Being able to read historical novels with ease is one of the greatest and most inspiring goals for Chinese language learners, but it’s, without a doubt, extremely challenging.
In this post, I’m going to share 4 essential tips to help you tackle this difficult journey into Chinese historical novels right away!
But, before we jump into the tips, let’s first clarify the terms “historical novels”.
What are historical novels?
Before we dive into the guide, it’s important that we first clarify the type of content we’re discussing.
When we use the term “historical novels”, we mean modern works—written within the past ~50 years—where the story is set in a world inspired by different periods of historical China (up to the last dynasty, Qing).
These are not the same as classic literature written over a century or more ago.
All languages naturally evolve over time. The language used 50 years ago is already quite different from what we use today, let alone the language of 100, 500, or even 1,000 years ago.
Why are historical novels difficult for a Chinese learner?
Although historical novels are modern literature written in modern Chinese, they often blend classical language elements, older idioms, archaic vocabulary, formal grammar, and poetic expressions to give the writing a historical flavour, helping readers feel fully immersed in the time and setting.
Language is certainly one hurdle, but cultural and historical references pose an even greater challenge—far more difficult to grasp than the language itself. China has a long recorded history of over 2,000 years, with each dynasty and era having its own rules, customs and traditions.
Remember, these novels are inspired by historical China; they are not there to portray real history or faithfully represent traditions and customs, leading to a wide range of different references.
That said, it does not mean all historical novels are equally difficult. Novels with a casual, light-hearted, romantic or comical tone tend to lean towards the easier end of the difficulty scale.
Tips for overcoming the challenges of reading historical novels
Tip 1: Strengthen Your Modern Chinese Vocabulary
Remember what I said earlier about historical novels being written in modern Chinese with a touch of historical flavour? Well, this means that modern Chinese is the foundation and building block you need to step into historical novels.
With the extra complexity and language challenges that historical content adds to comprehension, delving into it without a solid grasp of modern Chinese vocabulary and grammar can be frustrating and lead to burnout. It’s important to avoid burnout at all costs; otherwise, you risk losing motivation and dropping the language altogether.
Instead, concentrate on improving your knowledge of modern Chinese by regularly engaging with content, particularly through reading.
At the same time, you want to develop and improve your listening skills, as consuming visual and audio content is also key to success. This leads us to the next piece of advice.
Tip 2: Explore Historical Visual Content
Since 2019, many Chinese media production companies, including iQiyi and Tencent, have been actively promoting their content to global audiences, with many shows made available on platforms such as Netflix, YouTube, Amazon Prime Video, and Viki. Alongside this, these companies have also launched their own international streaming services. With several years of consistent new content, there are now thousands of dramas, movies, variety shows and animations available across many platforms.
Most historical dramas are adapted from novels, making them the perfect medium for delving into this genre. Of course, an adaptation is likely to deviate from the original works, but much of the setting and story will remain.
Stories within a similar setting tend to share many of the same tropes, characteristics and subplots. For example, a highly political story with a usurper, a fantasy story with humans as medical experiments or a family story with problematic siblings or cousins. This leads to similar dialogues and vocabulary across stories with similar settings.
Predictability in plot points may not always be what you want when consuming content, but it’s a godsend for language learners.
Vocabulary and familiarity with the historical-flavoured grammar are not the only aspects you’ll learn. You will be exposed to visual presentations of common historical settings, including clothing, etiquette, scenery, and common scenes such as marriage ceremonies.
Most people are visual learners; you are likely one as well. Having seen visual presentations of written descriptions and scenes will make your life much easier.
I cannot stress how important consuming visual and audio content is in your journey to historical novels!
Many different language subtitles are available, so please make consuming historical drama part of your weekly routine!
Tip 3: Learn the History and the Culture Behind the Stories
Yes, it’s true that historical dramas and novels aren’t a true representation of history, and the level of inspiration varies from one work to another, but understanding the real events and cultures that these stories are based on is immensely helpful.
This is particularly true when the story is set during a real time period and inspired by real events, such as The Long Ballard, which is set during the time of China’s second Tang dynasty emperor.
To familiarise yourself with history and culture, you can do so by reading books, watching documentaries, and, my personal favourite, YouTube content. Each of these mediums offers unique insights and perspectives that can enhance your understanding.
When it comes to YouTube, I highly recommend checking out these two channels:
- Amimisu – My favourite YouTube content on all things related to Chinese history and historical culture – https://www.youtube.com/@Amimisu/featured
- Full-length and short-form, detailed and informative
- Topics include culture, fashion, day-to-day life, and imperial palace life
- Often references Chinese dramas
- Here are some of my favourite videos:
- ItsPhoenix – A great channel for titbits on Chinese culture (historical and modern) –https://www.youtube.com/@AChinesetranslator/featured
- Informative short videos on culture with a mix of modern and historical
- Sometimes references Chinese dramas
Tip 4: Take It Slow and Start Small
Learning a language is a marathon, not a sprint, and the journey to reading historical novels with ease is no different. It’ll be a long journey, but remember to take it slow and steady, and incorporate the tips above.
Burnout is the number one demotivator, and you don’t want to be giving up Chinese before you’ve really started.
Also, you don’t need to be proficient in Chinese to start watching dramas and informative YouTube videos. In fact, if you aren’t already doing it, then you should start now. Alongside improving your Chinese language, you’ll also be growing your knowledge of history, culture, common tropes and themes, ready for the big day when you can finally delve into historical novels.
If standard-length dramas (~36-40 episodes) aren’t your cup of tea, then there are plenty of short dramas you can start with.
I will stress again that watching dramas will help you immensely on your journey to historical novels!
Good luck on your journey, and let me know how it’s going by leaving a comment below.