Novels like A Modern Strange Tales from a Chinese Studio
Books Chinese readers most often put in the same booklists as A Modern Strange Tales from a Chinese Studio, best match first.
- 1 Urban Mountain Guides: The Mystery of the Wu Clan 都市赶山人之巫族谜团 After a hundred years cut off from the world, Guan Zhaoming is forced to descend from the mountains when his master passes away. But China has changed beyond recognition in the century since he left. The mystery of his own bloodline, a string of serial murders, a woman found dead in a refrigerator, a mummified corpse in an apartment... A series of vicious crimes targeting Chinese women, shikigami from Japan, a crisis threatening China's dragon veins! These bizarre cases all conceal a shocking co —Reads—Score—14d adds
- 2 Chronicles of Daoist Ghostly Affairs 道门鬼事录 When I was fourteen, my father passed away. At the same time, something strange happened: a tattoo appeared on my father’s face. By the next day, his body had vanished. The police investigated for a long time but found no answers, and the case became a mystery. Our family had lost its pillar overnight, so I had no choice but to go to Guangdong to find work. Four years later, my mother fell seriously ill. Since it was also the anniversary of my father’s death, I boarded a train home and met a str 861Reads8.3Score—14d adds
- 3 The Daoist Arts Compendium: Flirting with Ghosts in the Underworld 道术灵册我在冥界调戏鬼 Supernatural and bizarre incidents keep happening, along with the use of all kinds of talismans, spells, and Taoist arts. Follow me, Lin Feng, as I promote traditional Chinese Taoism. Lin Feng was raised from childhood by his grandfather, Lin Yousheng, a renowned Taoist priest. The story takes place in a small town in the 1980s and 1990s. Before turning thirteen, Lin Feng had little interest in his grandfather's identity as a Taoist priest, but at thirteen, he began his journey down the Taoist p 3Reads—Score114d adds
- 4 Twenty Years of Walking Between Yin and Yang: A Memoir 二十年走阴串阳回忆录 [The Great Six Ren, Qimen Dunjia, Four Pillars of Destiny, Xuan Kong Flying Stars, Jin Suo Yu Guan, folk witchcraft, Southeast Asian black magic...] And much more: an abundance of divination arts and folk culture, all knowledge you can learn at a glance and put into practice right away. A wealth of practical information! Zhao Jun graduated straight into unemployment. Then, reeling from the double blow of losing his job and his girlfriend, he encountered something that even he, a staunch material 59Reads—Score—14d adds
- 5 I Heard of Strange Things That Year: Never Read This Late at Night 那年听闻怪事，千万别深夜翻看 These stories are adapted and fictionalized from various experiences shared by friends. They are written in an accessible style and make for a good way to unwind. A reminder: reject superstition. This is all imaginative fiction. Any similarities to real events are purely coincidental, so don't take it seriously! 11Reads—Score—14d adds
- 6 You Were Told to Guard a Village, So Why Did You Make the City God Cry? 让你守个村儿，你把城隍打哭了？ After the old madman died, I always thought I was the only person left in the village. Then one year, two men showed up carrying a camera and said they wanted to film a documentary about walking marriages... 458Reads8.5Score—14d adds
- 7 The Spirit-Sealing Corpse Shroud 镇灵尸衣 On the day I was born, ghosts surrounded our home. I only survived because a master gave his life to save me. Only later did I learn the truth: I was born on a yin year, yin month, and yin day, making me a Yin Child. My master said that anyone born under all three yin signs would have a life full of misfortune and spend their days wandering from place to place. 133Reads—Score—14d adds
- 8 Northern Horse Notes 北马笔记 The Five Immortals of the Northeast are chiefly the Hu, Huang, Chang, Mang, and Hui. After cultivating their powers and attaining the Dao, they descend the mountains to take disciples, borrowing their bodies to do good deeds among humans and earn their way to ascension. This story is told in the first person. 414Reads8.8Score—14d adds
- 9 Heaven's Secrets Forbidden: A Metaphysics Master's Art of Feng Shui and Yin-Yang 天机禁忌：玄门风水相师镇阴阳 Xu Daoyi was born with a pure Yang constitution, a once-in-a-century rarity. The Yang energy within him was so strong it could burn vengeful ghosts to ash. But this gift was also a death sentence. His master told him that unless he found a woman with a pure Yin birth chart before the Summer Solstice and united their Yin and Yang, he would explode and die seven days later. The seven-day deadline drew closer, and the Yang energy in his body surged higher every day. Xu Daoyi had saved countless liv 115Reads—Score15514d adds
- 10 The Strange and Supernatural Things I’ve Heard and Seen 那些我所闻所见的灵异事 I’ll tell stories about the strange things that have happened to me over the years, along with the folk secrets and I Ching mysticism I’ve learned. At the start of each story, I’ll say whether I experienced it myself or heard it from someone else. I may not tell them in chronological order. I need to remember and organize everything, so I’ll just talk about whatever comes to mind. Things I experienced myself may be exaggerated, but they’re absolutely true. As for some of the stories I’ve heard, 2.4kReads—Score15614d adds
- 11 Folk Horror Taboos 民间恐怖禁忌 Do you know the stories old people tell? Do you know there are many things in folk tradition that people say must not be spoken of? Do you know what the elders say about dreams? The elders say there are things you mustn't talk about at night. Did you know that? 121Reads6.3Score—14d adds
- 12 Paranormal Encounters: What I Saw and Heard 灵异事件之所见所闻 No System + no transmigration + no power fantasy + no harem + no invincible protagonist + no sweet romance + no clichés + no female lead + no cultivation. Important notice: if this isn’t for you, don’t read it. If this isn’t for you, don’t read it. If this isn’t for you, don’t read it! Do you believe there are things in this world that science cannot explain? Have you ever experienced anything supernatural yourself? Treat the events in this novel as stories, and remember: Fear and respect the sp 130Reads—Score—14d adds
- 13 The Master Feng Shui Practitioner 顶级风水师 Heaven and Earth are dark and yellow; the universe vast and primordial. The sun and moon wax and wane; the stars are arrayed across the sky… 1.7kReads8.8Score34114d adds
- 14 Folk Tales of the Mountain Wilds 民间山野怪谈 A lifetime spent roaming the martial world, telling tales of ghosts and strange happenings from the countryside. Stories of spirits and monsters in the wilderness have always been a staple of people's conversations over tea, and folk tales about mountain ghosts and gods come in every variety. There is a kind of extraordinary man who can help people choose burial sites and homes, divine life and death, reveal the secrets of fate, dispel evil spirits, travel to the underworld, save lives, and ward 1.1kReads8.9Score15114d adds
- 15 Tales of the Supernatural 灵异怪谈 Yin-yang masters are fated to suffer the Five Evils and Three Deficiencies. Is there any way to escape their fate? A life-and-death romance with a bloodthirsty vampire zombie! After desperately searching for the Strange Records of Yin and Yang, he discovers it is all part of an even bigger conspiracy! The Mausoleum of Qin Shi Huang, bloodthirsty vampire zombies, an inn in the underworld, an ancient Warring States tomb, and the Strange Records of Yin and Yang all feature in Strange Tales of the S 1.6kReads8.8Score13914d adds
- 16 The Midnight Mantou Shop 午夜馒头铺 Have you ever noticed that some breakfast shops serve food that's delicious most of the time, but for a couple of days each month, it suddenly tastes dry and is hard to swallow? Have you ever wondered if perhaps that breakfast food was never meant for people to eat...? 373Reads7.4Score—14d adds
- 17 A Genius of Yin and Yang 阴阳鬼才 A calamity when I was fourteen changed my whole life. Then, at eighteen, I was set firmly on the path of yin and yang, where I mastered top-tier secret arts and went ever farther along the road of slaying demons and vanquishing evil. 1.7kReads8.8Score11214d adds
- 18 The Life of a Spirit Medium’s Disciple 出马弟子的人生 A novel about real experiences and nothing but facts, centered on the real practice of spirit-mediumship! I hope you enjoy it! No fantasy power trips or immortal cultivation: every bit of it is based on real experiences! 259Reads8.1Score—14d adds
- 19 Miaojiang Gu Chronicles 2 苗疆蛊事2 "Witchcraft of Miaojiang II", also known as "Witchcraft of Miaojiang: The End of the World", is written by Nan Wu Jia Sha Li Ke Fo. The calamity of witchcraft has persisted for thousands of years, ever since the Western Han dynasty, despite repeated attempts to suppress it. Today, as traditional Chinese culture declines and public awareness grows, only country folk in this vast land of China still talk about it. Many people caught up in the affairs of the world don't even know it exists. Yet wi 6.6kReads9.3Score72314d adds
- 20 Northeast China Spirit Medium: My Fox Lord Is So Fierce 东北出马仙：我家的胡爷太凶狠 My name is Liu Jin. I'm a boy from an ordinary small town in Northeast China. The only unusual thing about me was that when I was six, my mother suddenly became a spirit medium. As a child, I never understood it. But when I grew up, I started to think it might actually be a pretty good job. For some reason, though, my mother seemed particularly wary of it and never gave me a chance to get involved. Little by little, I learned the secret behind it. 19.2kReads9.2Score1.5k14d adds
- 21 The Maoshan Celestial Master's Art 茅山天师诀 [Maoshan Taoist arts] [Urban ghost-hunting] [Folklore and strange tales] [Chinese cosmic horror] Lu Xiaoyang, an heir to the Maoshan tradition, drank blood instead of milk for his first taste of anything after birth. After enduring three calamities and nine tribulations, he was personally appointed “Judge of the Living” by King Yama. To avoid becoming the son-in-law of the Great Emperor of Mount Tai, Lu Xiaoyang heads to the city to find the woman he was betrothed to as a child, only to be dumpe 16.1kReads8.1Score1.6k14d adds
- 22 Entering the Dao with Immortal Guidance 带着仙家入道 I started out as a disciple of a top incense master, then met a wise teacher and became a young Taoist disciple. This book consists entirely of popular science and real-life experiences, and it also contains plenty of tips on how to avoid scams! Nothing is made up, and this is not a power fantasy about cultivating immortality. Your support is greatly appreciated! 24Reads—Score—14d adds
- 23 A Collection of Folk Feng Shui Records 民间风水集录 Also known as The Dragon-Seeking Secret: The Five Masters of Jingmen. Main characters: Tao Duoyu and Ren Shiyu; The Five Masters of Zhongzhou: Xiong Lei of the Northeast, Zheng Xuan of western Hunan, and Su Mei of Jiangnan; My name is Tao Duoyu. My master is Tao the Blind, the foremost of the Five Masters of Zhongzhou. Twenty-four years ago, he saved me when I was at death’s door, snatching fate from the heavens to extend my life by more than twenty years. Twenty-four years later, my master myst 2.5kReads9.1Score38914d adds
- 24 Folktales of the Mountains and Wilds 民间山野怪谈 The hidden truths behind ten major unsolved mysteries, revealing a host of terrifying taboos that will send chills down your spine! 14.5kReads9.1Score96014d adds
- 25 Lu Ban's Secret Art of Feng Shui 鲁班风水秘术 Carpenters revere Lu Ban as their patriarch. He left behind the Lu Ban Book, divided into two parts. The first contains carpentry techniques, while the second is a collection of secret spells, never to be shared with outsiders. The patriarch also left a curse: anyone who learns the spells in the second part must suffer one of the fates of being widowed, orphaned, childless, or disabled. That is why later generations called the second part of the Lu Ban Book the “Missing One.” In the old days, mo 5.9kReads9.1Score83214d adds
- 26 I Transmigrated into the World of the Taoist Priest of Zombie 穿越僵尸道长世界 I, Li Zhizhou, transmigrated and became a junior disciple under Uncle Jiu. After awakening the Daoist Cultivation System, I carried all of Maoshan to greatness. Grand Martial Uncle Shi Jian, Martial Uncle Qianhe, and Martial Uncle Simu look at me as if they're about to steal me away as their disciple! Complete all kinds of missions, and you can learn supreme Daoist arts. There are also divine-grade pills, top-tier magic artifacts, and the finest talismans. And so, I became the most gifted discip 1.5kReads—Score12814d adds
- 27 Secrets of the Northern Steed 北马秘闻 After spending seven years in a daze as a fool, I was told by the Yellow Immortal that I had a spirit altar within me, and that my origins were far from ordinary. From then on, I set out on the Northern Ma path. 11.5kReads8.5Score2.1k14d adds
- 28 Don't Move! I've Got Connections in the Underworld 别动！姐地府有人 The continuation of Little Prodigy of the Northern Ma: filling in the gaps from before, meeting the people who came afterward, and briefly recording the everyday happenings that followed. It also teaches a few simple things that you can put into practice. 745Reads8.9Score10114d adds
- 29 My Years Running a Fortune-Telling Shop 我开命理馆的这些年 [Metaphysical divination, esoteric arts, thunder formulae, the Four Pillars of Destiny and feng shui, astrology, ghost hunting, folk sorcery, witchcraft...] This is the true story of a yin-yang master. How much do you know about the metaphysical arts? You may have heard of feng shui, the Four Pillars, Qimen Dunjia, and the Six Yao, but you may never have witnessed the true power of these arts of fate and divination. In the early 1990s, as interest in the Book of Changes surged, I formally took u 28.8kReads9.1Score2.9k14d adds
- 30 Tales of the Supernatural: Ghost-Hunting Venerable 怪谈之捉鬼天尊 Eight severed-head mountains form a Nine Palaces Eight Trigrams Formation, imprisoning Song An’s first eight incarnations. To ensure that Song An can grow up safely in his ninth life, a mysterious eminent monk comes to the mortal world. Unfortunately, this time Song An is born on the night of the Ghost Festival, and is also a child of extreme yin, with all eight characters of his birth chart belonging to yin. Even stranger, nine days and nine nights of blood rain fall before Song An’s birth. For —Reads—Score—14d adds
- 31 The Little Prodigy of the Northern Ma Clan 北马小神童 A strange story set in a small town ninety years later. The heroine begins her shamanic calling at thirteen. On the day she was born, all the fox, yellow weasel, white weasel, willow, and rat spirits within a ten-kilometer radius knelt to welcome her. Then came a series of miraculous experiences. 10.6kReads9.5Score94714d adds
- 32 The First Half of a Female Spirit Medium’s Life! 出马女弟子的前半生！ I’m an ordinary country girl from Northeast China. When I was 18, I learned that I was born with a connection to the immortals. I was often unwell in all sorts of ways, and I sought out many spirit mediums, hoping they could help me escape my predicament. I was cheated, but I also met kind people. This is the story of how I eventually found my way out. I decided to write this book to keep more people from being scammed. I can’t guarantee that everything I say is right, but I can guarantee that I 8.7kReads9.4Score67814d adds
- 33 Incense Ashes: I'm a Yin-Yang Medium 香灰：我是阴阳女先生 If someone asks to borrow money from you in a dream, promise me you won’t lend it. Because what you’re lending isn’t money, it’s your life. … Grandma called me a debt-collecting demon, and Mom called me a bringer of bad luck. All because, when I was born, a fire broke out at home for no apparent reason, and the villagers rushed over to help put it out. But no matter what they did, they couldn’t extinguish the flames. The fire only slowly died down after half the village had burned to the ground. 6.9kReads9.1Score82514d adds
- 34 Memoirs of a Folk Taoist 民间道士回忆录 Everyone has a different path to walk at every stage of life. Just as people have periods of misfortune and prosperity, they also have ten-year cycles of good fortune. When your next cycle begins, it will mark a new starting point in your life. A folk Taoist priest is here with his memoirs, offering you a glimpse into authentic folk Taoism. 3.7kReads9.3Score69014d adds
- 35 The Celestial Master's Dragon-Seeking Secret 天师寻龙诀 Before she died, Grandma gave me three instructions. The most important one was that, on the night I turned eighteen, I must not open the door for anyone. But that night, my dead grandmother came back... 4.7kReads8.0Score1.8k14d adds
- 36 I'm a Fortune-Teller (The Original Novel of I'm No Master, Starring Li Xian and Li Yitong) 我是个算命先生（李现、李一桐主演《我不是大师》原著） The original novel behind the TV adaptation starring Li Xian and Li Yitong, I'm No Master The highest level of fortune-telling isn't predicting the heavens. It's reading people. During the Republican era, a secretive group called the Jiangxiang Sect operated in the underworld. They called themselves fortune-tellers, but made their living through fraud. From secret agents of the Military Statistics Bureau and bandit chiefs to scholarly households, sheltered women, and children, no one could escap 13.8kReads9.6Score1.9k14d adds
- 37 The Miaojiang Gu Chronicles 苗疆蛊事 The calamity of witchcraft and poison is spoken of only by people in the countryside. Many people who are unknowingly caught up in it have no idea it exists. Friends, do you really think there are no extraordinary people in this vast land of China? You do? No! No! No! Do you want me to tell you that I’m a poison-raising practitioner from the Miao borderlands? All right, come on in and let’s dish… 13.8kReads9.3Score2k14d adds
- 38 My Years as a Buddhist Nun 我当师太的那些年 I was born a girl with a Pure Yang fate into a family of feng shui masters. For generations, my family had practiced feng shui in the countryside. My grandfather had hoped his eldest grandchild would be a boy, so he could pass down his skills to the eldest son and grandson. But I turned out to be a girl. Grandfather never took a liking to me, so my parents could only take me to live in the city. No one expected that, during the Ghost Festival in the year I turned twenty-five, Grandfather would s 425Reads8.7Score—14d adds
- 39 Tales of Folk Taboos 民间禁忌杂谈 A pig butcher never slaughters a pig with five toes. The village guardian never guards a village with a temple. A feng shui master never selects a lair of an evil dragon. A midwife must wash her hands in rooster’s blood. There are three hundred and sixty trades in the world, and every one has its rules. Are these ancient, mysterious rules really nothing more than empty formalities? If I told you that some rules must never be broken, because breaking them means death, would you believe me? 9kReads8.0Score1.2k14d adds
- 40 On the Second Day of the Second Month, I Marry the Dragon King 二月初二，嫁龙王 Ever since I turned eighteen, I’ve had shameful erotic dreams every night. In them, I spend day and night entwined with a man dressed in black, with dark hair. My grandmother, the last shaman in the village, said I was the reincarnation of a deer spirit. In my previous life, I sealed an evil river dragon with a virgin’s blood; in this life, I was destined to live alone, and must never break my vow of chastity! On the second day of the second lunar month that year, as the dragon raised its head, 8.2kReads9.2Score1.1k14d adds
- 41 The Records of Qingxu’s Exorcisms 清虚伏魔录 A traditional Taoist novel based on real events. This is not a power fantasy. The first forty-seven chapters lay the groundwork for the grand story to come, so please read them patiently. Nine to five, I’m an office worker tapping away at a keyboard in a high-end office tower, walking through the city’s central business district in a shirt and leather shoes, using office software to bustle between reports and proposals. At dusk, I’m a Qingwei Taoist of the San Tian Gate, carrying ritual implem 7.2kReads9.5Score1.1k14d adds
- 42 The Master of Ma Yi Divination 麻衣相师 My great-uncle had all kinds of abilities. One day, he told me he’d buried a treasure for me in a feng shui paradise… 28kReads9.0Score3.3k14d adds
- 43 The Corpse Collection Files 收尸档案 Since ancient times, the dead have been left with their bodies. But few people know that corpses hold many secrets that remain hidden from the world. Cursed corpses, living corpses, bodies left where they fell, vengeful corpses, bisected corpses... Every corpse has a story of its own! My name is He Yongheng, and I collect bodies for a funeral home. 3.8kReads9.0Score36714d adds
- 44 My Twenty Years as a Spirit Medium 我出马的二十年 He cultivated his character deep in the mountains, then left his secluded cave to make a name for himself across the land. Over twenty years, he broke through countless barriers and witnessed countless things. This is the true story of those twenty years, meant both to introduce this industry to those unfamiliar with it and to share experience with fellow professionals. 9kReads9.4Score51914d adds
- 45 Grandpa, I Was Reborn, I Swear I'm Not Possessed 爷爷，我是重生，真不是鬼上身 [Traditional Mystery and Supernatural Fiction] [One Female Lead] [Period Novel] [A Funeral Master’s True Accounts] [Northeastern Chinese Funeral Customs] [Rural Life] Adapted into the short drama Eighties Funeral Master (Disclaimer: The folk techniques in this book, including Zhuyou healing rituals, are entirely fictional. Please do not imitate them. The author bears no responsibility for any problems that may arise.) Good grief, I’ve been reborn in 1986, and from the start Grandpa thinks I’m a 58.1kReads9.3Score4.8k14d adds
- 46 The Last Paper Effigy Maker 最后一个扎纸人 The art of paper effigies can bridge the worlds of yin and yang, perform rites for the dead, and summon the King of Hell. Cut yellow paper, weave bamboo strips: paper horses travel a thousand miles, and paper figures summon spirits. With one stroke to paint their eyes, the King of Hell appears, striking terror into all directions and sending ten thousand ghosts into hiding! By the time the art of paper effigies reaches Chen Mo, he is its last practitioner. He assumes this ancient, mysterious cra 16.7kReads8.5Score1.7k14d adds
- 47 Tales of a Spirit Medium 出马仙往事 “First, invite Hu; second, invite Huang. Third, invite Mang; fourth, invite Chang. Offer incense in the hall, and let all the immortals come forth.” With an entirely yin birth chart, I suddenly became the village's most despised madman when I was eight years old. Ten years later, I recovered from my madness and took charge of the Hu family's altar, one of the five great immortal clans of Northeast China. From then on, the Five Evils and Three Deficiencies followed me everywhere. I thought I had 32.4kReads9.5Score3.4k14d adds
- 48 I Solve Cases at the Special Investigations Bureau by Day and Serve in the Underworld by Night 我白天特案局办案，晚上地府当差 I was born with a pure Yang constitution and the fate of Zhong Kui. I can drive out demons, subdue ghosts, and repel evil spirits. The moment I was born, all kinds of factions fought to take me as their disciple. A bunch of monks and Taoist priests said I was destined to become a Celestial Master or a great monk. They even got into a brawl over me, and that’s not all: in the end, both the state and the underworld got involved! When I was one, the state even assigned me a corpse-born child who ha 21.3kReads8.7Score2.1k14d adds
- 49 Bureau 747: Special Affairs Division Nine 747局之特殊事物处理九科 Do you really know the colleagues around you? What about your classmates and family? The person you've lived with for years, the one you know best, might not even be human! In this world, humans and demons coexist. Demons can live among you in all sorts of ways. “They” might be the man selling jianbing on the street, or they might be your boss! If a top special forces soldier hadn't awakened his family's bloodline in a panic while carrying out a highly classified special mission, and then joined 728Reads7.1Score—14d adds
- 50 Strange Tales from Western Henan 豫西诡事 You may think I’m telling a story, but these are things I’ve experienced firsthand over the past ten-odd years. You don’t have to believe me, but are you sure everyone you’ve met was human? Science can’t explain everything… 28.9kReads8.4Score3.6k14d adds
