# Is "Soul Mountain (靈山 / Língshān)" by Gao Xingjian (高行健) a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of Soul Mountain (靈山 / Língshān) by Gao Xingjian (高行健) (Lianjing / Linking Publishing Company, 1990) 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). 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.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- 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
- Publisher imprint reads Lianjing / Linking Publishing Company
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Gao Xingjian (高行健) |
| Publisher | Lianjing / Linking Publishing Company |
| Year | 1990 |
| True first | Australian edition |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | 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… |
| Book-club edition exists? | No |

## 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.

## 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.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *Soul Mountain (靈山 / Língshān)* by Gao Xingjian (高行健) a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/soul-mountain
CC BY 4.0. Part of the Canonical First-Edition Points of Issue dataset (https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/api/first-edition-titles.json). Last reviewed 2026-07-04.