Attentive

Name: Attentive
ISBN: 9787521212921

程海Writers Publishing House · ChinaSep 2026

3.2

Word count: 116K words
Chapters: 56
ISBN: 9787521212921

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Summary

The protagonist, Lan Guan, suffers from obsessive-compulsive disorder. To overcome this affliction, he travels through mountains and rivers, seeking medical advice everywhere and visiting recluses and masters of all kinds, regarding his illness as a path of self-cultivation. In the end, he attains clarity of mind and sees his true nature, achieving peace of body and mind. During his illness, his friends in literary and artistic circles—Jiang Tian, a calligrapher in Weibei City; Liu Cha, a poetess; Xiao Gui, a psychiatrist; and Gao Mingliao, a seasoned tea connoisseur working at the city art museum—all offered Lan Guan careful care and guidance. Through strange, novel, and captivating plots, the author unfolds and distills the philosophies of Confucianism, Buddhism, and Daoism, psychology, and artistic aesthetics one by one, melding them into a whole. The work carries profound intellectual and cognitive significance, as well as a unique modern psychological significance.

Editor's review

Jingxin follows Lan Guan, a man with obsessive-compulsive disorder, on his search for healing, turning personal illness into a spiritual journey of self-cultivation. The novel's distinctiveness lies in refusing to write illness as mere suffering: as Lan Guan travels mountains and seeks out hermits and sages, Confucian, Buddhist, and Daoist philosophy, psychology, and aesthetics are woven naturally into the narrative, and the plot remains strange and gripping without losing inner logic. The care and guidance of his friends in the arts circle—Jiang Tian, a calligrapher in Weibei; Liu Cha, a woman poet; Xiao Gui, a psychiatrist; and Gao Mingliao, a seasoned tea devotee at the city art museum—add human warmth to the coolly clinical writing and show the complex interplay between illness, friendship, and art. The author unfolds each school of thought in turn, distilling and fusing them, giving the work both intellectual depth and contemporary psychological significance. It suits readers interested in mind-body questions, traditional culture, and the spiritual predicaments of modern people, to be read slowly and savored, and also suits writers observing how abstract philosophical reflection can be turned into readable plot.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Readers interested in psychological issues such as OCD who want a literary perspective
Literary readers who enjoy Confucian, Buddhist, and Daoist thought woven into modern narrative
General readers concerned with mind-body cultivation and self-growth
Writers who want to learn how to fold philosophical reflection into plot
Readers drawn to themes of care and spiritual companionship within artistic circles

Not a good fit for

Readers expecting a pure psychology self-help manual or clinical treatment guide
Readers who prefer fast-paced, plot-driven books and dislike reflective content
Readers impatient with religious and philosophical discussion who want only story

Reading tips

Follow Lan Guan's main line of seeking healing first, then go back and trace how each school of thought is unfolded.
Slow down at passages describing illness and note how the author turns symptoms into images of cultivation.
Keep paper and pen to record Confucian, Buddhist, Daoist, and psychological ideas, and compare them with your own mind-body experience after reading.
Do not force yourself to finish in one sitting; read at intervals by chapter to leave time for the reflective material to settle.

About the publisher

Writers Publishing House China · Founded in 1953

Writers Publishing House is a Chinese publisher focused mainly on literary publishing. Its output covers classical literature, foreign literature, folk literature and Eastern philosophy, with some extension into popular reading such as social fiction and parenting books. Its catalogue contains more than 900 titles, including representative works such as Dream of the Red Chamber and its edited editions, Shakespeare's Macbeth and A Midsummer Night's Dream, and foreign literary classics such as The Brothers Karamazov and Lost Illusions. In terms of authors, it includes classical writers such as Cao Xueqin and Gao E, foreign masters such as William Shakespeare, Dostoevsky and Balzac, and translations by translators such as Zhu Shenghao, Geng Jizhi and Fu Lei. Overall, its publishing profile balances Chinese and foreign literary classics, emphasizes quality translations, and serves both academic and general readers; publicly available information on its specific publishing plans is limited.

版权信息
代序一览众山小的人性体验和人之大爱、人病非病的哲理化感悟
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FAQ

Is this a psychology book or a novel?

It is a novel. The protagonist, Lan Guan, has obsessive-compulsive disorder, and the story follows his search for healing. The book involves psychology, Confucian, Buddhist, and Daoist philosophy, and aesthetics, but these are presented through plot and dialogue, not as a self-help manual or academic monograph; readers should enter it as a novel.

Can I understand it without a background in philosophy?

Yes. The author unfolds and distills each school of thought in turn, and the narration itself is guiding; readers are not expected to know Confucian, Buddhist, or Daoist concepts in advance. If you meet an unfamiliar term, simply follow the characters' discussion; the point is to feel Lan Guan's process of mind-body transformation, not to master a philosophical system.

Are the depictions of OCD in the book realistic?

The materials show that the protagonist embarks on a search for healing because of OCD and treats illness as a path of self-cultivation, and that Xiao Gui, a psychiatrist, is one of his friends. The novel focuses on spiritual experience and philosophical distillation rather than clinical case records; readers should not treat it as medical reference, though it can help in understanding the mind-body distress illness brings.

Is it suitable for reading in one sitting?

Not really. The philosophical and psychological content is dense, and although the plot is strange and gripping, the reflective passages need time to digest. Reading at intervals by chapter and pausing to reflect afterward makes it easier to appreciate the structure in which the author unfolds each thread and then fuses them, and less likely that information overload will dull your interest.

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About the author

程海 Author

Available public information about Cheng Hai is currently limited, and the representative work associated with this author is Jingxin (roughly, "Attending to the Heart/Mind"). Judging from the library's cataloging, this work falls under applied psychology, suggesting that the author focuses on the practical application of psychological principles in daily life rather than on purely theoretical discussion. Writing of this kind generally requires translating specialized concepts into methods that ordinary readers can understand and put into practice, so the language tends to be plain and clear, with an emphasis on readability and usefulness. The title Jingxin also implies a connection to psychological adjustment, inner states, or self-awareness, and the book may address common topics such as emotional management, shifts in mindset, or interpersonal relationships. Because Cheng Hai's nationality, dates of birth and death, educational background, and writing career are not clearly recorded, it is difficult at present to sketch a complete biography or to judge the author's consistent style and intellectual lineage. On the basis of the available information, Cheng Hai is an author who approaches writing through applied psychology, and this work offers readers an entry point for understanding their own psychological states, giving it a certain reference value in related reading.