Works

Jane Austen's 1813 novel of manners on love, class and first impressions in Regency England.

The Quran is the central scripture of Islam, comprising 114 chapters revealed in Arabic to Muhammad, which Muslims regard as the literal word of God and which also serves as a major work of Arabic literature.

An ancient Sanskrit epic recounting Rama’s exile, Sita’s abduction, and the war against Ravana, with diverse religious, literary, and artistic traditions across Asia.

A foundational history of early China by Sima Qian, combining annals, tables, treatises, hereditary houses, and biographies.

Mo Yan’s debut novel, first published in 1987, intertwines family memories and wartime history in Northeast Gaomi Township.

A Capcom horror franchise whose video games helped establish survival horror and expanded into films, television, and print.

A historical novel attributed to Luo Guanzhong, dramatizing the fall of the Han dynasty and the rival states of Wei, Shu and Wu; a cornerstone of Chinese literature.

Romeo and Juliet is a tragedy by William Shakespeare, written around 1595, about two young lovers from feuding Verona families. It became one of the most performed and adapted plays in the English language.

A 2001 novel by Mo Yan set in late Qing Shandong, combining folk opera, multiple narrative voices, and depictions of torture.

A novella by Mo Yan about a laid-off worker’s livelihood and changing identity, and the title story of an English-language collection of his fiction.

Michelangelo's fresco cycle (1508–1512) on the vault of the Sistine Chapel in the Vatican, centred on nine scenes from Genesis.

The Spring Festival Gala is a live televised variety show broadcast on Lunar New Year's Eve in China since 1983, and one of the world's most-watched programmes.

F. Scott Fitzgerald’s 1925 novel about wealth, reinvention, and lost love in Jazz Age America.

An illustrated novella by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry exploring friendship, responsibility, childhood, and loss through an interplanetary journey.

A high fantasy novel by J. R. R. Tolkien, published in three volumes in 1954–55 and set in Middle-earth. It shaped modern fantasy and inspired major film adaptations.

Franz Kafka’s 1915 novella about a salesman’s inexplicable bodily transformation and his family’s response.

A 1952 novella by Ernest Hemingway about an aging Cuban fisherman’s struggle with a giant marlin, exploring endurance, loss, pride, and companionship.

Edvard Munch's image of an anguished figure on a fjord bridge, first painted in 1893, a central work of Expressionism and one of the most recognised artworks in the world.

The Silence of the Lambs is a 1988 crime novel by Thomas Harris and its acclaimed 1991 film adaptation, centered on FBI trainee Clarice Starling and imprisoned killer Hannibal Lecter.

Montesquieu’s 1748 treatise examining how laws relate to political institutions, social customs, commerce, religion, and geography.

Vincent van Gogh's 1889 oil painting of a swirling night sky over a village, based on the view from his asylum window in Saint-Rémy-de-Provence; held by MoMA in New York.

A 1942 novella by Albert Camus about Meursault, an indifferent man in French Algeria whose killing of a man leads to a trial that judges his conduct, illustrating absurdism.

An early eleventh-century Japanese court narrative by Murasaki Shikibu, tracing love, power, and loss across generations.

A novella published by Mo Yan in 1985 that portrays rural life through a young boy’s labor and extraordinary sensory perceptions.

Harper Lee’s 1960 novel about childhood, racial injustice, and moral responsibility in a small Alabama town.

The founding treaty of the United Nations, establishing its institutions, purposes, and rules for international peace, security, and cooperation.

The written framework of the United States federal government, drafted in 1787, in force since 1789, and still the oldest written national charter in continuous use.

A United Nations declaration adopted in 1948 that establishes universal standards of human dignity, equality, and fundamental rights.

An armless Hellenistic marble statue, likely of Aphrodite, found on Milos in 1820 and displayed at the Louvre since 1821; its authorship, original pose and identity remain debated.

Leo Tolstoy's Russian novel of 1865–1869, set against the Napoleonic Wars, blending family narrative with reflections on history.

A classic Chinese novel about 108 outlaws whose fellowship at Liangshan explores justice, loyalty, rebellion, and imperial authority.

Wordle is a daily word puzzle in which players have six attempts to identify a five-letter word using color-coded clues.