World classic, retold in simple Mandarin
The Count of Monte Cristo: The Return
基督山伯爵：复仇
The Count of Monte Cristo: The Return (基督山伯爵：复仇, Jīdūshān bójué: fùchóu) is a classic by Alexandre Dumas, retold in simple Mandarin as a 6-chapter story with audio for learners at about HSK 4 (Upper intermediate).
Retold from Alexandre Dumas's classic novel: a rich, mysterious count returns to Paris, and three men who betrayed him meet their own secrets.
Meet the voices
- Narrator · 旁白 — The warm storyteller who sets the scene.
- The Count of Monte Cristo · 基督山伯爵 — The man who was once Edmond Dantès, now a rich and mysterious count.
- Haydée · 海黛 — A young Greek woman whose father was betrayed, and who lives under the Count's protection.
- Albert de Morcerf · 阿尔贝 — Mercédès's cheerful, brave young son.
- Countess Mercédès · 梅赛苔丝 — Edmond's old love, now a sad and graceful countess.
- Count of Morcerf · 马尔塞夫 — The proud general who was once the fisherman Fernand.
- Baron Danglars · 邓格拉尔 — A greedy banker who once kept the books on the Pharaon.
- Villefort · 维尔福 — The cold prosecutor who once burned Edmond's letter.
- Valentine · 瓦朗蒂娜 — Villefort's gentle daughter, who loves Maximilien.
- Maximilien · 马西米兰 — A young army captain, son of Edmond's old shipowner, who loves Valentine.
- A Peer · 贵族 — An old lord of the Chamber who asks Morcerf to answer (voice only).
- Servant · 仆人 — The Count's servant (voice only).
6 chapters, one journey
Chapter 1: The Punctual Guest
准时的客人
A stranger in Paris arrives exactly on time and will not eat a bite. Why does the countess think she has seen his eyes before?
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Chapter 2: The Banker's Old Friend
银行家的朋友
The Count visits a very rich banker and says one name. The banker turns white.
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Chapter 3: The Witness
证人
Before the great lords of France, a young girl tells a story that ends a general's honor. That night, a furious young man bangs on the Count's door.
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Chapter 4: The Mother's Plea
母亲的请求
The night before the duel, a veiled woman comes to the Count's door and says one name. At dawn, someone comes running for help.
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Chapter 5: Three Days
三天
Valentine is in terrible danger, and the Count has a strange medicine. Then a cold man learns who the Count really is.
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Chapter 6: Wait and Hope
等待和希望
On a small island, a broken young man learns the Count's last two words, and a girl walks out of the morning light.
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Key words in The Count of Monte Cristo: The Return
Behind the story
The Count of Monte Cristo was written by the French author Alexandre Dumas and first appeared in a newspaper, chapter by chapter, from 1844 to 1846. This book is the second half of the retelling: Edmond Dantès comes back to Paris as a rich and mysterious count and faces the three men who wronged him.
Chinese readers know the novel as 基督山伯爵 or 基督山恩仇记, and it has been translated and loved in China for more than a century. Its last words, wait and hope, are still quoted as advice for hard times. Dumas was known in China as 大仲马, the Elder Dumas.
Did you know?
- The story was inspired by the real life of a French shoemaker, Pierre Picaud, who was jailed after false accusations.
- The novel's final message is that all human wisdom is contained in two words: wait and hope.
- The Château d'If, the island prison in the story, is a real fortress off the coast of Marseille.