These are 50 iconic plot tropes that run through countless Chinese novels, spanning martial arts epics, romantic dramas, suspense thrillers and other popular genres. These familiar narrative devices have long been a staple of Chinese fictional storytelling—easily recognizable to readers and widely used by writers to craft dramatic, engaging and gripping storylines. Here is a direct list of these ubiquitous classic plot points.

1. When hearing terrible tidings, the bowl in one’s hand will definitely drop and shatter on the ground.
2. When suffering a sudden misfortune and rushing out in grief, it will surely thunder and pour with rain.
3. You will never die if you fall off a cliff; jumping into the sea or off a cliff is a foolproof escape method.
4. Intuition is almost always right, ominous premonitions always come true with uncanny accuracy, and a fortune-teller’s words are usually pretty accurate too.
5. Bursting in without knocking will almost always lead to one of two sights: someone hanging themselves or someone bathing.
6. A female character disguised as a man is usually found out in one of four ways: her hat gets knocked off, she falls into water, someone accidentally touches her chest, or she is seen changing clothes.
7. The main villain almost never dies the first time; they always make a last-ditch struggle and only meet their end after being struck one more time.
8. Before a great battle, a lover will always present a protective talisman.
9. The result of a struggle for a knife (or scissors) is always that someone gets cut.
10. When a new supporting character appears, they are almost always connected to the subsequent events (and cases).
11. When fleeing, you will either end up on a cliff, or in an open space where a large group of men suddenly ambush you from all sides.
12. One often fails to register an important sentence at first, then reads it again and is utterly shocked.
13. When fleeing through the mountains, it’s especially easy to twist an ankle or trip and fall, after which one will say: “Don’t worry about me, run for it!”
14. There are always two people who look exactly the same in the world.
15. If a woman suddenly feels nauseous, there’s only one possibility: she’s pregnant.
16. Something terrible will always happen outside when someone secludes themselves to practice martial arts.
17. The vicious oaths sworn by villains will always come true.
18. The last move to stop an enemy is to cling to their legs, and this act always leads to a heroic sacrifice.
19. If one’s clothes get soaked, warming them by a fire or taking shelter from the rain with someone will almost always spark gossip.
20. When the female lead is heartbroken, she will run and run, and finally end up hugging a tree and crying.
21. When a villain secretly shoots at the protagonist, a supporting character will always take the bullet for them.
22. The most powerful and renowned martial art in the martial arts world is always an evil one.
23. When angry, one will grab whatever is nearby and smash it on the ground to vent their fury; therefore, serving tea to someone when they’re angry will always result in the teacup being smashed.
24. When outnumbered by the enemy, someone will always volunteer to hold the rear and ultimately die a heroic death.
25. The female lead saved the male lead when they were children, but he mistakes the female supporting character for his savior.
26. The female lead is drugged and ends up in bed with the male lead in a daze.
27. If a supporting character keeps reminiscing about the past, it may involve a earth-shattering secret that is about to be revealed.
28. If information is repeatedly leaked, there must be a mole.
29. A dying person’s last words are always broken and incomplete.
30. When people who know a secret die one after another, there is usually one left, and the protagonist will find and protect them.
31. The protagonist suffers from memory confusion/loss/amnesia, and these fragmented memories will eventually piece together to uncover a earth-shattering secret.
32. If certain scenes are clearly against common sense, what is happening is just a “play within a play” or merely a dream.
33. If two characters never appear at the same time and bear an astonishing resemblance, they may be the same person.
34. The protagonist has a fortuitous encounter: a dying person hands them an object, and the protagonist subsequently gets drawn into conflicts between the righteous and evil factions, or among multiple factions.
35. A mysterious figure constantly provides the protagonist with important information and hints, helping them in secret.
36. The protagonist has a talkative friend or an incompetent teammate, who will get them into trouble sooner or later.
37. The protagonist wakes up to find themselves in a strange ward/ruin/island/dilapidated house (and may even have amnesia).
38. If a character always wears a mask, it will eventually be torn off, shocking everyone.
39. If a character suddenly says a few seemingly meaningful words, it’s a foreshadowing for what’s to come—there’s more to the words than meets the eye.
40. Prophecies keep coming true, putting everyone in a state of fear and anxiety.
41. An object that appears only once (usually something that seems insignificant) will turn the tide of the situation at a critical moment.
42. If everything goes too smoothly, it’s obviously a trap, and there will definitely be a plot twist later.
43. Horrific prophecies, nursery rhymes, legends and dreams all hide hidden truths, which are revealed little by little.
44. There seems to be a mysterious connection between two characters.
45. A glance or a small gesture that is full of hidden meaning.
46. An unintelligible letter, map or message hides a great secret.
47. Zombies, deadly viruses, the end of the world, aliens or a great disaster are imminent.
48. A character has an undisclosed double or multiple identities.
49. Even if all evidence points to the protagonist and is against them, they will eventually clear their name step by step.
50. Someone is conducting a mysterious experiment or laying an elaborate plot, while those involved are completely unaware.