"His tales roar like wild monks’ chants — more surreal than the absurd, yet shimmering with the Queen Mother of the West’s mystic allure."
—Jiang Nan (China’s bestselling author; repeat #1 on Rich Chinese Writers List)

"A defining voice of Chinese fantasy literature."
—Ann & Jeff VanderMeer (Editors of "The Big Book of Modern Fantasy"; Hugo Award, World Fantasy Award & British Fantasy Awards winners)

★ ​​China’s renowned fantasy author​​, ​​leading figure in speculative fiction​​, and ​​pioneer of long-form wuxia fantasy​​
★ ​​Dubbed the "China's 'Kafka'"​​ – His works appear in The Big Book of Modern Fantasy (World Fantasy Award-winning anthology), alongside ​​Gabriel García Márquez​​ and ​​Haruki Murakami​​
★ ​​Praised by authors Ma Boyong & Jiang Nan​​, and recognized by Hugo/WFA/BFA-winning editors Ann & Jeff VanderMeer​​ as "a defining voice in Chinese fantasy"
★ ​​Blending wuxia and fantasy​​, bridging ​​Chinese mythology and modern storytelling​

​​Featured Works (10 volumes):​​
Spring in Dongke Monastery (Selected for The Big Book of Modern Fantasy)
Songs of the Four Seasons (Qitongren’s only self-curated fantasy anthology)
Novo Land: Dragon Assassin (A key Jiuzhou universe novel)
Aranya in Clouds (Short story, original novel behind the "Aranya in Clouds" comic by Zhang Xiaoyu, winner of the "Golden Elephant Award" at France's Chambéry International Comics Festival)
The Frog’s Ballad (Short story, original novel behind the ​​Chambéry Comics Festival "Golden Elephant Award"​​-winning adaptation)
The Dreamweaver King (Douban 9.2, multi-time "Fantasy Novel of the Year")
Annals of the Flowing Maple (A wuxia-fantasy masterpiece with Tang-Song dynasty style)
Serenity: The Highest Joy of Life (A biographical fantasy decoding Eastern spirituality)
The Leviathan and the Insect (Explores Chinese mythology and intellectual history)
Biographies of Eight Sages (An epic of mortal transcendence)

This full-length fantasy novel by Qitongren — China’s most literary fantasist — unfolds in the aftermath of the Dark Moon Era. For centuries, the continent of Novoland has endured the Great Tide Age, where the merfolk now reign supreme under the dominion of the last True Dragon, founding the radiant Xi Dynasty with the Dragon as its eternal sovereign. Yet the powerful creature is born with cruelty in heart. To protect his kin, Zhili Tu, patriarch of the Zhili Sect, embarks on a perilous quest to uncover a way to slay the undying beast.
Meticulously crafted within the Novoland universe, the story unfolds in two arcs: Part I traces the history of Zhili Sect — its founding and the legacies of its past patriarchs; Part II follows Zhili Tu’s flight from tyranny, his capture, brutal castration, and ultimate dragon-slaying reckoning. Accessible to both hardcore fans of the Novoland series and newcomers, the novel delivers a gripping narrative enhanced by stunning black-and-white illustrations, including maps of the Xi Empire that immerse readers in its richly textured world.

Qitongren (b. 1972), pen name inspired by Kafka’s "The Bucket Rider", is a celebrated Chinese short-story writer and fantasist, regarded as one of contemporary China’s most literary fantasy creators.
He began writing while studying Chinese literature at Guangxi Normal University and gained prominence after publishing online in 2000. Former editor of "Fly Fantasy World" and executive editor of "Novo land Fantasy", he founded the e-magazine "Nine Songs" and edited "The Anthology of Chinese Fantasy".
Renowned for his visionary imagination and philosophical depth, he is a two-time "Douban Outstanding Author" and a defining figure in Chinese fantasy. His story "Spring in Dongke Monastery" was anthologized alongside works by Gabriel García Márquez, Angela Carter, George R.R. Martin, Stephen King, and Haruki Murakami in "The Big Book of Modern Fantasy" (World Fantasy Award-winning anthology).
His stark prose has earned him the moniker "China's 'Kafka'"