A good short story can be the perfect complement to a Sunday afternoon or Tuesday work break. With these eight resources, you can now read Chinese short stories online.
Wattpad is a popular website for reading online stories in general (mostly in English), but did you know there are also Chinese authors on Wattpad?
Although Wattpad stories have chapters (called “parts”), they’re generally much shorter than full-on novel chapters, and cater to mobile reading.
Note: This site uses traditional Chinese, which is why the recommended titles below are also written in traditional characters.
Recommended Stories:
“這樣的我 , 是否能夠喜歡那樣的你”(zhè yàng de wǒ, shì fǒu néng gòu xǐ huān nà yàng de nǐ) The Way That We Are, Can We Still Fall in Love — A modern romance exploring the lives of urban working millennials.
“人生「徐」筆 (一) : 人與事”(rén shēng xú bǐ yī : rén yǔ shì) Life Thoughts Part One — Short essays on practical wisdom, thoughtful reflection and life tips.
2. 短美文网(duǎn měi wén wǎng) — Short and Beautiful Writings
Here’s a collection of recommended short writings, including poetry. You’ll see all the categories listed at the top of the website.
Check out their page of classics and other categories such as “relationships” and “short stories,” or scroll down to see featured and specially curated stories.
Recommended Stories:
“有一种青春叫宿舍”(yǒu yī zhǒng qīng chūn jiào sù shè) Dorm Life — On the little things only those who’ve lived in a school dorm would appreciate.
“品 ‘笑'”(pǐn xiào) On Laughter — A short reflection on humor.
3. 短文学网(duǎn wén xué wǎng) — The Art of Short Writing
This is another collection of online short stories that are worth checking out. Story categories are listed at the top of the homepage, once again.
On the right, you’ll see rankings for the most popular stories of the week. Scroll down a little bit, and you’ll see rankings for the best authors as well.
Recommended Stories:
“有一种友情叫平时不联系”(yǒuyī zhǒng yǒuqíng jiào píngshí bù liánxì) — This thoughtful piece shows that friendships can last even if you haven’t talked in a while.
“男人和树”(nán rén hé shù) — A nostalgic story about how trees can connect several generations.
4. 成语故事大全(chéng yǔ gù shì dà quán) — Chinese Chengyu Short Stories
Chéng yǔ—Chinese proverbs—are important to know for every Chinese student. They crop up in a lot of literary writing and even in speech as idioms. This site gives you all the short stories behind Chinese chéng yǔ.
All their stories are shown on the same page, listed according to the idiom. You can pretty much click on any idiom and get an interesting quick read.
Recommended Stories:
“九牛一毛”(jǐu níu yī máo) One Hair from Nine Oxen — The story behind the idiom that means something small and insignificant.
“三人成虎”(sān rén chéng hǔ) Three Men Talking Makes a Tiger — The story behind the idiom describing how rumors spread.
This is another website that features short chéng yǔ stories. The stories help you with idioms, as they have pop-up definitions and pinyin above all of the characters.
You can even venture beyond the idiom stories here and explore their collections of poetry and songs, which offer all the same tools and on-site features that make reading easier.
Recommended Stories:
“对牛弹琴”(duì niú tán qín) Play the Lute to a Cow — It’s a story about what happens when you overestimate the sophistication and intelligence of your audience.
“一日千里” (yī rì qiān lǐ) A Thousand Li a Day — The main character in this story is 造父(zào fù), a man who’s famous for being good at riding horses.
If sites entirely in Chinese are overwhelming, this site should be a relief.
It offers short Chinese readings with an English translation, along with notes for language students. These short stories are categorized by skill level.
The site is set up like a blog, with stories shown by date and newer stories at the top. You can find categories on the right-hand column.
Recommended Stories:
“Catching Frogs”— This is a beginner-level piece about respecting nature. A quick read, with plenty of new vocabulary related to the environment.
“The History of Chinese Americans”— This is an intermediate-level story on how the Chinese first started immigrating to North America, suitable for those interested in history or social studies.
Here’s a great website with numerous free Chinese short stories for beginner, intermediate and advanced learners.
You’ll have the option of downloading the stories as free e-books or going with the mobile app.
There are separate apps for different skill levels, and each one offers both free and paid stories that you can read.
Just keep in mind that the stories here are written in traditional characters.
Recommended Stories:
“中国情人节”(zhōng guó qíng rén jié) Chinese Valentine’s Day — This is a story about the holiday found within the apps and e-book for beginners.
“年糕的由来” (nián gāo de yóu lái) The Origin of Rice Cake — This advanced story explores the ancient legend behind 年糕 (nián gāo), which is a rice cake that’s served during Chinese New Year.
Mandarin Companion has taken Western classics like “The Secret Garden” and translated them into easy Chinese for learners, with some adaptations.
Most readers will be somewhat familiar with the plots already, so you won’t have to worry about losing the story thread. These are long books, not really short stories, so they take more time commitment.
Each story is available in printed format and for digital download to your Kindle.
Recommended Stories:
“六十年的梦”(liù shí nián dí mèng) The Sixty-Year Dream — You can learn 300 characters by reading this adaptation of “Rip Van Winkle.”
“美好的前途” (měi hǎo de qián tú) Great Expectations — This is based on the famous book by Charles Dickens and comes in two parts.
Why You Should Read Short Stories in Chinese
It goes without saying that reading in Chinese will help with your language skills. Here are some reasons why I especially like short stories:
They’re short. Trying to read a book in Chinese can be intimidating at first, so short stories are a fantastic way to ease yourself into reading in Chinese. Most short stories can be consumed in less than 30 minutes, and some may take only 10 minutes. This makes the stories perfect for snack-sized Chinese studying whenever you have a little bit of time to spare.
They’ll grow your interest in Chinese. Stories really draw out our emotions and entertain our minds. Reading Chinese short stories can increase your interest in Chinese culture and help you enjoy learning more.
They’ll improve your instinct for natural-sounding phrases. I’m sure you’ve already noticed that when you speak a language fluently, you’re speaking partly by instinct. You’re no longer thinking about good sentence structure or what colloquialisms are most appropriate. Rather, it all comes from your “gut” knowledge. Similarly, with Chinese, you need to develop an inner “gut” knowledge for what sounds right. Reading Chinese short stories immerses you in more popular ways of expression and helps you build this instinct.
They’ll push you to the next level. We all need a little challenge to keep improving. A Chinese short story, with all the new words and phrases you might encounter, will provide just that. If you persist by continuing to read, learning through context and committing new words to memory, you’ll take your Chinese skills to the next level.
Handy Tools for Reading Chinese Short Stories
Conveniently, you can use apps and online dictionaries for quick translations and definitions while reading short stories online. Here are the tools I recommend you keep on deck.
FluentU uses video clips from authentic Chinese media to help you build your vocabulary and comprehension. You can find movie trailers, scenes from TV shows, news segments and more in the expansive video library.
Each video comes with interactive subtitles available in Chinese, pinyin and English. With the flashcard feature and personalized vocabulary quizzes, you can review new words you’ve learned from the videos.
Offline Resources
Learning how to use a hardcopy dictionary forces you to learn Chinese radicals (the only way to look up words in the Chinese dictionary), which is extremely beneficial for mastering Chinese.
Just because you’re reading short stories online doesn’t mean that you can’t combine it with offline learning.
Consider printing out one of those stories (which is more convenient for reading on the bus without overusing your data plan) so that you can mark it up with pencils, colorful pens and highlighters.
Chinese short stories can be a fresh and fun addition to your regular study regimen. I hope the above short story recommendations will get you inspired!
