Stealing Fragrance

Zouguo Qingchun SuiyueZongheng Chinese Network2013

Rating 4.8
Word count
2.1M words
Chapters
23

Tags

Male-Oriented Fiction Urban Fiction Historical ReappraisalSocial ObservationHumanistic CareComplex HumanityPsychological InsightGrowing UpStep-by-Step GuideIllustrated GuideAcademic StudyPractical GuideFemale Perspective

Summary

Stealing Fragrance is a long urban novel by the author "Zouguo Qingchun Suiyue," serialized on Zongheng Chinese Network from 2013, totaling more than two million characters. The title comes from "king of thieves, chivalrous and tender, roaming the city, stealing jade and fragrance." The story takes place in the north after the late 1970s: Li Huqiu is born in the Great Northern Wilderness; his mother, Yan Yuqian, was an educated youth from Hangzhou, and his father, Li Yuanchao, returned to the city and never came back. Left on the farm from childhood, he drifts onto the streets of Harbin and mixes with beggars and pickpockets, until the old thief Hao Quezi brings him into the "Kongkong Dao" lineage, where he learns the crafts of slipping doors, opening locks, slitting bags, and picking pockets. Following Li Huqiu's growth from orphan to "King of Thieves of China," the author unfolds the story in units such as "Crane Cry Picture," "Baling Pearl," "Southern Seas Blood Wind," "Exquisite Tower," "Aihui Treasure Vase," and "One Thief Under Heaven": battling thief kings, solving riddles, protecting treasures, and becoming entangled in the antiques trade, gambling games, and national conflicts. The work blends traditional underworld rules, jargon, and slang with the earthy street life of the Northeast; chapter titles often adapt classical poetry, and characters such as Yanzi and Hao Quezi appear throughout. It writes about the trade of thieves but talks about loyalty, rules, and how a boy fights out a fate of his own.

Editor's review

写贼的书本就少，写得像样的更少，《盗香》难得把「贼」当成一门手艺、一个行当来写。作者熟悉东北市井与江湖切口，开篇一九七七年北大荒草甸子上的那场戏就把时代底色、人物命运一并交代干净，节奏极快，一章三千字往往连着几个转折，末尾还要抛个钩子。李虎丘不是天生的侠客，他是从要饭、装可怜、学手艺一步步长起来的，偷与不偷之间有自己的规矩，这层「盗亦有道」的分寸，是全书最耐读的地方。章节回目大量化用诗词，方言对话、年代细节、古玩掌眼、赌局千术轮番上阵，烟火气十足。需要提醒的是，书中情色笔墨不少，主角行事偶有狠辣与理想化并存之处，读来未必人人舒服。若你喜欢《天下无贼》那类题材，又不介意网文的长篇铺陈，这本值得从头翻到尾。

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A good fit for

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Reading tips

  1. 先读第一卷「鹤鸣图」，摸清李虎丘的身世与师门来路，再进入后面各单元。
  2. 把每个单元当作一段独立江湖故事来看，巴陵珠、南洋腥风等线索各有起落。
  3. 遇到方言与切口不必卡住，顺着语境读下去，人物口气本身就是风味。
  4. 书中情色与暴力段落较多，未成年读者与不喜此类内容者请自行取舍。

About the publisher

Zongheng Chinese Network

Zongheng Chinese Network is a publishing platform focused on online literature, with a catalog of approximately 10,899 titles. Its output covers common categories such as women's fiction, ancient romance, men's fiction, urban fiction, and alternate history, and it also maintains a premium fiction section to serve readers with different preferences. Representative titles include Marrying the Powerful Eunuch, Stealing Fragrance, The Whole Army Forms Up, The Ugly Poison Consort Turns the Tables from the Start, Super Dad, The Substitute Bride Is a Contrarian, Sword Out of Beiming, and Record of Cultivating the Mind, spanning ancient romance, urban life, and alternate history. The platform brings together authors such as Shi Yi Qing Qing, Zou Guo Qing Chun Sui Yue, Zhi Bai, Meng Huan Yang Guang, Dan Wang Zhang, Jiu Yue Jiu, Xing Luo Ping Chuan, and Zhu Ben Wu Xin, forming a roster characterized by serialized genre fiction. Public information on the publisher's founding background is limited; this profile is based solely on the catalog's publication directions and content features.

Contents

  1. Volume One: The Crane Cries
  2. An Ill-Fated Romance, Love and Hate: An Orphan of Ha City
  3. Swallow, Dancing with Wolves
  4. The King of Chinese Thieves, Sorrow in Springtime
  5. The Boy, the Flying Knife, and the Rescue of a Beauty
  6. The Thief's Heart Never Dies, the Thief's Nerve Knows No Bounds
  7. Mother and Son, Meeting Without Recognition
  8. A Wondrous Hero, a Wondrous Figure, a Wondrous Encounter
  9. The Overlord Shakes His Armor, the Grand Contest of Thieves
  10. The Eight-Armed Buddha, Master of Thief-Catching
  11. The King of Kings, the Ancestor of Thieves
  12. Soul-Stealing Shadowless, the Three Supreme Arts of the Thieving World
  13. The Net of Heaven Is Wide, a Single Thread of Chance
  14. Twilight of the Gods, the Last Days of the Thief King
  15. Stealing Fragrance in the Dark Night, the Dashing Thief King
  16. Drawing a Line and Breaking Ties, Kindness and Loyalty Severed
  17. A Mountain of Knives and a Sea of Fire, Planting Lotus in the Flames
  18. The Wolf Roams the World, the Wanderer Like a Wolf
  19. How Vast the Universe—Can a Golden Carp Count as a Dragon?
  20. King Among Thieves, Chief Among Swindlers
  21. Stealing a Heart Like Finding a Needle in the Sea
  22. The Smoke and Clouds of the Capital, the Stage Is Set
  23. Epilogue: The One Thief Under Heaven (Finale)

FAQ

《盗香》有几个不同的版本？ 市面上有两个同名作品：一是「走过青春岁月」在纵横中文网连载的都市小说，二是楚隐所著、2007年由中国电影出版社出版的《盗香》（ISBN 9787106028077）。本页介绍的是前者。
这本书完结了吗？总字数多少？ 纵横中文网连载版已完结，各平台标注字数在165万至215万字之间，常见说法约二百余万字，最后一章为「天下一贼」。
书名「盗香」是什么意思？ 据作者自述与读者解读，「盗」指侠盗，「香」指女儿香，合起来是说一个多情的偷心贼，以无双妙手盗取无双女儿香，同时也暗含窃玉偷香的江湖气。
书中的主角是谁？ 主角李虎丘，生于北大荒，母亲燕雨前是杭城知青，父亲返城后离去。他在哈尔滨市井中长大，拜入空空道一脉学艺，后成为名震一方的「华夏贼王」，燕子、郝瘸子等人物贯穿全书。

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About the author

Zouguo Qingchun Suiyue Author

Zouguo Qingchun Suiyue is an online fiction author about whom limited public information is available; the library currently holds 11 of their works. Representative titles include *Dao Xiang* (Stealing Fragrance), *Wu Jian Xiao Xiong* (Infernal Underlord), *How a Tycoon Is Forged*, *Fierce Martial Man*, and *The Shameless*, among others. Judging from the titles and the common categories, the writing centers on male-oriented and urban fiction, with elements of social fiction and Eastern fantasy. The titles often carry a martial-arts and streetwise flavor, revolving around theft, rivalry among underworld figures, ups and downs in business, and stories of martial artists. The style tends toward fast-paced, plot-driven popular narrative and appeals to readers who enjoy urban action and legendary themes. As no reliable records of birth and death dates, nationality, or personal experience have been found, biographical details cannot be added; the above introduction is based solely on the works held in the library.