HSKNovels Editorial Team
Chinese graded reading editorial team
The HSKNovels editorial team designs and produces Chinese graded reading content for HSK 3-5 learners. The team combines native-level Chinese writing, HSK vocabulary alignment, and learner-experience design to create long-form stories that stay readable without losing the pleasure of a real plot. Every chapter is written against the HSK vocabulary system, reviewed for level accuracy, and produced with pinyin, English translation, and native audio.
Editorial Standards
- Chinese language and literature content production
- HSK 3.0 vocabulary alignment and level grading
- Second-language reading pedagogy (comprehensible input)
- Graded reader copyediting and learner feedback testing
Editorial & Review Policy
Every story is graded against the HSK 3.0 vocabulary system. Chapters are written in modern simplified Chinese, reviewed for vocabulary-level accuracy by level, and checked against the learner reading experience before publishing. Audio is recorded by native speakers. Translation and pinyin are treated as support, not replacements for reading.
Graded Novels by this Team
Qingmeizhuma 青梅竹马
HSK4-, HSK5- · 小说, 成长
Shanghai, 1990s. After growing up in distant Xinjiang, Qingqing returns to her grandmother's old neighborhood for the first time. In the narrow alleyways of a changing city, she discovers family, friendship, and a place she can finally call home. As the years pass, she grows alongside the people around her, witnessing the joys, losses, and transformations of everyday life. A warm coming-of-age story about belonging, memory, and the city that shapes us.
A Good Girl's Guide to Murder 青石镇疑案
HSK5- · 小说, 悬疑
In Qingshi Town, everyone thinks an old disappearance case is already solved. Lin Xiaoman does not agree. She begins to investigate the case again, hoping to understand what really happened to Bai Anning and whether Shen Ran was truly guilty. A suspense graded reader adapted for HSK5- Chinese learners.
Before the Coffee Gets Cold 在咖啡冷掉之前
HSK4-, HSK5- · 小说, 爱情
In a quiet underground cafe, Lin Qinghe wants to return to the day she broke up with Gu Yuanzhou. The cafe has a strange rule: she may go back to the past, but she cannot change the present. A gentle time-travel romance adapted for HSK4- and HSK5- Chinese learners.
I Start Living in Chinese: The New Classmate 我开始用中文生活：新来的同学
HSK4+ · 小说, 校园
Marco is a 17-year-old exchange student from Italy. After arriving at a Chinese high school, he quickly discovers that real-life Chinese is very different from textbook Chinese. Through the airport, dormitory, classroom, cafeteria, WeChat, and new classmates, he begins learning how to live in Chinese. A warm school-life graded reader for HSK4+ learners.
My Part-Time Job Diary in China 我的中国兼职工作日记
HSK4+ · 小说, 校园, 成长
Lukas is a 20-year-old international student from Germany. His living allowance covers his needs, but he wants to save enough to join his classmates on a summer study tour. When he sees a milk tea shop near campus hiring part-time staff, he jumps at the chance — only to discover that international students must complete formal procedures before they can legally work. From the school approval and the residence permit endorsement to his first shift, a busy weekend, an angry customer, and helping the shop owner's daughter prepare for Germany, Lukas learns to use Chinese not just to work, but to live. A warm, light-hearted graded novel for HSK4+ learners, and the second book in the "Living in Chinese" series.
Roommates in Apartment 302 合租公寓302
HSK5- · 小说, 都市, 喜剧
Mia is a 21-year-old international student from France who has had enough of dormitory life. She wants to experience real, everyday Chinese life — so she rents a room in Apartment 302, where three Chinese flatmates are already living by their own rules. There is Zhou Zhou, a graduate student who uses "I am writing my thesis" to dodge every chore while ordering takeout; Xiao Mei, a designer who treats the shared apartment like a management project with duty rosters and fridge zoning; and A Kai, a live-streamer who turns every moment of flat life into content and asks "can I stream this?" about everything. Mia brings her own stubborn streak too: she insists on French rituals — plating food, fork-and-knife for Chinese meals, la bise greetings, doing everything by procedure — and keeps trying even when it backfires. From the first meeting and the registration at the police station, to the kitchen, the duty roster, late-night noises, packages, water bills, falling sick, weekend dinners, and one roommate moving out, every chapter is a tiny comedy of clashes between four people with four ridiculous obsessions. A warm, light-hearted HSK5- graded novel about how strangers sharing a flat slowly become a family, and the third book in the "Living in Chinese" series.
Chinese Mythology: Creation 中国神话系列一：创世篇
HSK4+ · 神话, 文化
Read the beginning of the Chinese mythological world in simple, clear Chinese. This HSK4+ graded reader retells creation myths such as Pangu separating heaven and earth, Nuwa creating people, Nuwa repairing the sky, Fuxi drawing the trigrams, and Shennong tasting herbs. It is written for Chinese learners who want to understand classic Chinese mythology without classical Chinese or difficult literary language.
Chinese Wisdom Stories I: Staying Clear in a Changing World 中国智慧故事集一：在变化中保持清醒
HSK3, HSK4-, HSK4+, HSK5- · 文化, 中国智慧故事集一
《中国智慧故事集》系列第一册。通过塞翁失马、杯弓蛇影、三人成虎、赵简子放鸟等十篇故事，观察恐惧、偏见、侥幸、传言和否认怎样影响判断，又怎样让混乱逐渐扩大。面向 HSK 3-5 中文学习者。
Chinese Wisdom Stories II: Choice, Then Consequence 中国智慧故事集二：选择，然后承担
HSK4-, HSK4+, HSK5+ · 文化, 中国智慧故事集二
《中国智慧故事集》系列第二册。通过秦西巴放小鹿、曾子杀猪、郭伋守信、负荆请罪、苏武牧羊等八篇故事，观察人在每个选项都有代价时怎样取舍，又怎样在决定之后承担结果。每篇只有一个最简难度版本，全书难度按故事变化。面向 HSK 4-5 中文学习者。
Elm Spirit's Tears 榆神泪
HSK3, HSK4+, HSK5+ · 小说, 仙侠
When I was ten, my mother passed away. That night, I dreamed of her. She told me that she would transform into a great elm tree, quietly standing by my side, keeping me company for the rest of my life.
TreasureBowl 聚宝盆
HSK3, HSK4+, HSK5+ · 小说, 仙侠
Xia Ren was originally a lowly servant on the Immortal Mountain, fetching water and doing chores day after day. He had long believed that a path to immortality would never be his. Yet one day, by chance, he discovered an old broken basin at the bottom of a river.
Read long-form Chinese graded novels for HSK 3-5 learners.
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