(木兰—享誉全球的文化偶像) 5 min read Sigh after sigh Mulan sadly sighs, (唧唧复唧唧) Facing the door while she weaves. (木兰当户织) Not a hint of the loom-shuttle’s sound, (不闻机杼声) Only the daughter’s sighs. (唯闻女叹息) Ask the daughter who’s in her heart, (问女何所思) Who’s on her mind? (问女何所忆) “No one is in daughter’s heart, (女亦无所思) No one is […]
Mulan—A Worldwide Cultural Icon Read More »
(孙悟空何许“人”也？) 5 min read In 629 CE, during the Tang dynasty (唐朝), Xuanzang (玄奘), a Buddhist monk, set out from the Tang capital of Chang’an (长安)—present-day Xi’an (西安)—on a pilgrimage to India. His journey followed routes long used by merchants trading with the Western Regions (西域), along what are now collectively known as the
Who is Sun Wukong? Read More »
(佛教艺术的宝库—敦煌) 5 min read From the 4th to the 14th centuries CE, the city of Dunhuang (敦煌), in northwest China, stood at a critical junction on the ancient Silk Road—a network of trade routes connecting China with Central and West Asia. To the east, the Silk Road led more than 1,500 kilometers to China’s
Dunhuang—the Crown Jewel of Buddhist Art Read More »
(年画的魅力) 3 min read One of the traditional practices for celebrating the Chinese New Year is decorating one’s home with New Year woodblock prints known as nianhua (年画). Blending folk art, popular belief, and cultural symbolism, nianhua has remained popular for more than a millennium and continues to be appreciated today. Symbolic motifs
The Charm of New Year Woodblock Paintings Read More »
(画里的秘密) 3 min read The painting Night Revelry of Han Xizai (韩熙载夜宴图) is set in the waning years of the Southern Tang dynasty (937–975), a time of political instability and impending crisis. It was commissioned by Li Yu (李煜, 937–978), ruler of the Southern Tang, who considered appointing Han Xizai (韩熙载) chancellor after ascending
The Painting with a Secret Plot Read More »
(魏晋墓砖画的生活写照) 4 min read In the vast desert 20 kilometers northeast of the city of Jiayuguan (嘉峪关)—which shares its name with the western terminus of the Great Wall—lies a complex of more than 1,400 underground tombs decorated with painted bricks from the Wei and Jin Dynasties (魏晋), dating from the 3rd to the 5th
A Window into the Daily Life in the Wei-Jin Period Read More »
(永乐宫传世之宝) 4 min read Construction of the Yongle Palace (永乐宫), a Daoist temple (道观), started in 1247 during the early Yuan Dynasty to worship Lü Dongbin (吕洞宾, born 796), one of Daosim’s Eight Immortals (八仙). The construction, including the creation of the murals inside the temple, took a total of 110 years and the
Timeless Treasures of the Yongle Palace Read More »
(中西合璧的香港美食) 5 min read Hong Kong—a British colony between 1842 and 1997—has retained its international image since it was handed back to China. Given the city’s multicultural influence, it is no surprise that some of its foods, even dishes that seem indigenous, are actually a fusion between east and west. At the center of
Post Template Ver 2 Read More »
(中国的 “美食之都”: 顺德, 潮州, 澳门) 5 min read Among UNESCO’s global list of Cities of Gastronomy, six are located in China. Of these, Shunde, Chaozhou, and Macau (顺德, 潮州, 澳门) are in Guangdong Province (广东省), while Yangzhou and Huai’an (淮安) are in Jiangsu Province (江苏省), and Chengdu (成都) is in Sichuan Province (四川省). This
China’s Cities of Gastronomy (1): Shunde, Chaozhou, and Macau Read More »
(中西合璧的香港美食) 5 min read Hong Kong—a British colony between 1842 and 1997—has retained its international image since it was handed back to China. Given the city’s multicultural influence, it is no surprise that some of its foods, even dishes that seem indigenous, are actually a fusion between east and west. At the center of
East Meets West in Hong Kong Read More »
