See China

Cui Yongyuan (崔永元), one of China’s (few) most “nostalgic and upright” TV gurus, shot a 32-episode documentary named “My WWII” after interviewing 3500 ordinary people in 8 years, but found it hard to sell.

Laotsu Bhodidharma I am not a follower of Tao or Zen – in fact, if I were, then by the stringent ideas of these creeds, I would not even be writing this article: according to one, you should be achieving the understanding that my article tries to pass on through your own meditative efforts, while according [...]

Round heaven – square earth is an ancient and long lasting concept in China, so is the concept of yin and yang. The Book of Change has the passage “The Ultimate brings about two Aspects; the two Aspects bring about four Appearances; the four Appearances bring about the eight Representations”.

In the Spring-Autum Chronical of Zuo Qiuming an obscure entry dated around 640BC says: Lord Zang of Zheng liked to collect snipe feather hats; Duke Wen was offended, and ordered to have him assassinated. Why should a mere sartorial preference produce such a drastic outcome? We have to go back another 3000 years to find the answer.

European cultures have just a vague notion of the phoenix, being a mythological bird that is reborn in the fire. West Asia has a more specific notion: the phoenix is a bird associated with fire, but has its rebirth on the tree of life, which happens to be a palm – the tree of life [...]

  the origin The idea of the dragon arose from snake fertility worship. The story of Eve and the serpent showed that (a) Eve, the mother figure of the Hebrew tribe, could talk to the snake, meaning that the tribe had an affinity to the snake (b) The serpent taught Eve and Adam to have [...]

Can a joke kill a king? Retired professor Zhang Huicheng (张惠诚) recently published a book named “History of Chinese Court Coups” (中国历代宫廷政变), which recorded many seemingly ridiculous mishaps that accidentally led to the demise of a certain kingdom or dynasty.

Studded with China’s most prestigious universities and sizzling digital products markets, Zhongguangcun is often compared with Silicon Valley of the United States. But for centuries, it was known for a retirement home for the eunuchs in this area.

At the Panjiayuan market, finding a true treasure still requires a trained eye, but your chances are better on the weekends.

Another speculation put the ownership of the tomb to Kong Sizhen (孔四贞) the only proclaimed Qing princess of Han ethnicity. Kong’s father, Kong Youde, was a former Ming general who staged a mutiny and led a revolt against the Ming emperor.