Culture

The character 藥(yào) in Chinese refers to a medicine or drug. According to mythology, Shénnóng the “divine farmer”, sampled hundreds of herbs  to test their medicinal value. After this, herbs 草(căo) were thought able to […]

Cang Jie invented the characters, thereby millet grains fell down from heaven and the evil spirits cried in the night. This is how Chinese have passed down the legendary tale of the invention of the […]

Of all the cultural heritages and legacies that have evolved in the world, none is more significant than the human language. Of all the existing languages, none is equal, in terms of longevity, to the […]

In ancient China, dating back to at least 5,000 BC, large stone discs were placed on the bodies of Chinese aristocrats. Their original function still eludes scientists, as does the way in which they were […]

During the time of Emperor Zhenzong (968-1022 A.D.) of the Song Dynasty, two of the Emperor’s relatives did not agree with the amount of each other’s endowment, argued about it, and had complained about each […]

Tang Bin (1627-1687 A.D.) was from Sui County of Henan Province in the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911 A.D.). He passed the Imperial Civil Service Examination in the ninth year of the reign of Emperor Shunzhi and […]

In the Song Dynasty (960-1279A.D), there was a wealthy man named Jiang Balang (the eighth son) in Pingjiang. Later on, the Jiang family went into decline and crowds of creditors would wait outside his house […]

Yang Bangyi was from the Song Dynasty (960-1279). One day, when he was reading in Tianwang Temple after he passed the candidacy examination in the provincial imperial examinations, he saw the wings of a blue […]

In June 2002, a 270 million-year-old “hidden words stone” was discovered in Guizhou, China. A crack that formed 500 years ago in a large stone revealed six clearly discernible Chinese characters; the characters clearly spell “The Chinese […]

Han Qi was the Duke of Weiguo and a prime minister during the Song Dynasty. One day, while he was leading an army in Ding Wu, he was writing a letter and asked one of […]

In the Song Dynasty, some criminals were released from prison and sent into exile on Shanmen Island. A regulation of that dynasty set an upper limit of people on the island to 300 people. The […]

In the Shang Dynasty in ancient China, there was a king called Wu Ding. After Wu Ding’s father died, he stayed out of government affairs for three whole years to mourn his father. After the […]

Herbal remedies have been used in China for millennia with each dynasty classifying and documenting new treatments as they were discovered. Shennong meaning “Divine Farmer,” lived some 5,000 years ago and taught the ancient Chinese […]

Confucianism teaches that people should deal with each other with good faith, respect, understanding and trust instead of suspicion. Only then can people get along with each other harmoniously. In ancient times, Confucius and his […]

Cheng Hao was a scholar in the Northern Song dynasty. He had a strong desire to help others and bring comfort to the common people. No matter where his official post took him, he took […]

During the reign of Emperor Qianlong (1735 A.D. to 1796 A.D.) in the Qing Dynasty, there was a young scholar named Yin Qing in the city of Wuxi. One year, the emperor went to climb […]

The Chinese and Japanese have long held as precious rare mirrors that seem to magically be at the same time solid bronze and to let light shine right through them. The Chinese called them by a name […]

Wanli Yang’s wife from Song Dynasty was more than seventy years old.  She always got up very early when it was really cold. She would then go to the kitchen in the backyard right away […]

When Fan Zhongyan was little, his father passed away and his mother married again. His last name was changed to his stepfather’s last name, Zhu. At that time, Fan Zhongyan was very young and did […]

Mo Zi, also named Ju, was the founder of Moist School of thought in the Spring and Autumn and Warring States Periods in China. He advocated harmony and equality between people and opposed invasion and […]