"A novelist's flair shapes this extraordinary hagiography — chronicling the master's childhood, mother, marriages, romances, art, friendships, ordination, teachings, and parinirvana with unparalleled grace. Highly recommended."
—Reader Review

★A featured work by Qitongren — renowned Chinese fantasy author, pioneer of long-form wuxia fantasy, and a defining voice in China’s speculative fiction!
★Hailed as the "Chinese Kafka" in international fantasy circles, his works appear in "The Big Book of Modern Fantasy" (World Fantasy Award-winning anthology), alongside legends like Gabriel García Márquez and Haruki Murakami!
★Acclaimed by bestselling authors such as Ma Boyong and Jiang Nan, and praised by Hugo Award, World Fantasy Award, and British Fantasy Awards-winning editors Ann and Jeff VanderMeer as "a quintessential voice of Chinese fantasy literature."
★A fusion of wuxia and fantasy, bridging mythology and modernity through an Eastern literary lens.

This collection features 10 titles:
"Spring in Dongke Monastery" (Selected for The Big Book of Modern Fantasy, a "Global Top 100 Fantasy Works")
"The Dreamweaver" (Douban 9.2-rated, multi-time "Year’s Best Fantasy" pick)
"Chronicles of Liufeng River" (A wuxia fantasy masterpiece channeling Tang-Song dynasty elegance)
"The Leviathan and the Insect" (A mythic exploration of Chinese folklore and scholarly struggles)
"Biographies of Eight Sages" (An intimate chronicle of mortal transcendence)
"Songs of the Seasons" (Qitongren’s sole self-curated fantasy anthology)
"Novoland: Dragon’s Thorn" (A cornerstone of the Novoland fantasy universe)
"Serenity: The Highest Joy of Life" (A lyrical decoding of Eastern spiritual archetypes)
"Frog Song" (Original novel of Zhang Xiaoyu’s "Golden Elephant" Award-winning comic at France’s Chambéry International Comics Festival)
"The Floating Temple" (Source material for Zhang Xiaoyu’s latest award-winning comic "Cloud Temple")

"Serenity: The Highest Joy of Life" is a lyrical exploration of the multifaceted life of Li Shutong — renowned artist, Buddhist master "Venerable Hongyi", and cultural icon of modern China. Through an innovative dual narrative weaving love poetry with Zen meditations, this literary work traces his extraordinary journey from "youthful ambition" to "midlife brilliance and late-life enlightenment".
Though centered on Li Shutong's biography, the book transcends conventional form, unfolding as a poetic essay collection enriched with rare photographs of Hongyi, original portraits and calligraphy and handwritten maxims by the master himself. This multidimensional approach invites readers to contemplate life's profundities and Buddhist philosophy, while offering unprecedented access to the private world of a cultural giant. A must-read for history and literature enthusiasts, blending scholarly depth with collector's appeal.

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 "Novoland 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."