Zhu Ziqing

Zhu Ziqing is the essayist every Chinese student reads in school. His writing is warm, personal, and beautifully descriptive. Where Lu Xun was sharp, Zhu Ziqing was gentle. Where Lu Xun wrote about society, Zhu Ziqing wrote about family, nature, and the passage of time.

"Retreating Figure" (背影) is probably the most famous essay in modern Chinese. It describes his father buying oranges at a train station. That's it. But somehow it's one of the most moving pieces of writing in the language. "Moonlight Over the Lotus Pond" captures a single evening walk with prose so vivid you can hear the water.

For learners, Zhu Ziqing's essays are a gift. They're short, emotional, and written in beautiful but accessible vernacular Chinese. His vocabulary sits comfortably at HSK 4-5, and his sentence structures are clear. If you want to develop a feel for how Chinese flows as a language, start here.