889 word total vocabulary, 299 pages.  Contains "Rise of the Monkey King", "Trouble in Heaven" and "The Immortal Peaches". 

958 word total vocabulary, 367 pages. Contains "The Young Monk", "The Emperor in Hell" and "The Journey Begins". 

940 word total vocabulary, 475 pages. Contains "The Monster of Black Wind Mountain", "The Hungry Pig" and "The Three Beautiful Daughters". 

1,036 word total vocabulary, 481 pages. Contains "The Magic Ginseng Tree", "The Monster's Secret" and "The Five Treasures".

1,235 word total vocabulary, 491 pages. Contains "The Ghost King", "The Cave of Fire" and "The Daoist Immortals".

1,340 word total vocabulary, 441 pages. Contains "The Great Demon King", "The Thieves" and "The Country of Women".

1,358 word total vocabulary, 455 pages. Contains "The Angry Monkey", "The Burning Mountain" and "The Rain of Blood". 

1,357 word total vocabulary, 423 pages. Contains "The False Buddha", "The Monkey Doctor" and "The Demons of Spiderweb Mountain". 

1,344 word total vocabulary, 441 pages. Contains "Great Peng and His Brothers", "The Thousand Children" and "The Monk and the Mouse".

1,200 word total vocabulary, 331 pages. Contains "The Dharma Destroying Kingdom" and "The Nine Headed Lion". 

1,425 word total vocabulary, 455 pages. Contains "The Lazy Monk" and "The Last Trial". 

507 word vocabulary, 119 pages. Simplified or Traditional Chinese, plus pinyin and English. The legendary story of how a little stone monkey was born, became king of his troop of monkeys, left his home to pursue enlightenment, received the name Sun Wukong (literally, “ape seeking the void”) from his teacher, and returned home to defend his subjects from a ravenous monster. 

431 word vocabulary, 105 pages.  Simplified or Traditional Chinese, plus pinyin and English. Things begin to unravel for Sun Wukong as he sees the consequences of his outrageous actions. While trying to defend his troop of monkeys, he manages to offend the underwater Dragon King, the Dragon Kong’s mother, all ten Kings of the Underworld, and the great Jade Emperor himself. Finally, goaded by a couple of troublemaking demons, he goes too far, calling himself the Great Sage Equal to Heaven and setting events in motion that cause him some serious trouble. 

524 word vocabulary, 119 pages. Simplified or Traditional Chinese, plus pinyin and English. Once again the Monkey King’s unlimited ambitions and uncontrolled appetites land him in deep trouble. He is given a job in heaven taking care of the Emperor’s Garden of Immortal Peaches, but he can’t stop himself from eating all the peaches. He impersonates a great Immortal and crashes a party in Heaven, stealing the guests’ food and drink and barely escaping to his loyal troop of monkeys back on Earth. And in the end, he battles an entire army of Immortals and men, and discovers that even calling himself the Great Sage Equal to Heaven does not make him equal to everyone in Heaven.

517 word vocabulary, 119 pages. Simplified or Traditional Chinese, plus pinyin and English.  In this book we tell the story of the monk Xuanzang’s birth and early years. Our story begins with the Buddha’s decision to bring his wisdom to China. Then we meet Xuanzang’s father and mother and learn about their terrible ordeals around the time of his birth. Finally we jump ahead to when Xuanzang turns eighteen, learns of his true parentage, and avenges his parents. 

588 word vocabulary, 133 pages. Simplified or Traditional Chinese, plus pinyin and English. This story starts innocently enough, with two good friends chatting as they walk home after eating and drinking at a local inn. One of the men, a fisherman, tells his friend about a fortune-teller who advises him on where to find fish. This seemingly harmless conversation between two minor characters triggers a series of events that eventually cost the life of a supposedly immortal being, and cause the great Tang Emperor himself to be dragged down to the underworld, where he must convince them that he is innocent of wrongdoing. They release him but he is still trapped in hell, and must escape with the help of a deceased courtier.

559 word vocabulary 169 pages. Simplified or Traditional Chinese, plus pinyin and English. The young monk Xuanzang sets out on his westward journey. His journey is difficult and filled with dangers. He runs into trouble immediately when he is captured and nearly killed by the Monster King and his ogres. He escapes with the help of a mysterious old man, only to be attacked on the road later by tigers, snakes and more monsters. Eventually he meets the Monkey King, Sun Wukong. Together they face bandits and wild animals, and Sun Wukong must make a difficult decision. 

572 word vocabulary, 183 pages. Simplified or Traditional Chinese, plus pinyin and English. The monk Tangseng and his disciple, the short-tempered Monkey King Sun Wukong, begin their multi-year journey to retrieve Buddhist scriptures from Thunderclap Mountain in India. They first encounter a mysterious river-dwelling dragon, then run into serious trouble while staying in the temple of a 270 year old abbot. Their troubles deepen when they meet the abbot’s friend, a terrifying black bear monster. 

699 word vocabulary, 187 pages. Simplified or Traditional Chinese, plus pinyin and English. The pig-man Zhu Bajie becomes Tangseng’s second disciple. In his previous life, Zhu was the Marshal of the Heavenly Reeds, responsible for the Jade Emperor’s entire navy and 80,000 sailors. But unable to control his appetites, he got drunk at a festival and attempted to seduce the Goddess of the Moon. The Jade Emperor banished him to earth, but as he plunged from heaven to earth he ended up in the womb of a sow and was reborn as a man-eating pig monster. He marries a farmer’s daughter, fights with Sun Wukong, and ends up joining Tangseng and Sun Wukong in their journey to the Western Heaven. 

641 word vocabulary, 173 pages. Simplified or Traditional Chinese, plus pinyin and English. The river-dwelling monster Sha Wujing was once the Curtain Raising Captain, but was banished from heaven by the Yellow Emperor for breaking an extremely valuable cup during a drunken visit to the Peach Festival. Later, the band of pilgrims arrive at a beautiful home seeking a simple vegetarian meal and a place to stay for the night. What they encounter instead is a lovely and wealthy widow and her three even more lovely daughters. This meeting is, of course, much more than it appears to be, and it turns into a test of commitment and virtue for all of the pilgrims, especially for the lazy and lustful Zhu Bajie. 

629 word vocabulary, 169 pages. Simplified or Traditional Chinese, plus pinyin and English. Tangseng and his disciples have been traveling for two or three years. They arrive at a secluded mountain monastery which turns out to be the home of a powerful master named Zhenyuan and an ancient and magical ginseng tree. As usual, the travelers’ search for a nice hot meal and a place to sleep quickly turns into a disaster. Although Zhenyuan has gone away for a few days, he has left his two youngest disciples in charge. They welcome the travelers, but soon there are misunderstandings, arguments, battles in the sky, and before long the travelers are facing a powerful and extremely angry adversary, as well as mysterious magic fruits and a large frying pan full of hot oil. 

680 word vocabulary 169 pages. Simplified or Traditional Chinese, plus pinyin and English. The Buddhist monk Tangseng and his ragtag band of disciples come upon a strange pagoda in a mountain forest. Inside they discover the fearsome Yellow Robed Monster, living a quiet life with his wife and their two children. Unfortunately the monster has a bad habit of ambushing and eating travelers. The ancient and powerful monkey king Sun Wukong, the monk Tangseng and his other disciples find themselves drawn into a story of timeless love and complex lies, as they battle for survival against the monster and his allies. 

684 word vocabulary, 185 pages. Simplified or Traditional Chinese, plus pinyin and English. The travelers arrive at Level Top Mountain and encounters their most powerful adversaries yet: Great King Golden Horn and his younger brother Great King Silver Horn. These two monsters, assisted by their elderly mother and hundreds of well-armed demons, attempt to capture and liquefy Sun Wukong, and eat the Tang monk and his other disciples. Led by Sun Wukong, the travelers desperately battle their foes through a combination of trickery, deception and magic, and barely survive the encounter. 

691 word vocabulary, 185 pages. Simplified or Traditional Chinese, plus pinyin and English. The monk Tangseng arrives with his disciples at a mountain monastery, and he is visited in a dream by someone claiming to be the ghost of a murdered king. The ghost claims that the king sitting on the throne is really an evil demon. Is he telling the truth or is he actually a demon in disguise? Tangseng’s chief disciple, the monkey king Sun Wukong, offers to go to the king’s palace and sort things out with his iron rod. But things do not go as planned. 

776 word vocabulary, 181 pages. While traveling the Silk Road, Tangseng and his three disciples encounter a young boy hanging upside down from a tree. They rescue him only to discover that he is really Red Boy, a powerful and malevolent demon and, it turns out, Sun Wukong's nephew. Ignoring this family relationship, the demon kidnaps Tangseng and plans to eat him. The three disciples battle the demon but soon discover that he can produce deadly fire and smoke which nearly kills Sun Wukong. The two remaining disciples struggle to save Sun Wukong and Tangseng, enlisting the aid of several supernatural beings including Guanyin, the Goddess of Mercy. At the end, they learn Red Boy's true nature. Save 20% off regular price.

827 word vocabulary, 181 pages. Simplified or Traditional Chinese, plus pinyin and English. Tangseng and his three disciples have traveled to the wild country west of China. They arrive at a strange city where Daoism is revered and Buddhism is forbidden. The few remaining Buddhist monks are enslaved, but every night they receive a dream message that the Great Sage Equal to Heaven will come to save them. This of course is the Monkey King Sun Wukong, the eldest disciple. Sun Wukong gleefully causes trouble in the city, and finds himself in a series of deadly competitions with three Daoist Immortals. 

861 word vocabulary 163 pages. Simplified or Traditional Chinese, plus pinyin and English. The Monkey King Sun Wukong leads the Tang monk and his two fellow disciples westward until their path is blocked by a river eight hundred miles wide.  On the riverbank is a village where the people live in fear of the Great Demon King, who demands two human sacrifices each year.  Sun Wukong and the pig-man Zhu Bajie come up with a clever plan to trick the Demon King and save the people of the village, but they soon discover that the Demon King has clever plans of his own. 

801 word vocabulary, 163 pages. Simplified or Traditional Chinese, plus pinyin and English. Sun Wukong steals rice from an elderly villager’s kitchen, then Zhu Bajie takes three silk vests from a seemingly abandoned tower. These small crimes trigger a violent confrontation with a monster who uses a strange and powerful weapon to disarm and defeat the disciples. Helpless and out of options, Sun Wukong must journey to Thunderclap Mountain and beg the Buddha himself for help. 

821 word vocabulary 177 pages.  Simplified or Traditional Chinese, plus pinyin and English. The four travelers run into temptations in a nation of women and girls. First, Tangseng and his disciple Zhu become pregnant after drinking from the Mother and Child River. Later, the nation's queen meets Tangseng and pressures him to marry her. He barely escapes, only to be kidnapped by a powerful female demon who takes him to her cave and tries to seduce him. The travelers must use all their tricks and strength to escape.

749 word vocabulary, 177 pages. Simplified or Traditional Chinese, plus pinyin and English. The monk Tangseng has harsh words for his eldest disciple, the monkey king Sun Wukong. His pride hurt, Sun Wukong complains to the Bodhisattva Guanyin and asks to be released from his service to the monk. She refuses his request. This leads to a case of mistaken identity and an earthshaking battle that begins in the sky over the monkey's home on Flower Fruit Mountain, moves through the palaces of heaven and the depths of the underworld, and ends in front of the Buddha himself. 

833 word vocabulary, 173 pages. Simplified or Traditional Chinese, plus pinyin and English. As Tangseng and his disciples travel west, they find their path blocked by a huge blazing mountain eight hundred miles wide. Tangseng refuses to go around it, so his senior disciple, the monkey king Sun Wukong, must discover why the mountain is on fire and how they can cross it. He soon learns that he himself ignited it five centuries earlier. But finding out how to extinguish the blaze is a far more difficult and dangerous task.

897 word vocabulary, 181 pages. Simplified or Traditional Chinese, plus pinyin and English. An evil rain of blood covers a city and defiles a beautiful Buddhist monastery. Three years later Tangseng and his disciples arrive at the city and discover two fish-demons drinking wine and gambling in the top floor of the monastery’s pagoda. This leads to an epic underwater confrontation with their boss, a powerful dragon king. 

821 word vocabulary, 161 pages. Simplified or Traditional Chinese, plus pinyin and English. Tangseng sees a sign, “Small Thunderclap Monastery,” and foolishly thinks they have reached their goal. Sun Wukong sees through the illusion, but the false Buddha in the monastery traps him between two gold cymbals and plans to kill and eat his companions. Escaping that, the travelers find their path blocked by a giant snake and a huge pile of slimy and foul-smelling rotting fruit.

916 word vocabulary, 189 pages. Simplified or Traditional Chinese, plus pinyin and English. As the travelers continue their westward journey, they meet the king of Scarlet Purple Kingdom who is gravely ill, sick with grief over the loss of one of his wives who was abducted by a nearby demon king. Sun Wukong pretends to be a doctor and attempts to cure the king with a treatment not found in any medical textbook. Then he tries to rescue the imprisoned queen, leading to an earth-shaking confrontation with the demon king. 

797 word vocabulary, 139 pages. Simplified or Traditional Chinese, plus pinyin and English. The Buddhist monk Tangseng goes alone to beg some food at the home of some beautiful and seemingly gentle young women. He soon finds out that they are far from gentle. Trapped in their web, he waits to be cooked and eaten while his three disciples attempt to rescue him by confronting the spider demons, a horde of biting insects, and a mysterious Daoist alchemist. 

891 word vocabulary, 185 pages. Simplified or Traditional Chinese, plus pinyin and English. The travelers arrive at a tall mountain. An old man warns them that it’s infested with thousands of man-eating demons. Soon they meet the three demon leaders: a blue-haired lion, an old yellow-tusked elephant, and a huge terrifying bird called Great Peng. The three disciples fail to defeat the three demons. Finally, Sun Wukong goes to Spirit Mountain to beg help from the Buddha himself.

839 word vocabulary, 141 pages. Simplified or Traditional Chinese, plus pinyin and English. Tangseng and his disciples arrive at  “Boytown” where a thousand little boys have been locked in cages in front of their homes. Sun Wukong arranges to get them safely out of the city. Then he and the others unravel a plot devised by two demons who, disguised as a Daoist master and his lovely daughter, have beguiled the king.  They must defeat the demon, release the king from his spell, and save the children. 

904 word vocabulary, 183 pages. Simplified or Traditional Chinese, plus pinyin and English. In a dark forest Tangseng finds a beautiful young woman tied to a tree and half-buried in the ground. The monk frees her, not realizing she is a deadly mouse demon. Later they arrive at a nearby monastery where she devours some monks and tries to force Tangseng to marry her. Sun Wukong learns the truth about her, lodges a complaint with the great Jade Emperor in heaven, and battles the mouse demon to save his master. 

912 word vocabulary, 173 pages. Simplified or Traditional Chinese, plus pinyin and English. Ignoring a warning from the Bodhisattva Guanyin, Tangseng and his disciples enter a city whose king has vowed to kill 10,000 Buddhist monks and has already finished off 9,996. The travelers must avoid being killed and show the king the error of his ways. Later, the disciples fight a great battle with demons who use the “Dividing the Petals of the Plum Flower” trick to confuse the disciples and kidnap Tangseng. 

919 word vocabulary, 193 pages. Simplified or Traditional Chinese, plus pinyin and English. The travelers discover a kingdom where it hasn’t rained for three years because the prefect has angered the King of Heaven. Sun Wukong brings rain and, of course, trouble. Later they meet a prince whose three sons want to learn how to use the disciples’ magic weapons. One night the magic weapons are stolen by a nearby lion demon and his grandfather, a nine-headed lion with vast powers. 

1065 word vocabulary, 229 pages. Simplified or Traditional Chinese, plus pinyin and English. Tangseng and his disciples arrive at a city just in time for the annual Lantern Festival, when three Buddhas come down from the sky and gather up large quantities of special lamp oil. Unfortunately these are not true Buddhas but monsters. They grab Tangseng and spirit him away to their cave. Later, the travelers visit a monastery where a strange girl is being held in a locked cell for her own protection. She claims to be the daughter of the King of India, but if so, who is the girl living in the king's palace?

1112 word vocabulary, 267 pages. Simplified or Traditional Chinese, plus pinyin and English. The travelers near the end of their epic journey, but their ordeals are not over. First, they are mistaken for murderers and thieves and must talk their way out of jail. When they finally arrive at the home of the Buddha, Tangseng must undergo one final trial. And it turns out that bringing the scriptures back is much more difficult than the pilgrims expected. 

527 pages. In English. The entire novel, based on The Investiture of the Gods, one of the most famous novels in classic Chinese literature. It is a gripping tale of powerful gods, scheming mortals and epic battles, but it also explores the dilemma faced by loyal government officials who must choose between their country and its corrupt leader.  

577 pages. In Chinese. The entire novel. Order the ebook here. Paperback is available from Amazon or BN.com. 

881 pages. In Chinese, pinyin and English.  The entire novel, Order eBook here. To order hardcover edition for $49.95, go to https://shop.ingramspark.com/b/084?params=2V8bOjRrsf78xsOWBeCWtqQEF7XPBSxl1HXWoLZhtFL

1200 word vocabulary, 353 pages. In Simplified Chinese, pinyin and English. Based on chapters 1 - 17. The foolish Shang king has gravely insulted a goddess. In revenge, she sends a thousand-year-old fox demon to extinguish the soul of the beautiful young Daji, inhabit her body, and seduce the king. Daji gains control of the king and his kingdom, leading the Shang Dynasty towards chaos and disaster. 

1300 word vocabulary, 425 pages. In Simplified Chinese, pinyin and English. Based on chapters 18- 34.  The Shang kingdom descends into chaos as Daji, the beautiful thousand year old fox spirit, bewitches the king. Opposing him, the brilliant strategist Jiang Ziya navigates political intrigue and divine machinations to protect the kingdom. 

1300 word vocabulary, 429 pages. In Simplified Chinese, pinyin and English. Based on chapters 35 - 50. In the waning days of the Shang dynasty in ancient China, an epic battle begins between forces loyal to the corrupt Shang king and the rebels of West Qi.  

1200 word vocabulary, 455 pages. In Simplified Chinese, pinyin and English. Based on chapters 51 - 67. The corrupt king of Shang continues his siege of West Qi City. His forces camp outside the city gates and send powerful generals and terrifying sorcerers into battle. Then the two sons of the king arrive, tricked by a devious magician into fighting on their evil father's side. 

1200 word vocabulary, 417 pages. In Simplified Chinese, pinyin and English. Based on chapters 68 - 84. Jiang Ziya unites the Zhou rebels and leads them in a series of epic battles as they struggle to overthrow the corrupt Shang dynasty. Facing formidable foes, powerful magic and deadly traps, they find themselves allied with legendary immortals like Laozi, the founder of Daoism. 

1300 word vocabulary, 435 pages. In Simplified Chinese, pinyin and English. Based on chapters 65 - 100. The fox demon Daji leads the King of Shang deeper into madness and depravity. Meanwhile, the Zhou army, led by Jiang Ziya, grows ever stronger as the nation's nobles join their cause. The Shang king still has powerful allies in heaven and earth, and both sides clash in fierce battles. 

500 word vocabulary.  In Simplified Chinese, plus pinyin and English. Born with miraculous powers and a fearless spirit, young Nezha is destined for greatness, but his path is far from easy.  From his legendary battle with the Dragon King to his rebirth through a lotus flower, Nezha’s journey is one of resilience, justice, and transformation. 

770 word vocabulary.  In Simplified Chinese, plus pinyin and English. Chang’e, daughter of a powerful sky god, makes a foolish mistake and is exiled from the heavenly world. She drinks a magic elixir and finds herself trapped alone on the moon, with only the Jade Rabbit for companionship. She builds a palace and faces countless challenges, including a drunken naval officer and a wily demon.

700 word vocabulary.  In Simplified Chinese, plus pinyin and English. When the skies break and floodwaters cover the land, one man rises to meet the challenge. This is the inspiring story of Yu, who dedicates his life to taming the great floods, not by fighting nature, but by listening to it. Yu transforms disaster into harmony, laying the foundation for China's first dynasty.

580 word vocabulary.  In Simplified Chinese, plus pinyin and English. Long ago, the world was beautiful but empty. Then came Nüwa, a goddess with a kind heart and a dream: to fill the earth with life. She creates the first people from yellow clay, teaches them to live, and watches them build a joyful world. But when disaster shatters the sky and tears apart the land, Nüwa faces a far greater task: to repair the heavens before all life is destroyed.

760 word vocabulary.  In Simplified Chinese, plus pinyin and English. Before he became the legendary author of The Art of War, Sun Tzu  was a quiet boy named Sun Wu, with sharp eyes and deep questions. Born into a noble family in ancient Qi, he walked away from comfort and into the mountains, where he began crafting a philosophy that would shape history.

640 word vocabulary.  In Simplified Chinese, plus pinyin and English. Long ago in ancient China, ten blazing suns scorched the land, dried up rivers, and burned crops to ash. The people suffered, unable to survive under the relentless heat. A heroic archer, Hou Yi, known for his unmatched skill and steady heart, stepped forward and began a mission that would save the world, but at a great cost.

950 word vocabulary.  In Simplified Chinese, plus pinyin and English. This biography introduces readers to the life and ideas of Confucius (Kongzi), one of the most influential thinkers in Chinese history. Born during a time of political conflict and social instability, Confucius developed a philosophy centered on ethics, learning, family, and responsible leadership. Although he faced challenges in his own lifetime and struggled to find official support for his reforms, his teachings were preserved by his students and have shaped generations of Chinese society.

In English, with Chinese and pinyin. The Dao De Jing (also called the Tao Te Ching) was written more than 2,500 years ago and is considered one of the most important books in world literature. Coming in at only 5,000 Chinese characters, its timeless wisdom has inspired millions of people around the world and serves as one of the cornerstones of the Taoist religion.

In English, with Chinese and pinyin. This is the most disruptive and revolutionary book ever written about human conflict. Written in the fifth century BC during the Warring States period of ancient China and attributed to the legendary Master Sun (Sunzi), the book turned traditional thinking about warfare on its head. It advocates a radical new way of viewing warfare, replacing the traditional view of war as a form of ritualized sacrifice with a purely practical and modern view. 

In English, with Chinese and pinyin. Welcome to 三字经, San Zi Jing, known in English as the Three Character Classic. Written by Wang Yinglin during the Song Dynasty in the 13th century, modified many times since then, and memorized by generations of Chinese students, it’s a box of treasures, a puzzle within a puzzle, with layers of meaning waiting you to discover.

101 word vocabulary. In Simplified or Traditional Chinese, plus pinyin and English. A young boy shares a little house in Beijing with 23 cats. His friend comes to visit, but the two of them can’t sit down, can’t study, and can’t even eat dinner together because of all the cats. What to do? The answer, which involves a very large dog, will surprise and delight you.

240 word vocabulary.  In Simplified or Traditional Chinese, plus pinyin and English. The story of Mulan, the young girl who joins the army to save her family and her country, is at least 1500 years old. Over the centuries, it has inspired dozens of poems, plays, novels, songs, and more recently, graphic novels, TV shows and films. This wonderful little book consists of just 30 six-line verses, and lets beginning students enjoy a great story while also learning to read Simplified Chinese. 

260 word vocabulary.  In Simplified Chinese, plus pinyin and English. Two curious creatures set off on a perilous journey to reunite a little bird with his mother. Along the way, the two new friends cross paths with animals of many shapes and sizes. Some of these animals are helpful. Others are hungry! This wonderful little story for beginning Chinese students is written with a vocabulary of just 260 Chinese words. 

330 word vocabulary.  In Simplified Chinese, plus pinyin and English. A wonderful book for English-speaking children who are learning to read Chinese. It tells the story of Amy, a young girl who travels with her cat to Dragon Island, meeting three magical dragons and helping them solve a problem. The story is told in pictures, with accompanying text. There is a complete glossary in the back of the book.

450 word vocabulary.  In Simplified Chinese, plus pinyin and English. The story of Cinderella is possibly the world’s most popular folk tale. The earliest known version is from Greece around two thousand years ago, and over the next thousand years, it traveled to France, Italy and Germany, and eventually to the Walt Disney studio in America. The story told in this book is the oldest known Asian version, first appearing in a book of folk tales by Duan Chengshi in 860 AD.

489 word vocabulary. In Simplified Chinese, plus pinyin and English. Niulang, a humble herding boy, and Zhinü, a celestial weaver girl, defy the boundaries between heaven and earth. Drawn together by fate, their love blossoms but their union angers the gods. As punishment, they are separated by the great sky river, destined to never see each other again. But their devotion moves the heart of the Jade Emperor, who allows them to reunite once a year on the seventh day of the seventh month, when a bridge of magpies brings them together.