Is My Soul Mountain (靈山 / Língshān) a First Edition?

The points of issue

• The true first is the original traditional-Chinese text 靈山, published in Taipei by Lianjing/Linking Publishing (聯經出版事業公司) in December 1990, in a small first print run of about 2,000 copies (famously slow to sell — reportedly only ~96 copies the first year)
• The genuine first printing carries ISBN 957-08-0519-6 and a stated 初版 ("first edition/first printing") with a 1990 / 民國七十九年 date in the colophon/copyright block at the rear, in traditional characters
• That first-issue ISBN (957-08-0519-6) is the single most reliable identifier: reject any copy citing a later ISBN. Later Linking states show a higher printing number, and post-2000 Nobel commemorative reissues (see below) are explicitly labeled
• I could not verify the binding style (cloth vs. wrappers), original list price, or a first-issue jacket point from available sources — confirm via the 初版 statement, the 1990 date, and ISBN 957-08-0519-6 in the colophon rather than relying on the cover

How to confirm the first-printing statement

Publishers stated first printings differently by era. The decisive tells are a printed “First Edition/First Printing” statement, a number line whose lowest number is 1 (Random House ends at 2), or a dated first printing with no later printings listed. Paste your copyright page into the number-line decoder.

How to verify your copy, step by step

1. Find the copyright page — the verso (back) of the title page.
2. Confirm the first-edition statement — look for “First Edition,” “First Printing,” or the publisher’s equivalent wording.
3. Check for a number line or dated printing — the lowest number present is the printing; a dated first printing with no later printings listed is the tell.
4. Verify this is the Australian true first — not a later-market or reprint edition.
5. Rule out a book-club edition — a blind-stamp on the rear board or a jacket with no printed price marks a book-club copy.
6. Photograph four things — the front cover, spine, title page, and copyright page — the standard record for identification.

The dust jacket

For a collectible first edition the dust jacket matters as much as the book. Confirm the jacket is present and unclipped — the printed price should still be at the corner of the flap (a clipped corner or a price-less flap can indicate a book-club issue). First-state jackets can differ from later ones in the cover art, blurbs, or review quotations; where a specific first-state jacket point is known for this title it is noted above.

Binding & format

Where multiple bindings exist, the hardcover trade issue is usually (but not always) the precedence copy — confirm against the points above. Later printings often show cheaper cloth, thinner boards, or simplified spine stamping. A simultaneous signed or limited issue, when one exists, is a distinct state from the trade first.

Is this the true first?

The true first edition is the original-language Chinese 靈山, Taipei: Lianjing/Linking Publishing Company, December 1990 (ISBN 957-08-0519-6) — that is the copy serious Gao collectors pursue. The first ENGLISH translation is Soul Mountain, by Australian sinologist Mabel Lee: the genuine world-first English printing is the Flamingo/HarperCollins Australia trade paperback (Sydney, 2000; ISBN 9780732266516), issued in a tiny run — fewer than ~500 copies had sold worldwide before Gao won the 2000 Nobel. It PRECEDES the HarperCollins/Harper US hardcover (New York, 2000) and the UK Flamingo edition. US dealers frequently list the American hardcover as "first edition in English," but the Australian trade paperback is the priority English issue; verify the Flamingo/HarperCollins Australia imprint, the Sydney 2000 date, and ISBN 9780732266516 to distinguish it. (Note: some sources cite "December 5, 2000" — that is the US release date, not the Australian priority issue.)

Telling it from reprints & book-club editions

No Book-of-the-Month/book-club edition of the Chinese first is a factor. The reprint traps are on both sides. (1) Chinese: Linking's post-Nobel commemorative reissues all look like "the book" but are decades after 1990 — the 諾貝爾文學獎得獎十周年紀念新版 (marking ten years since the 2000 Nobel, so ~2010), the 出版30週年紀念版 (2020, which newly adds an author preface/interview/audio material and so is textually distinct from the 1990 first), and the later 聯經50週年經典書衣限定版. Modern ISBNs seen online (e.g. 9789570836899, and 9570856440 on the 30th-anniversary printing) are later-reissue identifiers, not proof of the 1990 first. (2) English: the widely offered signed Easton Press leather edition (Norwalk, CT, ca. 2006) is a "first edition thus" collectible but is NOT a first edition, and the US Harper hardcover, while an early printing, comes after the Australian issue.

Frequently asked questions

Is my copy of Soul Mountain (靈山 / Língshān) a first edition?

A first edition of Soul Mountain (靈山 / Língshān) by Gao Xingjian (高行健) (Lianjing / Linking Publishing Company) is identified by: The true first is the original traditional-Chinese text 靈山, published in Taipei by Lianjing/Linking Publishing (聯經出版事業公司) in December 1990, in a small first print run of about 2,000 copies (famously slow to sell — reportedly only ~96 copies the first year).

How do I tell the first printing from a later one?

Check the copyright page. A stated first edition, a number line ending in 1, or a dated first printing with no later printings listed is the key. The true first edition is the original-language Chinese 靈山, Taipei: Lianjing/Linking Publishing Company, December 1990 (ISBN 957-08-0519-6) — that is the copy serious Gao collectors pursue.

Is the book-club edition the same as the first?

No Book-of-the-Month/book-club edition of the Chinese first is a factor. The reprint traps are on both sides. (1) Chinese: Linking's post-Nobel commemorative reissues all look like "the book" but are decades after 1990 — the 諾貝爾文學獎得獎十周年紀念新版 (marking ten years since the 2000 Nobel, so ~2010), the 出版30週年紀念版 (2020, which newly adds an author preface/interview/audio material and so is textually distinct from the 1990 first), and the later 聯經50週年經典書衣限定版. Modern ISBNs seen online (e.g. 9789570836899,

I have a first edition of Soul Mountain (靈山 / Língshān) — what should I do?

First, document the copy: photograph the copyright page (the number line and any edition statement) and the dust-jacket flap — an unclipped, priced jacket matters. Confirm the points of issue above against your copy, and use the free First Edition Checker to decode the printing. To sell, the author’s collecting guide covers the market. And if you are clearing books in the Albuquerque area, the New Mexico Literacy Project offers free pickup, any condition, and makes sure collectible copies are identified rather than discarded.

Glossary

First edition

Every copy printed from the first setting of type. Collectors usually want the first edition, first printing (the true first).

First printing / impression

A single press run from that setting. The first printing is the earliest and most desirable; later printings are still the first edition but not the true first.

Number line (printer's key)

A row of numbers on the copyright page (e.g. 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1). The lowest number present is the printing — a line including 1 marks a first printing (Random House deliberately ends at 2).

Points of issue

Specific physical details — a stated edition, a number line, a typo, a jacket state — that identify the true first printing.

Book-club edition (BCE)

A reprint made for a book club. Tells include a blind-stamped dot or square on the rear board and a dust jacket with no printed price. Not the true first.

First thus

The first appearance of a particular version (first paperback, first illustrated, first U.S. printing) — a first of that kind, not the first edition of the work.