A free, ad-free bilingual novel in 50 chapters — read it in Chinese or English, or listen to the complete Chinese audiobook. Everything below is how it works, and how to reach a human if it doesn’t.
What the app is
A Life Against the Tide (《天津人在加州》) is an original novel by Henry Zhang (张恒) about a Chinese immigrant’s life across two shores — Tianjin and California. It is presented in five parts and fifty chapters, with the Chinese text and an English translation side by side, plus a full Chinese audiobook.
The app is completely free. There are no ads, no subscriptions, no in-app purchases, and no account to create — open it and start reading.
Getting around
- Home — picks up where you left off, with Continue reading and Continue listening.
- Library — the book and its full table of contents, by part and chapter.
- Settings — language, theme and font size.
Reading
Open any chapter from the Library and read by scrolling. Your position is saved continuously and automatically, so you can close the app mid-sentence and come back to exactly that spot from Home.
Switching language
The app has two independent language settings, which is deliberate — many readers want the interface in one language and the novel in another.
- Interface language — the language of buttons, tabs and labels.
- Reading language — the language of the novel’s text itself.
Both are in Settings, and you can change either at any time, including mid-chapter. Your place in the book is kept when you switch.
The audiobook player
Chapters that have narration show a player bar at the top of the reader. It gives you:
- Play / pause — always resumes from your last position, it never restarts the chapter.
- A progress bar — tap anywhere on it to jump to that point, with elapsed and total time shown.
- −15 / +15 — skip back or forward fifteen seconds.
- Speed — tap the 1× button to cycle through 1×, 1.25×, 1.5×, 2× and 0.75×.
Playback continues in the background when you leave the app or lock your phone, and appears on your lock screen and in Control Center. A mini player stays pinned at the bottom of the app while audio is playing, so you can browse other chapters without stopping it.
Resuming
Reading position and listening position are tracked separately and both survive closing the app. Home shows you both, so you can read in the morning and listen in the car without losing either place.
Theme and font size
In Settings: choose System, Light or Dark theme (System follows your iPhone’s appearance setting, including automatic switching at sunset), and pick one of four text sizes. Changes apply instantly.
Frequently asked questions
Is there an English audiobook?
Not yet — and we’d rather say so plainly than let you hunt for it. The Chinese audiobook is complete: all fifty chapters, about 9 hours 12 minutes of narration. English narration is being produced and rolled out chapter by chapter. As each English chapter is finished it will simply appear in the app — no App Store update required, because audio is delivered from our server rather than baked into the app. Just open the app while online and new narration shows up on its own.
How was the audiobook narrated?
The Chinese narration is AI-generated (ElevenLabs) from the author’s own text. The English translation is machine-assisted and reviewed by the author. We mention this openly so you know what you’re listening to.
Does the app cost anything?
No. It is free in full, with no ads, no subscription and no in-app purchases. There is nothing to unlock.
Do I need an account?
No. There is no sign-up and no login, and nothing you do is uploaded anywhere. See the privacy policy.
Can I read offline?
Largely, yes. The book text ships inside the app and chapters you have opened are cached on your device, so reading works without a connection. Audio streams, so listening to a chapter for the first time needs a network connection.
Will my progress transfer to a new phone?
No. Progress is stored only on your device and is not synced to any server — that is the trade-off of collecting nothing about you. On a new phone you would start fresh.
Is the story true?
It draws on the author’s life but it is a novel. As the preface puts it, real experience is only the soil — the characters, the company, the secrets and the ending all take on new life in fiction.
Troubleshooting
Chapter text or audio won’t load
Content is fetched from our server the first time you open it, so:
- Check your network connection — Wi-Fi or cellular. This is by far the most common cause.
- Try once more. A chapter that loads once is cached on your device and will open instantly and offline from then on.
- If you are on a restricted or corporate network, HTTPS access to our content server may be blocked; try cellular data.
- Force-quit the app and reopen it — the app retries the download on launch.
Audio stops when I lock my phone
Background playback is supported. If it stops, check that iOS Settings → General → Background App Refresh is enabled, and that Low Power Mode isn’t restricting the app.
New chapters or new narration aren’t appearing
Open the app while connected to the internet, then close it fully and reopen it. Updates are fetched in the background and applied on the next launch.
Something else is wrong
Email us — a real person (the author) reads it. Telling us your device model, iOS version and what you were doing helps a lot.
Contact
Email: heng.henry.zhang@gmail.com
一部免费、无广告的双语小说，共五十章——可用中文或英文阅读，也可收听完整的中文有声书。以下是使用方法；若仍有问题，欢迎直接联系我们。
这是一款什么应用
《天津人在加州》（英文名 A Life Against the Tide）是张恒（Henry Zhang）创作的长篇原创小说，讲述一位华人移民横跨天津与加州两岸的人生。全书分五部、五十章，中英文对照呈现，并附有完整的中文有声书。
应用完全免费：没有广告，没有订阅，没有内购，也无需注册账户——打开即可阅读。
界面导航
- 首页——从上次中断处继续，提供“继续阅读”与“继续收听”。
- 书架——书籍及完整目录，按部与章排列。
- 设置——语言、主题与字号。
阅读
在书架中打开任意章节，滚动即可阅读。阅读位置会持续自动保存，即使在句子中途关闭应用，也可从首页精确回到该处。
切换语言
应用设有两项互相独立的语言设置，这是刻意的设计——许多读者希望界面用一种语言，而正文用另一种。
- 界面语言——按钮、标签页与文字标签的语言。
- 正文语言——小说正文本身的语言。
二者均位于设置中，随时可改，章节读到一半时也可切换，且会保留您在书中的位置。
有声书播放器
已有配音的章节，会在阅读页顶部显示播放条，提供：
- 播放 / 暂停——始终从上次位置继续，绝不会从头重播。
- 进度条——点按任意位置即可跳转，并显示已播与总时长。
- −15 / +15——快退或快进 15 秒。
- 倍速——点按 1× 按钮，在 1×、1.25×、1.5×、2×、0.75× 之间循环切换。
离开应用或锁屏后音频会继续后台播放，并显示在锁屏与控制中心。播放期间应用底部会固定一个迷你播放器，便于您浏览其他章节而不中断收听。
继续上次进度
阅读位置与收听位置分别独立记录，关闭应用后均会保留。首页会同时显示两者，因此您可以早晨阅读、开车时收听，两处进度互不影响。
主题与字号
在设置中：主题可选跟随系统、浅色或深色（跟随系统会随 iPhone 的外观设置自动切换，包括日落自动变暗）；字号提供四档。修改即时生效。
常见问题
有英文有声书吗？
暂时还没有——与其让您苦苦寻找，不如直说。中文有声书已全部完成：五十章齐备，总时长约 9 小时 12 分钟。英文配音正在逐章制作并陆续上线。每完成一章，它就会自动出现在应用中——无需在 App Store 更新应用，因为音频由我们的服务器下发，而非打包在应用内部。您只需在联网状态下打开应用，新配音便会自动出现。
有声书是如何录制的？
中文配音由作者本人的文本经 AI 语音合成（ElevenLabs）生成；英文译本为机器辅助翻译并经作者校订。我们公开说明这一点，以便您了解所听内容的来源。
应用收费吗？
不收费。全书免费开放，无广告、无订阅、无内购，没有任何需要解锁的内容。
需要注册账户吗？
不需要。没有注册也没有登录，您的任何操作都不会被上传。详见隐私政策。
可以离线阅读吗？
基本可以。书籍正文随应用一同发布，已打开过的章节还会缓存在设备上，因此无网络也能阅读。音频为在线流式播放，首次收听某一章需要联网。
换新手机后进度会同步吗？
不会。进度仅保存在您的设备上，不会同步至任何服务器——这正是“不收集您任何数据”所必须付出的代价。在新手机上需要重新开始。
故事是真实的吗？
它取材于作者的人生，但终究是一部小说。正如序言所说：真实经历只是土壤——人物、公司、秘密与结局，都在虚构中获得了新的生命。
故障排查
章节正文或音频无法加载
内容在首次打开时从服务器获取，因此请：
- 检查网络连接——Wi-Fi 或蜂窝数据。这是最常见的原因。
- 再试一次。章节一旦成功加载，便会缓存在设备上，此后可瞬间打开且支持离线。
- 若处于受限网络或企业网络中，访问我们内容服务器的 HTTPS 请求可能被拦截，请改用蜂窝数据。
- 彻底退出应用后重新打开——应用会在启动时重新尝试下载。
锁屏后音频停止
应用支持后台播放。若播放中断，请检查 iOS “设置 → 通用 → 后台 App 刷新”是否已开启，并确认低电量模式未对应用加以限制。
新章节或新配音没有出现
请在联网状态下打开应用，然后彻底关闭并重新启动。更新在后台获取，并于下次启动时生效。
其他问题
欢迎来信——由作者本人亲自查阅。若能附上设备型号、iOS 版本及当时的操作步骤，将对我们帮助很大。