Dragon-Head Incense

Name: Dragon-Head Incense
ISBN: 9787521226263

杨晓升Writers Publishing House · ChinaApr 2026

3.5

Word count: 210K words
Chapters: 13
ISBN: 9787521226263

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Summary

Dragon Head Incense is Yang Xiaosheng's fifth collection of novellas and short stories, comprising six novellas and four short stories, all published in various literary journals across the country at different times. After publication, "Dragon Head Incense," "The Process," and "House-Buying Notes" were widely reprinted or serialized in numerous anthologies such as Selected Novellas, Fiction Monthly, Writers' Digest, Changjiang Literature & Art?Good Fiction, and Works and Contention, and were selected for annual anthologies of outstanding novellas. "Dragon Head Incense" won the second "Xifuxiang Cup Selected Novellas Readers' Favorite Fiction Award." Yang Xiaosheng's fiction consistently takes the broad view while entering through small details, attuning itself to the pulse of the times and focusing on the dramatic transformations of Chinese social life along with the fates and emotions of ordinary people, revealing the elusive workings of life, the complexity and diversity of human nature, and the unpredictable rise and fall of ordinary people's fortunes. His work is imbued with contemporary anxiety and humanistic concern, calling for the return of truth, goodness, and beauty in the human world.

Editor's review

Yang Xiaosheng's collection of novellas and short stories, Dragon Head Incense, gathers ten works, most of which were first published in literary journals and widely reprinted; the title novella won the Fiction Selected Magazine Readers' Favorite Novel Award. The author is adept at seeing the big picture while starting from small details, capturing the pulse of the times and focusing on the fate and emotions of ordinary people amid rapid social change, revealing the hidden workings of life, the complexity of human nature, and the ups and downs of fate through everyday subjects such as buying a home and the course of life. The narratives are solid and strongly grounded in reality, offering both a writing of contemporary anxiety and a call for truth, goodness, and beauty. The pieces are well suited to being read one at a time on a commute or before sleep, and readers will come away with understanding and reflection on their own circumstances in life today.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Literary readers interested in realistic subjects who enjoy novellas and short stories
Readers who want to understand contemporary Chinese social change through fiction
Office workers who need to finish a complete story in fragmented time
People interested in the fate and emotional lives of ordinary people

Not a good fit for

Readers who prefer genre fiction such as science fiction or suspense
Readers who only read long, continuous narratives
Readers looking for light entertainment who avoid realistic themes

Reading tips

Start with the title novella, Dragon Head Incense, to get a feel for the author's subject matter and style, then choose the remaining pieces according to interest.
After each piece, take a few minutes to note the details that moved you and trace the threads of the times that link the stories.
Compare life-close pieces such as The Home-Buying Story with your own experience and reflect on the situation of ordinary people.

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
序现实关怀和文学追求
买房记
龙头香
过程
新正如意
我的朋友刘秘书
坏小子伊狗
无奈人生
背景
项链
小黑
后记

FAQ

What works does this book collect?

It contains six novellas and four short stories, including Dragon Head Incense, The Process, and The Home-Buying Story, all published in various national literary journals at different times, with several reprinted or serialized by selected magazines.

I haven't read any of Yang Xiaosheng's work. Can I start with this book?

Yes. This is his fifth collection of novellas and short stories. Each piece stands alone, so you can begin with any of them without losing comprehension; it works well as an introduction to his fiction style.

Is this book suitable for reading in one sitting?

The pieces are moderate in length and independent in theme, so reading them one by one is more relaxed; if you have plenty of time, you can also read them continuously and better appreciate the author's consistent attention to the life of the times and the fate of ordinary people.

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About the author

杨晓升 Author

Yang Xiaosheng is a Chinese-language author whose works span categories such as social science, social fiction, and classic works. Eight of his titles are recorded in our catalog, including "Shidu: The Pain of Chinese Families," "Searching for Ye Liya," "Out of Line," "Dragon Head Incense," "Involuntary," "Begonia Blooms," and "Sunrise and Sunset." Because public information is limited, details such as his nationality, birth and death years, and personal biography cannot be confirmed. This introduction therefore relies only on catalog records and focuses on the character of his writing. These titles suggest an attention to social reality and family issues as well as to fictional narrative, with subject matter that carries a sense of real-life concern and texture. His works are representative in the directions of social-science reading and social fiction and are suited to readers interested in contemporary social themes and realistic narrative.