World classic, retold in simple Mandarin
Sherlock Holmes: The Red-Headed League
福尔摩斯：红发会
Sherlock Holmes: The Red-Headed League (福尔摩斯：红发会, Fú'ěrmósī: Hóngfà Huì) is a classic by Arthur Conan Doyle, retold in simple Mandarin as a 4-chapter story with audio for learners at about HSK 1 (Beginner).
Retold from Arthur Conan Doyle's 1891 detective story: a red-haired shopkeeper is paid to copy an encyclopedia, and Sherlock Holmes finds out what really happens under his floor.
Meet the voices
- Narrator · 旁白 — The warm storyteller who sets each scene.
- Sherlock Holmes · 福尔摩斯 — A sharp, playful detective who sees what others miss.
- Dr. Watson · 华生 — Holmes's kind, loyal friend, always a step behind.
- Jabez Wilson · 威尔逊 — A worried shopkeeper with fiery red hair.
- Vincent · 文森 — Wilson's smiling shop assistant, who is really the thief Clay.
- Inspector Jones · 琼斯 — A brave-sounding police inspector who is afraid of the dark.
4 chapters, one journey
Chapter 1: The Red Hair Job
红头发的工作
A red-haired shopkeeper is paid four pounds a week to copy a book, until one morning the job disappears. Holmes wants to know why.
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Chapter 2: The Closed Door
关着的门
Holmes taps the pavement and stares at a man's dirty knees. What is happening under the shop?
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Chapter 3: Night at the Bank
银行的晚上
In the cold, dark cellar, three men wait for a thief. Something begins to scrape under the floor.
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Chapter 4: The Tunnel
地下的路
A stone lifts, and the case comes to a bright end. Was the League ever real?
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Key words in Sherlock Holmes: The Red-Headed League
Behind the story
The Red-Headed League is one of the 56 short stories Arthur Conan Doyle wrote about Sherlock Holmes. It first appeared in a London magazine in 1891, and many fans still count it among the best of the series.
Chinese readers have loved Holmes for more than a hundred years. The stories reached China in the early 1900s and were among the first foreign detective tales translated into Chinese. Holmes is called 福尔摩斯, and his friend Dr. Watson is 华生.
Did you know?
- Holmes's home is at 221B Baker Street in London.
- In Chinese, a detective story is called 侦探小说.
- In the 1890s a pound was worth much more than today, so four pounds a week was a good pay for easy work.