Translated Into More Than 20 Languages
Winner of the 2022 Sri Lanka's National Literature Award(Sinhala edition)
Old Man Xinjiang was Hailed by The Guardian as One of the Five Finest Contemporary Chinese Short Stories

Selected Stories by Xuemo is a collection of short tales set against the ancient Silk Road, exploring themes of love, hope, faith and more. It includes "Old Man Xinjiang," "Beauty," "The Women, the Camels and the Dholes," and "The Sound of Broad Beans Late at Night"-excerpts from The Sound of Broad Beans Late at Night, White Tiger Pass and Curses of the Kingdom of Xixia.
These stories vividly reflect the resilience and spirit of farmers in western China as they endure poverty and hardship. Through Xuemo's words, we witness Old Man Xinjiang's unwavering devotion to his first love, Ying'er and Lanlan's struggle for survival in the desert, Yue'er finding pure love despite battling syphilis, and Xueyu'er narrowly escaping death after kindly delivering wolf meat to her uncle. With profound insight into human nature, Xuemo invites readers to ponder the essence and meaning of life.
Xuemo, born in 1963 as Chen Kaihong, is a renowned writer from Gansu, China. He has written over 80 books, published in more than 200 editions, with translations available in over 20 [...] novel Into the Desert won the 2022 Excellent Translation Award by the China International Communications Group (CICG), 2024 NYC Big Book Award for Women's Fiction and the 2024 Independent Press Award for Literary Fiction. His novel Curses of the Kingdom of Xixia won the 2024 NYC Big Book Award for World Literature. The novel Wild Fox Ridge won the 2024 International Impact Book Award and the 2025 NYC Big Book Award, and was honored with the 2025 International Book Awards. He topped the International Media Spotlight List at the Frankfurt Book Fair 2022, even surpassing the Guest of Honor, Spain, became the most remarkable and memorable events of the Frankfurt Book Fair 2022. The e-book editions of Desert Rites, Desert Hunters, White Tiger Pass, Love Letters from the Goddess, Eternal Love and Reclaim the Throne of Your Heart have repeatedly ranked No. 1 on Amazon's bestseller lists.