Novels like May and Anran
Books Chinese readers most often put in the same booklists as May and Anran, best match first.
- 151 The Power of the Chancellor: The Great Qin Dragon Cauldron 九天相权·大秦龙鼎 The Nine Heavens' Chancellor's Power: The Dragon Ding of Great Qin —Reads—Score—Shelves
- 152 Ming: The Goddess Chronicles 明：神女记 Modern office worker Yang Xiaoqing plunges from a cliff amid blazing flames and yellow sand, only to land in a Ming army camp. Falling from the sky and seemingly immortal, she is hailed as the "Heavenly Oracle Goddess," and the wheels of fate begin to turn. Before the alcohol has even worn off, she finds a black-armored general holding a sword to her throat. He is none other than Prince Yan Zhu Di, the future Yongle Emperor! A golden star chart suddenly appears in her palm, and the battlefield's 26Reads—Score—Shelves
- 153 Romance of the Qing Dynasty 清史演义 Cai Dongfan's The Romance of the Qing Dynasty is an epic of sweeping grandeur. In a million words, it uncovers the century-spanning secrets of the Qing Empire, from its rise to its fall! From Nurhaci rallying his troops against the Ming with his “Seven Grievances,” to Kangxi outsmarting and capturing Oboi and putting down the Three Feudatories; from undercurrents stirring beneath the Qianlong Emperor's prosperous reign to the humiliating guns of the Opium War; then to Empress Dowager Cixi ruling 5Reads8.3Score—Shelves
- 154 Homeland 家园 During the reign of Emperor Yang of Sui, a young boy from Shanggu in Hebei fled conscription and entered the vast grasslands. There he adopted a silver wolf, which the grassland tribes regarded as a sacred beast. He met Han Chinese people on the plains and learned archery, military strategy, and more from people from the Central Plains who had been stranded there. After offending the nobility, he returned to the Central Plains and joined the campaign against Goguryeo, where he won recognition! 2.5kReads9.2Score363Shelves
- 155 I Hold Power in Eastern Wu 我在东吴当权臣 My soul transmigrated to the end of the Han dynasty, where I became a lowly soldier in the Jiangdong camp, likely to end up in a mass grave at any moment. In my previous life, I read history and laughed at “Sun of Ten Thousand,” mocked as he was chased by eight hundred of Zhang Liao’s men. I thought him incompetent. In this life, with a cold blade pressed against my neck, I finally understood: in these chaotic times, human lives are as worthless as grass. Since I’ve come here, I can’t let his 51Reads—Score—Shelves
- 156 Red Sky: The Dynasty Cycle 赤霄：王朝周期律 Note: This is an epic war story. Don’t see that the protagonists are two men and assume it’s the sort of “two male leads” story some female readers enjoy. It isn’t! There are two male protagonists named here only because there isn’t room to list more than a dozen. Each subsequent volume will have its own protagonist, and the complete story will feature more than a dozen protagonists. Each protagonist belongs to a different historical period. Faced with the crises of their time, whether struggles 127Reads—Score—Shelves
- 157 Forging the Golden Realm 筑金瓯 [War, lighthearted, meticulously researched, history, no System] This is the Tang dynasty, a dynasty forged on the edge of a blade. The Tang emperor Xuanzong's dream ends in the Tianbao era, and the banner of the great Tang falls. There can be an Earlier Han and a Later Han. There can also be an Earlier Tang and a Later Tang. If the great Tang is gone, then we will build another great Tang. If the golden age is gone, then we will create another one. Let every child have a home, every elder have 3.4kReads8.2Score272Shelves
- 158 He Fengzi 贺疯子 1. This is a dark take on the Ming dynasty, centered on rebellion, with grand-scale battles and a brutal, bloody aesthetic. Ming loyalists should read with caution. 2. This is a transmigration story, but the protagonist’s golden finger is deliberately limited, in an effort to stay close to the historical realities of warfare at the end of the Ming dynasty. 3. In this novel, a soul from the future originally intended to possess Sun Chuanting, but through a twist of fate became He Renlong instead. 713Reads—Score—Shelves
- 159 Stealing a Chicken from the Start: My Scheme-Rating System 开局偷鸡，我有诡谋评分系统 [High Martial] [Schemes and Power Plays] [Funny and Lighthearted] [High IQ] [Scoring System] Chu Wen, a PhD who studies military strategy, accidentally transmigrates into the body of a poor scholar who has starved to death. To survive, he goes to steal a chicken, and unexpectedly binds himself to the Cunning Schemes Scoring System. From then on, the System coerces him: only by constantly using plots and schemes to earn Cunning Scheme Points can he ensure that points are added to his Life Score. 26Reads—Score—Shelves
- 160 The Romance of the Sui and Tang Dynasties: Complete, Edited Edition 隋唐演义-精编完整版 An epic tale of heroes rising amid chaos. Qin Qiong sells his horse, revealing a hero at the end of his rope; Cheng Yaojin robs the imperial tribute convoy, showing off his street smarts; and Li Shimin's Xuanwu Gate Incident reshapes the course of history. Blending the official historical record with folk storytelling, it weaves a legendary tale steeped in history and the spirit of the jianghu. 838Reads9.6Score—Shelves
- 161 The Soul Returns to Tang 唐归魂 A transmigration sends him tumbling into the splendor and turmoil of the Tang Dynasty. From a nobody to a force that shakes the empire, he nevertheless finds himself torn between loyalty and ambition. His origins are a mystery, history is a web, and every attempt to break free only draws him deeper in. At court, undercurrents churn; on the battlefield, life and death hang in the balance. He thought he could change everything, but in the end, he was swept along by the tide of his times. As the sp 1.6kReads7.6Score118Shelves
- 162 The Evening Breeze Hidden in My Heart 藏在心底的晚风 The Evening Breeze Hidden in My Heart 2Reads—Score—Shelves
- 163 Three Kingdoms: Zhang Shao, Zhang Fei's Second Son, Restores the Han Three Times 三国：从张飞次子张绍，三造大汉 [Shaohan] The heavens stretch on forever. Why are they so cruel to me... Have you ever wondered what history would look like if Liu Bei rebuilt the Han dynasty three times? In the twelfth year of Jian'an, a reader and writer of historical fiction transmigrated to the Three Kingdoms era and became Zhang Fei's son, Zhang Shao! Here, warlords carve up the land, and human lives are worth less than grass; Here, powerful clans monopolize everything, leaving no hope for people of humble birth; Here 1.1kReads6.9Score102Shelves
- 164 The Mountains and Rivers Endure, Dyed in Ink 墨染山河在 In the final years of the Dasheng Dynasty, the court falls into chaos and the realm crumbles. The emperor is obsessed with eternal life, neglects the affairs of state, and cares nothing for the people. Regent Zhu Heng seizes the opportunity to monopolize power. His allies fill the court, and he controls both the military and the government. Crushing taxes and forced labor burden the people, driving them from their homes and leaving the realm in misery. The once-prosperous dynasty teeters on the 9Reads—Score—Shelves
- 165 The Martial Emperor of Ming: Zhu Biao, Zhu Yuanzhang’s Eldest Legitimate Son! 大明武帝，朱元璋嫡长子朱标！ Historical fiction + no System + Age of Exploration + Industrial Revolution + global expansion In the twenty-fifth year of Hongwu, May 1392, Zhu Biao, Crown Prince Yiwen and the empire's undisputed heir, dies, leaving posterity with an imagined perfect Ming Dynasty. In this new timeline, when Emperor Wu ascends the throne, he makes a vow: Give me seventy years, and Europe will be the Ming's pasture! North America will be the Ming's granary! Fusang will produce silver for me, and Westland will be 130Reads—Score—Shelves
- 166 Lone Loyalty in the Vast Sea 沧海孤忠 The Solitary Loyalist of the Vast Sea: The Complete Biography of Zheng Chenggong is a heroic elegy that delves deep into the heart and probes the soul. This book seeks to go beyond a simple tale of monument-building and portray a real man struggling amid the upheavals of his age. He was the son of a pirate, of mixed Chinese and Japanese heritage, and a Confucian scholar with the world in his heart. He was the "Lord of the Imperial Surname," personally named by the Longwu Emperor, and a lone mini 92Reads7.0Score—Shelves
- 167 A Hotpot Through the Ages 火锅春秋 The state is founded on its people, and the people put food first. Transmigrating into the turbulent Spring and Autumn period, a master chef stirs up the world. Follow the protagonist across the river of time as, armed with culinary skills and the Zuo Zhuan, he rewrites the course of Chinese civilization and creates an epic “Spring and Autumn of Fine Food”! 50Reads—Score—Shelves
- 168 Choose a Hero to Change History? Hold On, Let Me Try First 选英雄改变历史？等等，我先逝逝 When a major figure of an era runs into serious trouble, history is left with regrets. To set history right, the protagonist, Xi Zixin, is basically useless, so he has to rely on historical figures summoned from other eras to turn the tide and resolve those lingering regrets. The White-Haired Army of the Tang Dynasty, the Battle of Baoning in the Southern Ming, the First Emperor burning books and burying scholars... 249Reads8.3Score—Shelves
- 169 The Son of Heaven 明天子 Reborn in the middle of the Ming Dynasty, he finds himself inhabiting the body of an eight-year-old child. But that’s not important. What matters is that he is the crown prince, the heir to the throne! In simple terms, this is the story of an eight-year-old emperor’s rise: seizing the palace, governing the court, bringing peace to the people, quelling internal unrest, recruiting talent, improving agriculture, and developing commerce... Through civil and military accomplishments, he will restore 150Reads8.6Score—Shelves
- 170 The Conquest for Power 权征 A young master of the Duan clan, a powerful family in Xuantu Commandery, Pingzhou, within the Great Zhou Empire, travels to the imperial capital to study at the Imperial Academy. He never expects to get caught up in factional struggles at court, setting him on a path to power! (This is not a pure wish-fulfillment novel. It focuses on political maneuvering and war, and the protagonist is a bit of a pushover early on!) 365Reads—Score—Shelves
- 171 The Tenth Year of Wanli: Taking Up My Post in Liaodong 万历十年：就藩辽东 The tenth year of the Wanli reign was a watershed moment for the Ming Empire. A host of upheavals converged that year, sending the dynasty down a path wholly different from the one laid out by history. Zhang Juzheng, the “Duke of Jiangling,” passed away. With the reformer who had upheld the “Wanli Renaissance” gone, a pillar of the empire collapsed. His unfinished reforms came to an abrupt halt, and old abuses in the bureaucracy returned. Ma Fang, a renowned general on the northern frontier, die 3kReads7.5Score194Shelves
- 172 Eternal Homestead 永恒家园 A man on the road is as beautiful as jade, a gentleman unmatched beneath the heavens. A young man is granted a new life and reunited with his parents, forging their family bonds anew as father and son, mother and son. He strives forward, vowing to build a happy home for his parents and make money from the bounty of the mountains. With his remarkably good memory, he takes the scholar exams, earns official honors, and helps build a heartwarming story for his hometown. There is family affection and 215Reads8.7Score—Shelves
- 173 Hidden Among the Immortals: The Life of Tao Hongjing 仙隐：陶弘景传 Immortal Seclusion: The Biography of Tao Hongjing 4Reads—Score—Shelves
- 174 The Seventeenth Year of Chongzhen: The Empire's Collapse 崇祯十七年：帝国的崩塌 The Great Ming was at the height of its power and prosperity, yet collapsed overnight. What happened? This book is not a simple account of a dynasty's decline. It is a panoramic dissection of how a complex civilizational system crashed completely. Through the interwoven fates of more than twenty central figures, including the Chongzhen Emperor, Li Zicheng, Yuan Chonghuan, Wu Sangui, and Johann Adam Schall von Bell, we are drawn into the scene of an irreversible collapse. You will witness with yo 7.8kReads8.8Score582Shelves
- 175 I, Empress Hexi, Reborn and Done Saving the Ungrateful 朕，和熹女君，重生不扶白眼狼 At fifteen, Deng Sui entered the palace. At twenty-two, she was made empress, and at twenty-five, she ruled as regent. For sixteen years, Deng Sui safeguarded the Han empire, only to be sent to her death by the young emperor she had personally supported. Her entire family was purged, and her loyal confidants died tragic deaths, full of resentment. Reborn, she returned to the year of the selection. In this life, Deng Sui seeks only to defy fate and change her destiny: Protect the emperor, who is 976Reads—Score100Shelves
- 176 Iron-Blooded Resolve: Twin Dragons Shine Across the Land 铁血文心：双龙耀山河 As the realm crumbles, two outstanding men rise from the Lu clan. The elder brother is a poet renowned throughout the land. After a difficult journey through the imperial exams and a turbulent career in office, he rises from humble scholar to founding emperor, using the heart of a writer to bring peace to the realm. The younger brother is a martial prodigy. Setting out from Siming Mountain, he gathers heroes of the northern jianghu, makes his name on the battlefields of the Western Xia, assassin 34Reads7.5Score—Shelves
- 177 A Single Spark Sets the Water Margin Ablaze 星火燎原水浒传 The descendants of Liangshan raise the banner high, uphold Heaven’s justice, resist the Jin, and save the nation, composing a stirring song of heroes! This book carries forward the legacy of Shi Nai’an’s Water Margin and continues the tradition of Chen Chen’s Later Tale of the Water Margin, while also drawing on old stories passed down by local elders. Nearly a year went into writing it, and the book was revised more than ten times. It contains 120 chapters. Long ago, the 108 heroes of Liangshan 63Reads—Score—Shelves
- 178 The Rise of the Clans 阀明 During the Chongzhen era of the Ming Dynasty, the empire teetered on the brink of collapse. In the heartland, rebels crossed south from Mianchi, sweeping across the land like a flood bursting through a dam, with starving people caught in the torrent. In Liaodong to the north, the Later Jin repeatedly broke through the frontier, crossing the Great Wall to plunder at will. Mighty China could not muster a single general able to stand against them. The vast realm was on the verge of ruin, and the he 15.6kReads8.7Score1.4kShelves
- 179 Secret Records Behind the Red Walls: A Complete History of China's Unofficial Past, Unabridged 红墙秘录：中国野史大全（无删节完整版） This complete collection is like a secret key unlocking the hidden chambers of China's imperial past, guiding readers into shadowy corners that official histories leave shrouded in secrecy. From the ancient legends of Unofficial History of the Xia and Shang to the imperial passions and court intrigues of The History of the Imperial Harem in the Song Dynasty, The History of the Imperial Harem in the Ming Dynasty, and Unofficial History of the Yuan Dynasty; from the extravagant excesses of The Ero 1.6kReads9.3Score239Shelves
- 180 Chen Ping, Master Strategist: His Heavenly Calculations Shape the World 玄谋陈平：天机算尽定乾坤 Chen Ping's Cunning: Calculating Heaven's Secrets to Shape the World 12Reads—Score—Shelves
- 181 Divine Judge of the Han Prison: The Biography of Zhang Tang 汉狱神断：张汤传 The Divine Judge of the Han Prison: The Biography of Zhang Tang 1Reads—Score—Shelves
- 182 Late Ming: Turning the Tide 明末之力挽狂澜 The protagonist is hit by a shell while saving someone and transmigrates to the late Ming dynasty, where he sets out to save the Great Ming. This is a historical strategy SLG game... No, wait, it's a transmigration novel. Starting out as a low-ranking scholar, the protagonist perseveres through hardship and ultimately turns the tide in this extraordinary story... 215Reads8.6Score137Shelves
- 183 Don’t Look Down on Me Just Because I Came from the Mountains 莫看我从山中来 Chen Jun, a liberal arts student from the twentieth century, heard a story in western Hunan about his grandfather praying for rain. He went alone to explore a mountain cave, slipped, and fell into the water. When he woke again, he found himself inhabiting the body of the twelfth son of Chen Daoyuan, a renowned Wei-Jin master of qi divination. Armed with only a fragmentary understanding of history, he watched without changing a thing, opening a new page in his understanding... 22Reads8.5Score—Shelves
- 184 Salt and Iron 盐铁 Liaodong is bitterly cold, and salt is worth its weight in gold. To save his parents, young Shen Huai pawns his hairpin for salt. But without a permit, the officials seize it. His father dies in prison, and his mother’s blood stains their doorstep. After a blizzard, he leaves his home behind and follows his uncle, a wandering man of the jianghu, onto the path of the black salt trade. From then on, he is drawn into the fateful abyss of salt and iron, military funds, and political power. At first, 439Reads—Score—Shelves
- 185 The Han Dynasty's Lone Light: My Life as Its Beacon 汉室孤光以此身 (Ensemble cast, farming, historically grounded, political intrigue, war) In the first year of Yuanguang, as storms gather over the Han Dynasty, an ordinary modern man unexpectedly transmigrates to Pingyang in the Western Han Dynasty and becomes Huo Guang, still an infant. The glorious era of Emperor Wu of Han is about to begin. But he arrives with no System, no extraordinary stroke of fortune, and only the memories of a man from the future. Revealing his intelligence too early would bring disas 51Reads—Score—Shelves
- 186 The Saga of Hot-Blooded Great Tang Continues: The Endgame 再继热血大唐，棋局终焉 [No System + Hard-Nosed Political Intrigue + Farming and Infrastructure + Epic Wars + Epic Ensemble Cast] [Three Generations · A Century of History · Reforging China's Backbone] He transmigrates into the heir to the northern borderlands of the Great Xi, and finds himself in hell mode from the start? His father, Li Huiming, is afflicted with demonic poison and may not live to see another day; His aunt, Wu Xinghuang, ascends the throne as emperor and regards the Li family as a thorn in her side; 7Reads—Score—Shelves
- 187 Suiyang 绥阳 [Ensemble Cast + Political Intrigue + Multiple Viewpoints + Long-form] An alternate-history ensemble inspired by the histories of the Tang and Song dynasties. The title means “to pacify and settle” and “vitality and prosperity.” Twelve years ago, Wang Zhizhou, the Grand Pillar State, died in Chang'an. The Fourth Prince was crippled overnight and sent to the frontier. This sudden turn of events shocked the court and triggered a series of earth-shattering upheavals that left officials throughout t 267Reads—Score—Shelves
- 188 Zigong Enters Government: Chronicles of Five Kingdoms in Turmoil 子贡出仕、五国风云录 Zigong Enters Officialdom: Chronicles of the Five Kingdoms 4Reads—Score—Shelves
- 189 Laying Plans in the Great Tang: I Crush the An Lushan Rebellion 布局大唐：我平推安史之乱 After a dreamlike journey to the Tang Dynasty, he becomes one of Li Longji’s sons. He sees the military farming system crumbling and rebuilds the laws that hold the realm together. He crushes the An Lushan Rebellion and saves the people from disaster. The great clans fall silent under his hand. Commoners from humble families rise to join the ranks of Lingyan Pavilion because of him. This is no ordinary transmigration story. In the name of Huaxia, he rewrites a thousand years of regret! This bo 1.1kReads—Score—Shelves
- 190 Frontier Army: From Claiming a Convict Woman to Unifying the World 边军：从领取罪女开始，一统天下 [Not a good person] [Multiple heroines] [Decisive and ruthless] [Frontier power struggle] [Blood-and-iron scheming] [Alternate history] [Imperfect protagonist] (The protagonist makes mistakes and suffers defeats.) Transmigrating to the frontier isn't a dream of waking up with the world in your hands. It's a struggle to survive with your head on the line. Briquette coal, the Mo Dao, fine steel: in a time of chaos, technologies that can enrich the country and strengthen its army aren't just source 200.4kReads8.6Score25.6kShelves
- 191 The Spirit Venerable of Guiguzi 鬼谷灵尊 Ghost Valley Spirit Venerable 2Reads—Score—Shelves
- 192 Late Eastern Han: Starting as a Remnant of the Yellow Turbans 东汉末年：从黄巾余孽开始 [No System]+ [No mindless wish fulfillment]+ [Civil officials and military generals]+ [Highly skilled protagonist]+ [Not a beginner's novel]+ [A realistic take on official history. Do not use Romance of the Three Kingdoms as a reference! Only Liu Bei, Guan Yu, and Zhang Fei's appearances may be based on it!]+ [Readers who like mindless power fantasies should proceed with caution.] Wei Wu transmigrates by chance and finds himself a remnant of the Yellow Turban rebels. He has trained in martial ar 272Reads5.3Score—Shelves
- 193 How Cao Cao Was Made 曹操是怎样炼成的 Everyone calls Cao Cao the disgraceful offspring of a eunuch's concubine, the remnant of a eunuch clan, and says his birth makes him the laughingstock of the realm. Born amid the chaos at the end of the Han dynasty, he starts with every disadvantage: no family connections to back him and people looking down on him at every turn. No one could have guessed that the child everyone scorned on the streets would spend half his life fighting and, through his own efforts, pacify the Central Plains, domi 16Reads—Score—Shelves
- 194 Modern Cadre: I Play Power Politics in the Ming Dynasty 现代干部：朕在明朝玩权斗 The Hongzhi Restoration left problems piling up. The treasury was in the red, with deficits year after year! Land was swallowed up by the powerful, and displaced people rose in rebellion! The military was weak, and the Tartars threatened the border! Civil officials grew too powerful and challenged imperial authority. With troubles at home and abroad and the dynasty on the brink of collapse, Zhu Shou became the Ming emperor Zhu Houzhao. To struggle against Heaven is a joy without end. To strugg 5.7kReads7.4Score391Shelves
- 195 The Vertical and Horizontal Strategies of the Mystic Pivot: The Biography of Su Qin 玄枢纵横之苏秦传 The Story of Su Qin: Master of Strategy and Statecraft 4Reads—Score—Shelves
- 196 The Guanshan Pact 关山契 On the western frontier, yellow sands bury the dead, and honor is as fragile as paper. The young Zhao Tianhao was merely a merchant’s son from Ping Wharf. With a heart full of sincerity, he kept his contracts, protected his family business, and brought peace to his neighbors. Yet the crushing might of the war-torn age destroyed his household, driving him to abandon trade and take up arms. He entered the death camp, managed military rations, trained a corps of death-defying soldiers, and defended 5.3kReads9.3Score599Shelves
- 197 The Nine Heavens’ Tally of Command: The Biography of Sun Wu 九天兵符：孙武传 The Nine Heavens' Military Talisman: The Legend of Sun Wu —Reads—Score—Shelves
- 198 The Saga of Wagang Stronghold 瓦岗寨演义 The Tale of Wagang Stronghold is set amid the chaos of the late Sui dynasty and vividly recounts how the heroes of Wagang rise up to resist tyranny. The story follows bold outlaws such as Cheng Yaojin, Qin Qiong, Shan Xiongxin, and Xu Maogong, chronicling their legendary exploits: gathering at Wagang, seizing the imperial tribute, rebelling in Shandong, and joining forces with eighteen rebel kings to fight the Sui court. The book features both bloody battles amid flashing blades and clashes of w 869Reads9.5Score107Shelves
- 199 Qin Shi Huang: The Spirit Cauldron Arc 秦始皇·灵鼎篇 Qin Shi Huang: The Spirit Cauldron Arc 4Reads—Score—Shelves
- 200 The Art of Imperial Politics: The Jiajing Era 帝王心术：嘉靖时代 This novel offers a profound look at Jiajing’s transformation from an energetic reformer into an emperor obsessed with Daoism. Daoist priests such as Shao Yuanjie and Tao Zhongwen used mysticism to manipulate his inner world; Yan Song and his son won favor with Daoist prayers and monopolized power for twenty years; Xu Jie bided his time before finally bringing down the treacherous ministers; and Hai Rui risked his life to submit a memorial condemning the ills of the age. Together, these vivid ch 1.2kReads6.9Score110Shelves
