Old Things in the South of the City was first published in modern China in 1939. The novel described the author's time spent in a courtyard house in the south of Beijing, depicting the society, characters, and various aspects of life at that time. The work is narrated in the first person, through the perspective of the protagonist Kong Yiji, showing the conflict and integration between the traditional culture and modern civilization in the south of Beijing. The language of the novel is concise, humorous and poetic. It is a classic work of modern Chinese literature.