Carp · Anonymous Writers
Zhang YueranBeijing Daily Press · ChinaDec 2021
Rating 3.6- Word count
- 162K words
- Chapters
- 23
- ISBN
- 9787547729564
Tags
Social Fiction Literary ContestSuspenseAnonymous WritingLiterary ExperimentEmerging WritersSummary
A good story is enough—no need to lean on the author's name. Born of that conviction, the Ling · Anonymous Writers special issue also marks the start of a yearlong literary contest steeped in suspense. Every story appears with names withheld, ordered only by the sequence in which manuscripts arrived. Some authors are very famous; some are young writers who have never published. The only thing readers need trust is their own response. After all, the pleasure of reading and the jolt of the text are what matter in appreciating fiction. This is not only a no-holds-barred word match between masked masters and anonymous newcomers, but also a large-scale literary experiment by Ling—a thematic literary book series now ten years old—loyal only to excellent texts.Editor's review
Ling · Anonymous Writers temporarily suspends the question "who wrote this?" that so often comes first in reading, arranging stories solely by manuscript number and letting the text carry all its own persuasiveness. For readers this is a rare "blind reading" experience: you cannot predict style from reputation, nor adjust expectations by résumé; you can only follow the narrative and judge for yourself. Zhang Yueran and the Ling team turned the special issue into a yearlong literary contest, with masked masters and anonymous newcomers in the same arena, making reading an act of textual identification with a sense of suspense. Its value lies not in revealing the answer but in reminding us that the pleasure and jolt of reading come from the texture of language, structure, and character—not from an author's title. Best read slowly, story by story, in quiet hours; afterward, compare the numbers with the authors and feel the gap between expectation and reality. For writers, it is also a demonstration of "how to let the text speak for itself".Who it's for
A good fit for
- Readers who enjoy short stories and are willing to judge by the text itself
- Readers curious about the contemporary Chinese writing scene and the look of new literary voices
- Writing practitioners who want to observe different styles unfolding under the same premise
- Longtime readers of the Ling series, interested in its decade of editorial experiments
Not a good fit for
- Readers who pick books only by famous names and need an author's endorsement before reading
- Readers who prefer long, continuous narratives and dislike the jumpy rhythm of short-story collections
- Readers who want explicit author interviews or notes on craft as supplementary material
Reading tips
- Skip the table of contents and author information at first; read in numerical order and record your first impression and guess for each piece.
- Pause every two or three stories, look back at the numbers, then decide whether to check the author's identity.
- Keep a sheet of paper for "lines that moved me," and after finishing compare which came from famous names and which from newcomers.
- Reread the story you liked least and try to say clearly whether the problem was the text or your own reading expectations.
About the publisher
Beijing Daily Press China · Founded in 1981Beijing Daily Press takes world history, historical reading and foreign literary translations as important publishing directions, alongside science fiction and prose. Its catalogue includes Edward Gibbon's unabridged The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, Gu Cheng's Southern Ming History and his works on Ming history, reflecting a balance between general and dynastic history; in literature there are Fu Lei's translations of Balzac and of world classics, as well as science fiction and prose such as The Universe Omnipotent Detective Agency, A Canticle for Leibowitz and The Peregrine, with authors ranging from Gibbon, Gu Cheng and Balzac to Fu Lei, Romain Rolland and Douglas Adams. Building on current affairs, history and culture, Beijing-flavoured culture and children's books, the press combines classic translation with original historical writing, emphasising complete editions and translation quality. Public information is limited, so other details are omitted.
Contents
- 版权信息
- 卷首张悦然
- 访谈
- 毕飞宇： 凡是可以提供精神可能性的时代我都喜欢
- 视野
- 地下
- 迷失的女人
- 仍然没有人比你更属于这里
- 新文人
- 新文人时代
- 海波尼亚籁歌
- 在旧书店邂逅 津田青枫
- 小说
- 海雾
- 半明半暗之间
- 信徒
- 暮
- 罗曼罗兰
- 乞力马扎罗的雪
- 咖喱长濑
- 王府井
- 我们是怎么走到这一步的
- 深吸一口气，憋住
FAQ
Will anonymous reading affect my understanding of the stories?
No. The stories themselves provide all the information needed for understanding; hiding the author only removes prompts outside the text, such as fame and résumé. You judge by narrative, character, and language, which brings you closer to the most basic state of reading. If puzzled, you can check the author's identity afterward and look back.Is this book suitable for reading straight through?
Not really. Styles differ markedly between stories; reading continuously can cause fatigue and weaken each piece's aftertaste. Better to read two or three at a time, leaving intervals so each story's tone settles before you move on.Should I look up who the authors are after finishing?
You can, but it's best to do so after reading. Form your own judgment first, then compare with the authors' identities; you'll see more clearly the gap between expectations based on fame and your actual response—part of the point of publishing by number in this special issue.Can I read this directly without having read previous Ling special issues?
Yes. This special issue centers on anonymous stories and does not depend on plots or characters from earlier volumes. Read it as a standalone short-story anthology; if the editorial approach interests you, go back to other thematic volumes in the series.Related on WeRead
鲤·匿名作家 张悦然主编 出东北记：从东北书写到算法时代的文学 黄平 鲤·写作课 张悦然 科幻世界（2025年上半年合集） 科幻世界 科幻世界（2025年第5期） 科幻世界This site is an index: you start “Search all sources” in your browser, and the entries it lists all point to third-party sites; please judge their availability yourself.
About the author
Zhang Yueran Author · Chinese · 1982Zhang Yueran, born in Jinan, Shandong, in 1982, is a contemporary Chinese writer and a teacher at the School of Liberal Arts, Renmin University of China. She began publishing at the age of 14 and won first prize in the National New Concept Writing Competition. She is the author of novels including Sunflowers Lost in 1890, Ten Loves, The Distance of Cherry Trees, The Narcissus Has Ridden the Carp Away, Oath Bird and Cocoon, and serves as editor-in-chief of the Li series. Her work spans social fiction and prose, with representative titles such as The Boat Goes Slower and Slower: Fa Li·Short Stories (Harvest Five-Year Collection 2018–2022), The Elder Qiao and the Younger Qiao (the original novel behind the TV drama Xu Wo Yao Yan), Peace Under Heaven: The First “Wang Zengqi Chinese Fiction Award” Winning Novellas and Short Stories, and Moments of Epiphany, Li·Time Capsule, Li·Anonymous Writers, Li·I Went to 2000 and Li·Writing Class. Her writing attends closely to youth experience and family relationships, combining narrative tension with an introspective temperament; in recent years she has also taken part in literary editing and writing instruction through the Li series. Public information is limited, and details of her life follow the sources available here.