I decided to make this list to share with you my favorite Chinese historical romance novels, set either in Ancient China or within Imperial Courts. Before we dive into it, let me explain the criteria I used to create this list.... more>>

I tried to organize them in a rough order of preference, but it’s not an exact ranking — every story here has something special that stood out to me. When it comes to this genre, there are a few things I value the most:

Realism: I love narratives and characters that make sense within the historical context, that feel captivating but also believable.

Well‑written storytelling: I prefer novels with detailed world‑building and careful attention to character relationships and historical accuracy.

Convincing characters: If the protagonists or other characters don’t feel consistent or well‑developed, I usually don’t include them in my list.

Finding truly good novels in this genre can be hard, since many fall into clichés or skip proper historical research. That’s why I want to share the ones I think are genuinely worth reading. Some of them you might already know, while others may be new discoveries for you.

I’ll be updating this list every month to bring you fresh recommendations and keep the content exciting for anyone who loves this genre as much as I do. <<less

Funny stories, addicting stories, Strong FL, etc

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Thousands of chapters or just over a hundred, Historical, Supernatural or Slice of Life, face-slapping and heartwarming stories, dramatic and comedic — this collection will have them all.

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A realistic novel set in ancient China 

Curated list by yours truly. All genres, something for everyone. (A lot of Ancient China BG included).... more>>

Recommended novels not on NU- see comments. 

I’ll add comments/reviews for every one of them, but it’ll take me quite a while to get to all of them. 

NOTE: Moving all short stories/oneshots to Rec List “Small Stories, Big Feels” (like check it out, so many gems are like 30-40 chapters only, and their chapters are mostly long) <<less

Cunning Protagonist  Historical  Power StruggleRoyalty Schemes And Conspiracies 

My List To Read

Empresses in the Palace vibes + strong female lead who is either a concubine, noble consort, or empress... more>>

There are NO idiot/dumb/naive/innocent FLs in this list. Some FLs are kind, but most are ruthless. Emperor ML is not her prince charming & I prefer it that way. 

Palace intrigue & harem struggle between the concubines is the spotlight of most of these novels. However, the true hidden gem is the complex female relationships among the concubines/consorts, especially those who are deeply aware that the harem is their gilded cage ^^

Note: This is MY list. This means that just because a certain novel fits this niche, it won’t automatically be here. I don’t like wasting my time and other people’s. The novels here are my personal favorites and trusted recommendations. 

TBR means I can’t vouch for the novel yet. It’s labeled and found at the bottom of this list, which means that the synopsis was either really interesting or simply caught my eye . Since it’s a TBR, I don’t have an opinion on it yet and depending on the my reading experience, I may or may not remove it from this list. <<less

Some rebirth, some transmigration but all really good books

Novels set in Ancient China that I like. Royalty, palace intrigues, noble families, officials and etc. Of course all of them has romance! ... more>>

You can find the second list here: https://www.novelupdates.info/viewlist/118435/ <<less

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Would reread (or probably would but I forget so am assuming yes)

A compilation of chinese novels which have historical setting.... more>>

Part 2.0 -  https://www.novelupdates.info/viewlist/94742/ <<less

Relationships with love and mutual respect for eachother. Recs are always welcome

Love them, desperately waiting for them to be complete because MTL doesn't do them justice

The best of the best

One of my favorite novel is "The Rise of Xueyue" ( not included in the list below)❤️❤️❤️

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ancient Chinese Rebirth stories with female protagonist that rise above their tragedy and find their destined male counterpart.  

One more list to go through ... more>>

Every story that I've already read will be deleted from this list and moved to either the ' okay/dropped' or 'so good' list <<less