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What if every bridge, hill and temple beside a lake holds a story of love, loyalty or enchantment?
Tales of the West Lake, credited to Mo Langzi, gathers legends rooted in Hangzhou in eastern China. Its three main strands—romance, heroism and enchantment—bring together lovers parted by duty, loyal servants of the state and spirits who take human shape. The landscape gives these different lives a shared home.
West Lake is more than a backdrop. Its shores belong to a Chinese tradition that ties stories to beloved places. Love meets the demands of family and rank; honest service can carry a great cost. Alongside these human struggles, spirits and immortals blur the boundary between the everyday world and the supernatural.
What you’ll discover
- A landscape full of stories Explore lakes, bridges, hills and temples that matter as much as the people in these tales.
- Love against the boundaries Meet lovers whose bonds face duty, family, rank and even the laws of the spirit world.
- The cost of loyalty Discover a vision of heroism rooted in honest service, even when it demands great sacrifice.
- Spirits in human shape Enter folklore where spirits, immortals and creatures can take human form and walk among people.
- A place to linger See why West Lake draws poets, painters and travellers, and how legends deepen its appeal.
Who will love it
You will enjoy this book if you love legends tied to real places, poems woven into stories, clever officials, lively courtesans, laughing monks and ghost tales, or plan to walk around West Lake.
What’s inside
The key ideas, in the 15-minute summary
- Learning serves more than ambition
- Spiritual powers serve nearby lives
- Public care shapes the lake
- Mercy gives wit a purpose
- Freedom matters more than wealth
- Loyalty takes courage and judgment
- Wisdom can wear a comic face
- Love crosses uncertain boundaries
- The shore holds different good lives
Who’s who
- Ge HongA poor scholar and alchemist who calms rebels by a bluff and seeks immortality on the ridge above West Lake.
- Bai JuyiA young poet who wins a strict critic's praise, then governs Hangzhou and builds the causeway that bears his name.
- Su DongpoA witty scholar and official who rules with humor, survives prison, and builds the causeway with six bridges.
- Lin BuA hermit of Solitary Hill who refuses office, tends three hundred sixty plum trees and keeps two tame cranes.
- Su XiaoxiaoA quick-witted courtesan of Qiantang who rides a scented carriage and insists on choosing her own life and friends.
- Yue FeiA gifted general who wants to recover the lost northern lands and wins battles by clever planning.
- Ji DianA drunken, joking monk of Jingci Temple who hides deep insight behind outrageous behavior and raises funds by wonders.
- Xu XuanA young medicine clerk who meets a woman in white on a rainy boat and is drawn into lawsuits and exile.
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Tales of the West Lake
by Mo Langzi · 1673
A poor scholar sells firewood for paper, then spits out rice that turns into stinging bees beside West Lake.
Medium level5–10 hours to read20 languages
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In short
Picture a poor young man who cuts firewood in the hills and spends the coins on paper and brushes so he can copy borrowed books. Years later he spits out a mouthful of rice, and it becomes a swarm of bees that stings a joking guest.
Tales of the West Lake at a glance
- Reading time
- About 8 h 45 min6 h 55 min fast, 10 h 25 min slow
- Length
- 124,600 words
- Library level
- Medium longer sentences, everyday words
- First published
- 1673by Mo Langzi
Reading time at 238 words a minute (fast 300, slow 200). How long the classics take to read · Updated
From the 15-minute summary · Key idea 1
Poverty and learning shape a scholar into an alchemist
Ge Hong descends from the immortal Ge Xuan, but his parents die early and his household is poor. He cuts firewood in the mountains, sells it, and buys paper and brushes to copy borrowed books. After more than ten years he is a true scholar.
When a visitor urges him to take office, he answers that he reads to understand principle, not to win fame. Then mountain bandits rise across the southeast, and the commander Gu Mi asks his advice. Ge Hong says the rebels are only hungry people crushed by taxes. He proposes a bluff. Proclamations announce an enormous army that does not exist, and an edict of pardon follows. The bandits lay down their weapons.
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Details
- First published
- 1673
- Language
- English
- Reading time
- 1 h 30 min
- Level
- Medium level
Cite this edition
Mo Langzi. Tales of the West Lake. Library of Alexandria, 2026, libraryofalexandria.com/products/tales-of-the-west-lake.
Mo Langzi. (2026). Tales of the West Lake. Library of Alexandria. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/tales-of-the-west-lake (Original work published 1673)
Mo Langzi. Tales of the West Lake. Library of Alexandria, 2026. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/tales-of-the-west-lake.
@book{molangzi2026tales,
author = {Mo Langzi},
title = {Tales of the West Lake},
publisher = {Library of Alexandria},
year = {2026},
url = {https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/tales-of-the-west-lake},
note = {First published 1673}
}
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What is Tales of the West Lake about?
It gathers sixteen legends set around West Lake in Hangzhou. The stories follow immortals, governors, poets, hermits, generals, courtesans, monks and lovers, and each explains how a place on the shore got its name or its fame.
Who is Ge Hong in Tales of the West Lake?
Ge Hong is the first hero, a poor scholar and alchemist of the Jin dynasty. He calms bandits with a clever bluff, finds a ridge near the lake, and practices wonders there. Ge Ridge is named after him.
Are the stories in Tales of the West Lake true?
They blend history and legend. Figures such as Bai Juyi, Su Dongpo, Yue Fei and Yu Qian are real officials who shaped the lake or served the state. Others, such as spirits and reborn monks, belong to folk tradition.
The author
Mo Langzi
Chinese writer
Mo Langzi is the name that stands on this collection, and little is firmly known about the person behind it. The book itself shows a storyteller who knows Hangzhou's hills, temples and bridges, who loves poetry and moral anecdotes, and who gathers legends from many centuries into sixteen volumes centered on the lake.
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