, difficulty 5.9/10, 6.1 hours)

91–100

  1. Love in the New Millennium by Can Xue (2013, difficulty 5.1/10, 5.7 hours)
  2. Red Azalea by Anchee Min (1994, difficulty 5.1/10, 6.4 hours)
  3. Elsewhere by Yan Ge (2024, difficulty 4.9/10, 2.7 hours)
  4. War Trash by Ha Jin (2005, difficulty 5.5/10, 6.1 hours)
  5. Rice by Su Tong (1991, difficulty 3.3/10, 3.6 hours)
  6. The Last Lover by Can Xue (2005, difficulty 5.9/10, 5.7 hours)
  7. One Man's Bible by Gao Xingjian (2000, difficulty 6.1/10, 9.6 hours)
  8. The Day the Sun Died by Yan Lianke (2015, difficulty 6.7/10, 9.2 hours)
  9. Strange Beasts of China by Yan Ge (2006, difficulty 6.6/10, 4.7 hours)
  10. Red Sorghum by Mo Yan (1987, difficulty 5.9/10, 10 hours)

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.