Read classic Chinese books free, in Simplified characters

C1 books (3)

• 朝花夕拾（八篇）, Lu Xun 鲁迅 (1928), 10 chapters, about 30,024 characters, with an audiobook: Eight of the ten memoirs of Lu Xun's childhood and youth (this edition lacks “From Hundred-Grass Garden to Three-Flavour Study” and “Father’s Illness”): his nurse Ah Chang, the old village festivals, his Japanese teacher Mr Fujino. His most approachable prose. Read it
• 呐喊, Lu Xun 鲁迅 (1923), 23 chapters, about 59,202 characters, with an audiobook: Lu Xun's first collection of stories, which began modern Chinese fiction: A Madman's Diary, Kong Yiji, My Old Home and The True Story of Ah Q. Read it
• 彷徨（八篇）, Lu Xun 鲁迅 (1926), 8 chapters, about 47,558 characters, with an audiobook: Eight of the eleven stories of Lu Xun's second collection, including The New Year's Sacrifice, In the Wine Shop and Regret for the Past (the edition lacks the other three). Read it

C2 books (6)

• 老残游记, Liu E 刘鹗 (1903–1907), 20 chapters, about 91,171 characters, with an audiobook: A wandering doctor travels through Shandong at the end of the Qing dynasty, listening to storytellers and exposing cruel 'honest' officials. Vernacular prose in 20 chapters. Read it
• 论语, Confucius 孔子 (5th c. BC), 20 chapters, about 15,909 characters, with an audiobook: The sayings of Confucius, collected by his disciples in twenty books of short numbered passages. Classical Chinese. Read it
• 道德经, Laozi 老子 (4th c. BC), 81 chapters, about 5,299 characters: The 81 short chapters of the Daoist classic: the way that can be spoken of is not the constant way. Classical Chinese. Read it
• 孙子兵法, Sunzi 孙子 (5th c. BC), 13 chapters, about 6,048 characters, with an audiobook: The Art of War in its thirteen chapters: planning, deception, terrain and spies. Terse classical Chinese. Read it
• 三字经, Wang Yinglin 王应麟 (attributed) (13th c.), 1 chapter, about 1,122 characters, with an audiobook: The old children's primer in lines of three characters: learning, the classics and Chinese history to the Republic. Short and rhythmic. Read it
• 弟子规, Li Yuxiu 李毓秀 (c. 1700), 8 chapters, about 1,080 characters, with an audiobook: Rules for children in lines of three characters: duty to parents and elders, care, honesty, kindness and study. Read it

Where can I read Chinese books online for free?

SparkAI has 9 free public-domain Chinese books in a reader built for learners. Tap a word from the course for its meaning, save it as a flashcard, and keep track of the words you know. The texts are in the public domain, so they're free to read.

Are they in Simplified characters?

Yes. The editions were converted from Traditional to Simplified characters with mainland punctuation.

What level do I need?

These are real books written for native readers, so they start at about C1. The classical texts (论语, 道德经, 孙子兵法, 三字经, 弟子规) are in literary Chinese, not modern Mandarin. Below C1, start with the graded stories.

Can I listen to them too?

8 of the 9 books have a free LibriVox audiobook, matched chapter by chapter, so you can listen while you read.