The Suspended Moon

Name: The Suspended Moon
ISBN: 9787530690949

吴然Baihua Literature and Art Publishing House · ChinaJul 2026

3.6

Word count: 219K words
Chapters: 25
ISBN: 9787530690949

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Summary

The Hanging Moon is a novel by the renowned writer Wu Ran. A sequel to Floating Sun, it consists of three parts—Suis He Not Ripe, Valleys and Hills Changed, and Origins Run Far—totaling 21 chapters and about 240,000 characters, continuing a legend that spans war and fate. The protagonist, Shi Zihe, full of longing for a career in policing, resolutely leaves his familiar homeland, only to encounter unprecedented trouble in Guangzhou. Rescued by Bao Yuntong, the two travel together to Qianyang. On the way, they are unexpectedly held up at the Jinlong River Inn, an experience that quietly plants the seeds of affection between them. Soon after, Shi Zihe falls into the hands of the bandit Guo Weilun, who carries him off to Twin-Nose Mountain and, in a twist of fate, makes him the nominal "fiancé" of his adopted daughter Mo Dai. In this seemingly absurd turn, Mo Dai's wit and courage become the key to Shi Zihe's escape, helping him flee toward southwestern Qian. There he meets the hidden uprising officer Yan Xiaonan, and his life's course is changed once again... As the years pass, Shi Zihe finally transfers to the Qianyang police station, and after many storms his dream of being a policeman is fulfilled. The Hanging Moon profoundly depicts how individual fates rise and fall in the tide of the times, and how, in turbulent years, people pursue and hold fast to love and justice.

Editor's review

As a sequel to Floating Sun, The Hanging Moon continues the fate of Shi Zihe, setting personal growth against war and a changing era. The novel consists of three parts—Suis He Not Ripe, Valleys and Hills Changed, and Origins Run Far—in 21 chapters and about 240,000 characters, a substantial work. The story begins with Shi Zihe leaving home and heading south with his dream of becoming a policeman; the troubles in Guangzhou, the hold-up at the Jinlong River Inn, being carried off to Twin-Nose Mountain, Mo Dai's help in escaping, the encounter with the uprising officer Yan Xiaonan, and finally the transfer to the Qianyang police station and the fulfillment of his dream unfold with a legendary flavor, yet the focus remains on how people hold fast to love and justice amid turmoil. The author's rendering of scenes such as the journey, the inn, the mountain stronghold, and southwestern Qian creates a strong sense of place and period. It suits readers who enjoy long narratives with historical background and dramatic turns of fate. Those who have not read Floating Sun should first learn the earlier characters' relationships before starting; while reading, note the shifts in time and mood across the three parts.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Readers who enjoy long period narratives of dramatic personal fate
Readers who have read Floating Sun and want the sequel
Those interested in personal growth and emotional threads against a backdrop of war
Readers who prefer vivid regional settings and long novels structured in parts

Not a good fit for

Readers who want to read independently without catching up on earlier characters
Readers who prefer short, fast-paced, or purely suspenseful fiction

Reading tips

If you haven't read Floating Sun, learn about Shi Zihe's earlier experiences first to avoid losing the thread of relationships.
Read the three parts in order, noting how time and mood shift from Suis He Not Ripe to Origins Run Far.
Jot down place names and travel routes to follow the character's wanderings and plot turns.

About the publisher

Baihua Literature and Art Publishing House China · Founded in 1958

Founded in August 1958 and restructured into Baihua Literature and Art Publishing House (Tianjin) Co., Ltd. in 2009, Baihua Literature and Art Publishing House is known for publishing essays and fiction, and it hosts the journals Fiction Monthly and Essays. Its 757 titles in the library span classic works, culture, folk literature, essays and miscellaneous writings, foreign literature, and general biography. They include Lao She's Camel Xiangzi, Zhu Ziqing's selected essays and Classic Essays, Fu Lei's Twenty Lectures on Masterpieces of World Art, and a Chinese translation of Ryūnosuke Akutagawa's Rashōmon, as well as cultural and performing-arts titles such as the illustrated Biography of Liang Qichao and A Dictionary of Crosstalk. Its authors include Lao She, Zhu Ziqing, Wu Qichang, Fu Lei, Xue Baokun, Gao Yucong, Wei Zhiqiang, and Ryūnosuke Akutagawa.

版权信息
第一篇岁禾不登
南陌
猝然
意外
暗合
折向
崎岖
迷蒙
第二篇陵谷沧桑
果决
异土
天赐
机缘
维此
起色
借势
第三篇图源远流
博弈
举事
印记
久违
遂愿
微澜
闪念

FAQ

Can I read The Hanging Moon without having read Floating Sun?

You can, but this is a sequel to Floating Sun, and the protagonist Shi Zihe's thread continues. It is best to learn the basic character relationships from the earlier book first; otherwise some emotional turns and background references may not connect.

Is this long novel mainly about the dream of being a policeman or about romance?

According to the materials, the novel begins with Shi Zihe leaving home with his dream of becoming a policeman; after the troubles in Guangzhou, being carried off to Twin-Nose Mountain, Mo Dai's help, and meeting Yan Xiaonan, he finally transfers to the Qianyang police station and fulfills his dream. It also depicts his emotional threads with Bao Yuntong and Mo Dai, with fate and romance advancing together.

What are the length and structure of the book?

The book is about 240,000 characters long and consists of three parts—Suis He Not Ripe, Valleys and Hills Changed, and Origins Run Far—in 21 chapters. It is a long novel in parts, suited to continuous reading at the pace of each part.

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About the author

吴然 Author

Wu Ran is an author about whom little public information is currently available; neither nationality, dates of birth and death, nor educational background have been clearly recorded. What can be confirmed is that two of the author's works are held in the collection, namely Xuanyue (Suspended Moon) and Furi (Floating Sun). Both are commonly classified as social novels, which suggests that Wu Ran's writing focuses largely on social realist themes, tending to present the relationships between individuals and their environment, and between the individual and the group, in fictional form. Judging from the imagery of the titles, Suspended Moon and Floating Sun carry a certain symbolic quality, perhaps indicating that the author pays attention to atmosphere and emotional development in the narrative, using everyday scenes to reflect the characters' circumstances. Because biographical material is lacking, it is difficult to assess the author's creative trajectory and stylistic evolution, but on the evidence of these two works, Wu Ran's social novels attend to reality with a restrained tone and may be of interest to readers who follow socially oriented fiction.