On the Strange

Ma Boyong / 夜雨江城 / 小青 / 温雅May 2023

3.7

Word count: 205K words
Chapters: 53

Summary

Human nature is hard to fathom and hard to guard against. A single misstep: a few attain immortality and sainthood, while more sink into the abyss of human nature. If you had to choose, would you be the fool or the cold one? Xiao Qing's Painted Skin and The Blue Box Lyric Score—all the life and death, cause and effect in this world come from one stirring of a mortal heart. Ye Yu Jiangcheng's Ghost-Man Porcelain series—in the maze of love and hate, how can justice and greed switch places so freely? Wen Ya's Dazzling tales—amid the glitter of jewels, the world's coldness and tenderness are reflected. …17 selected tales of human nature that set your heart racing yet leave you unable to stop, for your private enjoyment late at night.

Editor's review

This is a multi-author short-story collection unified by the common thread of "tales of human nature," led by Ma Boyong, with Xiao Qing, Ye Yu Jiangcheng, Wen Ya, and others each bringing their own distinctive approach. The 17 stories revolve around greed, obsession, cause and effect, and love and hate. The subject matter leans toward suspense and the supernatural, yet it does not rely on gore to frighten; instead it turns "the inscrutability of the human heart" into concrete choices and their costs. Xiao Qing's Painted Skin and The Blue Box Lyric Score write of life and death, cause and effect, after a single stirring of a mortal heart; Ye Yu Jiangcheng's Ghost-Man Porcelain series lets justice and greed overturn each other in a maze; Wen Ya's Dazzling uses jewels to mirror the world's coldness and tenderness. These groups of works differ in temperament, and together they form a "private late-night reading" rhythm. Its appeal lies in the short-story format—approachable in length, ideal for reading one piece at a time on the subway, before bed, or in odd moments over the weekend; and because the theme is consistent, after a few stories you naturally come to a holistic sense of the gray areas of human nature. If you enjoy writing about human feeling beneath a supernatural shell, or want a bit of chill and aftertaste in short fiction, this collection deserves a place on your nightstand.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Readers who enjoy supernatural suspense short stories and want to read in spare moments
Those who have read Ma Boyong's work and want to see a short-story collection he planned or led
Readers drawn to the gray areas of human nature and reversals of cause and effect, who do not mind a dark atmosphere
Anyone looking for a collection of not-too-long stories suited to reading alone late at night

Not a good fit for

Readers expecting a single author's long, continuous narrative and unwilling to accept the stylistic differences of a multi-author collection
Those not interested in the supernatural or karmic retribution and who want only realistic fiction
Readers who prefer light, soothing books and do not wish to encounter greed or the dark side of human nature

Reading tips

Read by author: start with the two Xiao Qing pieces, then the Ye Yu Jiangcheng series, and finish with Wen Ya to feel the progression of styles.
Read only one or two stories at a time, then pause to savor the choices and costs within each story; there is no need to finish in one night.
Jot down each story's core reversal or insight into human nature in the margins; looking back after all 17 will give you a stronger sense of the whole.
If reading at night affects you easily, switch to the afternoon, treating "private late-night reading" as an atmospheric hint rather than a strict requirement.

版权信息
古北口莫入
婴税
楔子
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
鬼人瓷
楔子
一汉胎
二不祥之物
三血红渍
四瓷匠之女
五欲望之河
六鬼人瓷
七归去来
八火窑地狱
九阿瞳的日志
十尾声
化蝶迷踪
引子
第一章消失的女子
第二章护城河畔的女尸
第三章小步波尔卡舞曲
第四章蝶舞翩翩
第五章善因堂儿童福利院
第六章精神病院的谋杀案
第七章蝶恋花
第八章练舞房血案
第九章化蝶之殇
画皮
青箱词谱
点绛唇
鹧鸪天
蝶恋花
更漏子
鬓云松
暗香
疏影
水龙吟
拜新月
锦缠头
拾翠羽
绿腰
惜红衣
聆听
醉黄金
碧眼猫

FAQ

Is this book written solely by Ma Boyong?

No. It is a multi-author short-story collection, with Ma Boyong joined by Ye Yu Jiangcheng, Xiao Qing, Wen Ya, and others; the stories have different authors and differ in style. The specific pieces by Ma Boyong in the collection are not individually listed in the available information; while reading, you can distinguish them by the author attribution in the table of contents.

Are the 17 stories connected? Do they need to be read in order?

The information shows this is a selected collection of 17 tales of human nature; the stories are relatively independent and unified thematically around the human heart and cause and effect, but there is no evidence of a continuous main line that must be read in sequence. You can read in table-of-contents order or skip around by author.

Is this book suitable for reading late at night? Is it very frightening?

The promotional copy emphasizes "private late-night reading," but the stories focus on tales of human nature and reversals of cause and effect rather than pure gore or horror. Whether it is frightening varies from person to person; if you are sensitive to a dark atmosphere, it is advisable to read during the day or only one story at a time, to avoid prolonged immersion.

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About the author

Ma Boyong Author · China · 1980

Ma Boyong, whose real name is Ma Li, was born in 1980 in Chifeng, Inner Mongolia. He is an ethnic Manchu contemporary Chinese writer and screenwriter. Since 2005 he has published works online, writing across historical nonfiction, mystery and suspense, and social fiction. His representative works include Feng Qi Long Xi, The Antique Bureau, The Longest Day in Chang'an, and The Lychees of Chang'an, and many of his books have been adapted into films and television series. He has received the People's Literature Award, the Zhu Ziqing Prose Award, and the Galaxy Award. His writing often builds on real history, weaving suspense and imagination into meticulous research, with a brisk narrative pace that combines erudition and readability. The library holds 41 of his works, including the Da Yi series, Two Capitals in Fifteen Days, and Under the Microscope: The Ming Dynasty, spanning subjects from ancient medicine and Ming-era case records to contemporary urban mysteries, reflecting his dual concern with history and the present.

夜雨江城 Author

Ye Yu Jiangcheng is an author who writes in the mystery and detective fiction genre. Public information about this author is limited: their real identity, nationality, dates of birth and death, and similar details have not been disclosed. Three works are currently included in the library: Shuo Gui and two titles in the "Desperate Pursuit" series, Desperate Pursuit: Strange Mist and Desperate Pursuit: The Life-Taker. These works suggest a preference for eerie, tense atmospheres, often using elements such as mist, strange occurrences, and the pursuit of criminals to drive the plot, with considerable attention to suspense and the progression of cases. The writing emphasizes pacing and a sense of pressure, placing characters in dangerous situations and leading readers step by step toward the truth along with the investigation. The "Desperate Pursuit" series develops different cases within a shared framework, indicating an attempt at serialized mystery storytelling. Because verifiable public information is limited, no further reliable details about the author's writing career or personal background are available; the above summary can only be based on the existing works.

小青 Author

At present, the only information available about Xiao Qing is the name itself; the author's real name, nationality, dates of birth and death, and English name are not publicly recorded, and verifiable details are very limited. Among the works held in the collection, Xiao Qing is the author of the suspense and mystery novel Shuo Gui (Tales of the Strange). Judging from the title and its category, the work likely uses eerie and extraordinary events as a hook, building suspense and deduction to create an atmosphere of mystery and uncertainty. Only this one work by the author is currently included in the collection, with no further record of other writings to refer to, so the author's full writing style, thematic preferences, and creative development are difficult to outline completely. Readers who enjoy mysterious suspense stories may wish to begin with Shuo Gui and appreciate its care in plotting and atmosphere. Other information about Xiao Qing awaits further public materials.

温雅 Author

Wen Ya is a Chinese writer of suspense and mystery fiction, about whom limited public information is currently available. One work by this author is held in the collection: a suspense and mystery novel titled Shuo Gui (Telling of the Strange). Judging from this single available clue, Wen Ya's writing leans toward suspense and mystery, and the word "gui" (the strange or uncanny) in the title suggests the work may revolve around eerie and extraordinary events, with an emphasis on building suspense and the pleasure of puzzle-solving. Because no reliable records have been found regarding the author's real name, nationality, dates of birth and death, or writing career, the overall shape of Wen Ya's literary life remains difficult to sketch: neither the starting point of the writing career nor the place of this work within the author's personal development can be determined. On the basis of the available material, Wen Ya remains an author known to readers through a single suspense and mystery work, and Shuo Gui is the main basis for understanding this author's style and choice of subject matter. Should more works or information come to light, the author's profile and creative characteristics would await further supplementation and observation.