author
pseud. Langzi Mo
Best known for compiling Stories of the West Lake, this elusive pen name is attached to a lively 17th-century Chinese collection built from local history, legend, and storytelling. Very little is known about the person behind it, which only adds to the book’s old-world mystery.
1 Audiobook
西湖佳話
by pseud. Langzi Mo
About the author
Writing under the pen name Mo Langzi (also given as Langzi Mo or 墨浪子), this author is chiefly known for Stories of the West Lake (Xihu jiahua / 西湖佳话古今遗迹). Sources describe the work as a 17th-century Chinese collection centered on West Lake in Hangzhou, bringing together tales drawn from historical records, legend, and earlier literary traditions.
The book is generally dated to 1673, during the Kangxi era of the Qing dynasty. It is organized as sixteen stories, each linked to a figure, site, or episode associated with West Lake. Some editions describe the author as "Guwu Molangzi" or "West Lake Molangzi," but the writer’s personal identity and life details appear to be unknown.
Because so little biographical information survives, the pseudonym matters almost as much as the book itself. What remains clear is the appeal of the work: it preserves a richly atmospheric version of West Lake, where history, folklore, and scenic memory all meet.