Master

Name: Master
ISBN: 9787530688700

苏迅Baihua Literature and Art Publishing House · ChinaJul 2026

3.2

Word count: 208K words
Chapters: 16
ISBN: 9787530688700

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Summary

Master is a collection of novellas and short stories, comprising thirteen works including "Memories of the Old City," "Chronicles of Lezhai," "The Pixiu Must Smile," "Going to Town," "Master," "Old Monster's Love," and "Where Life Begins, Cuihua Is Thick." The great majority of these pieces have already appeared in well-known literary journals to favorable reception. The stories are set against the antique trade of jade collecting, where antiques and the human heart, the still and the moving, set substance against emptiness and desire against spirit. Seething human feeling lends inert objects a world-bewitching power, while the objects in turn rouse the unspoken fierceness and temper of their characters to the fullest; through this mirror of the heart that is the antique trade, one sees the ways of the world and the myriad faces of life.

Editor's review

Su Xun's Masterpiece is a collection of thirteen novellas and short stories, most of which have already appeared in well-known literary journals. The stories are set in the antique trade of jade collecting, where curios and human hearts, one still and one moving, form a contrast between the solid and the void, a contest between desire and spirit. The seething human heart gives silent objects a world-turning magic, while the objects in turn stir the unspoken courage and temperament of the characters to the fullest. Through antiques as a mirror of the heart, we see the ways of the world and the many faces of life. The contents include "Memories of the Old City," "Chronicles of Lezhai," "Pixiu Must Smile," "Going to Town," "Masterpiece," "Old Monster's Love," "Where Life Begins, Cuihua Is Rich," and others. From the titles alone one can see the material moving between the antique trade and everyday urban life, with both the rules and the eye of the trade and the human feelings and calculations outside it. Readers curious about antiques will find the craft and the human heart behind the objects; for readers of literary fiction, the collection's value lies in writing human nature through a trade, relying not on novelty but on detail and dialogue to sustain the tension. It suits readers interested in collecting culture, street-level stories, and the observation of human nature, to be read piece by piece in leisure.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Readers interested in jade collecting and the antiques trade
Readers of fiction drawn to marketplace life and human nature
Literary readers who like to pick pieces from short story collections
Those curious about contemporary fiction that uses a trade as a backdrop for human nature

Not a good fit for

Readers seeking practical antique appraisal knowledge rather than fiction
Readers who prefer grand narrative or strong suspense structures
Those with little interest in antique jargon and descriptions of objects

Reading tips

Start with the title story "Master" to feel the author's typical approach to trade and human nature, then return to the other pieces.
When reading "The Pixiu Must Smile" and "Chronicles of Le Studio," note how descriptions of objects mirror characters' states of mind.
Divide the thirteen stories into two groups by theme—trade rules and marketplace human nature—and alternate to avoid fatigue.
After finishing, pick a favorite and revisit the unspoken parts of dialogue to appreciate the author's use of omission.

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
序古城记忆
乐斋记事
貔貅必须微笑
进城
高手
老怪的爱情
人生来处翠华浓
齐老板
雀夺
石缘记
能工刘双清
陈先生的隐痛
“二先生”碰到了烦心事
真诚地生活“为难”地写作——苏迅小说阅读札记
时间将为审美制造间离效果——写在小说集《高手》之后的话

FAQ

How many stories are collected in Masterpiece?

It contains thirteen novellas and short stories, including "Memories of the Old City," "Chronicles of Lezhai," "Pixiu Must Smile," "Going to Town," "Masterpiece," "Old Monster's Love," and "Where Life Begins, Cuihua Is Rich." Most of them have appeared in well-known literary journals.

Are all the stories set in the antique trade?

The stories focus on the antique trade of jade collecting, where antiques and human hearts form a contrast between the solid and the void. The pieces move between the antique trade and everyday urban life, with both the rules and the eye of the trade and the human feelings and calculations outside it.

If I know nothing about antiques, will the book be hard to read?

No. The works write about the trade and human hearts in the form of fiction, with the emphasis on characters and the ways of the world; antiques serve as a mirror of the heart rather than as knowledge to be explained. Even readers unfamiliar with jade collecting can enter the stories through the characters' relationships and dialogue without first acquiring knowledge of the trade.

Is this book suitable as an introductory guide to antiques?

It is not suitable as a practical guide to appraisal or collecting. It is a collection of novellas and short stories about human hearts and the many facets of life in the antique trade; the descriptions of objects serve the characters and themes and are not meant to impart professional knowledge of the trade.

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About the author

苏迅 Author

Su Xun is a Chinese author known for social fiction. Publicly available information about him is limited, and his nationality, dates of birth and death, education, and professional experience are not clearly documented. Two of his works are held in the collection, The Record of Polishing a Mirror in the Dusty World and The Master, both classified as social fiction, which suggests that his writing centers on realistic social themes. Judging from the titles and the genre, Su Xun's work tends to draw on everyday life and the ways of the world, developing its narratives through characters' circumstances and shifting relationships, with a realistic touch that attends to ordinary people's choices and fortunes within their social environment. The first title carries a sense of refining one's character and observing the mortal world, while the second hints at contests among skilled figures in some field and the play of human nature. Since the available material is confined to titles and genre, a fuller assessment of his style, narrative structure, and influence is not yet possible, but his works have entered the ranks of social fiction and may be of interest to readers drawn to realistic themes.