Kai Lung
#5303.82 of 664 ranked universes · full ranking
Books 4 books Status Complete 1900–1940 Reading commitment Low Ernest Bramah Last reviewed 2026-08-27
Overview
Kai Lung is an Edwardian-era pulp fantasy story cycle following an itinerant Chinese storyteller who talks his way out of danger by spinning ornate, digression-filled tales within tales, set in a deliberately fanciful, invented version of China rather than a historical one. Running from 1900 to 1940, it is one of the foundational English-language pulp fantasy series of the early twentieth century.
Comic fantasy, Mythic fantasy · For Adult
Core Canon: Reading Order (4 works) counts toward ranking
The Kai Lung Stories Ernest Bramah
| Work | Year | Internal chron. | Canon | Rating | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 | The Wallet of Kai Lung | 1900 | 1 | core | 3.52 (214 ratings) |
 | Kai Lung's Golden Hours | 1922 | 2 | core | 4.02 (188 ratings) |
 | Kai Lung Unrolls His Mat | 1928 | 3 | core | 4.06 (90 ratings) |
| Kai Lung Beneath the Yellow Robe | 1940 | 4 | core | 3.95 (20 ratings) |
Four completed story collections following the storyteller Kai Lung in an invented, deliberately fanciful chinoiserie setting; a foundational Edwardian-era pulp fantasy series, complete since the author's death in 1942.
Quick answers
- How many books are in Kai Lung? Kai Lung's Core Canon is 4 books.
- What is the reading order for Kai Lung? Publication order, starting with The Wallet of Kai Lung. Full list and years in the Core Canon table above.
- Is Kai Lung finished? Complete (1900–1940).
- How much reading does Kai Lung take? Low reading commitment (estimated from 4 Core Canon books · ~980 pages).
- How is Kai Lung ranked? #530 of 664 ranked universes on this site, based on 512 reader ratings across 4 Core Canon books. See the full ranking for how this is calculated.
Why is it ranked #530?
Ranked #530 of 664 ranked universes.
- Average reader rating of 3.82 across 4 core books.
- A smaller readership (512 ratings), so the score carries less weight of numbers.
- Uneven reception: its books range from 3.52 to 4.06.
- Less than 0.01 behind #529, Mythago Wood (a finer tie-break level decides the order).
- Below the top-10 average of 4.45.
Why explore this universe?
Rated · 4 books · Complete · 512 ratings · Ranks #530 overall
Good choice if you want a quick, low-commitment comic fantasy universe that's already finished, so there's no wait for the next book.
Reading order
Publication order (4 Core Canon books)
- The Wallet of Kai Lung (1900)
- Kai Lung's Golden Hours (1922)
- Kai Lung Unrolls His Mat (1928)
- Kai Lung Beneath the Yellow Robe (1940)
Documented internal/story chronology is recorded for every Core Canon book here, and matches publication order exactly, with no divergence to show separately.
Awards (verified)
- No awards found for this universe.
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Official resources
- Project Gutenberg: full text of the first collection
Research details
Ranking metrics: weighted average 3.82 across 512 ratings on 4 Core Canon books. See Why is it ranked here? above for the full breakdown, or the full ranking.
How do we know this?
Admission: Kai Lung admitted; Core Canon = the four story collections accepted 2026-08-27
Sources: (see source tier definitions)
- Wikipedia: Kai Lung Tier 2
- Wikipedia: Ernest Bramah Tier 2
Last reviewed: 2026-08-27
Rule: Core Canon is all four completed story collections, complete since the author's death in 1942.