Culture
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A Story About An Owl Who Cherished A Dead and Decaying Mouse
2005-10-16
However Bianji knew that Zhuangzi was coming to visit him and he felt quite uneasy. He thought, "Zhuangzi is much more knowledgeable than me and he is probably going to try and take over my country. Is he coming to fight for the position of Prime Minister?" Out of fear, Bianji ordered that Zhuangzi be arrested upon his arrival. Zhuangzi was very surprised when this actually happened but he managed to escape. When he saw Bianji, he looked him straight in the eye and walked towards him. -
Stories from Ancient China: Zhang Caigeng
2005-10-14Afterwards, the emperor ordered a sudden inspection at his house during the mealtime and had his food brought back to the imperial palace. The emperor looked at the confiscated dishes to find that they were indeed ordinary vegetable dishes and coarse brown rice as Zhang Mi had described. The emperor admired him very much for his simple life style, so he gave Zhang Mi a nickname: Zhang Caigeng (張菜羹). Caigeng means vegetable dishes in Chinese. -
Taoist Scriptures and Politics
2005-10-09In the eyes of Lao Zi, a perfect emperor should be "quiet and inactive," he should obey the Tao, and he should follow the people, that is all. To the people, "what is the importance of an emperor's power to me?" To an emperor, "if I do nothing, the people will civilise themselves; if I like quietness, the people will be righteous by themselves. If I do not interrupt, the people will become rich by themselves, if I have no desire, the people will become simple by themselves." (Chapter 57) This is the perfect state of governing a country that the Taoist scriptures clarified. -
Stories from Ancient China: Marriage to a Blind Bride
2005-09-29After Liu grew up, he successfully passed the Civil Service Examination (Translator’s note: passing the Civil Service Examination in ancient China would enable one to become a government official, and so it was highly regarded and considered a high achievement). His fiancée, however, had contracted a severe eye disease and turned blind. Liu’s neighbour was rather poor and because their daughter had turned blind, they felt she was unworthy of marrying Liu. So they didn’t dare to bring up the subject of the earlier engagement. -
Stories from Ancient China: The Law of Cause and Effect
2005-09-25The military official asked Wang Anshi to have everyone else removed from the scene because he had to report a private issue to him. After everyone else left, he told Wang Anshi, “Last night I had a dream where it seemed I had entered Hell and I saw your son in shackles suffering in Hell. He asked me to tell you something that might be good for you. I was worried that you might not believe in my dream when your son told me, ‘My father will believe you as long as you tell him that I am being tortured in Hell because of a matter we had discussed at a certain time on a certain day.’” -
Tang Dynasty Emperor Taizong Educates the Crown Prince via Things Encountered in Daily Life
2005-09-17In Chinese, Taizi (the crown prince) is also called Chujun (king-in-waiting). Raising a good successor to the throne was a very important job, as it affected the long-term health of the country. Emperor Taizong of the Tang Dynasty took it very seriously. Crown prince Li Zhi was a kind and righteous person but lacked courage and determination. Emperor Taizong made careful plans to educate Li Zhi so he would be able to keep his good traits and improve on his weaknesses. -
The Law of Cause and Effect: Flirtation Is a Sin
2005-09-16The Imperial Deity of Wenchang saw that Zhao Yongzhen had sincerely repented for his sin and had made a serious pledge. He told Zhao, “I can tell that you are sincerely repentant. If you will truly stop yourself from having any lustful thoughts and if you will advise the world’s people to refrain from lust in their speech, actions and thoughts, I will reinstate your first place and bless you with enormous good fortune.” Then the Imperial Deity of Wenchang pointed at Zhao’s heart with a pen. Zhao was shocked and woke up from the dream right away. -
Stories from Ancient China: A Kind, Generous and Amicable Minister in the Ming Dynasty
2005-09-12Xia Yuanji went up to him and asked, “May I ask you if you have seen a man chasing a horse on your way here?” But the man glowered at him and shouted, “Who cares about your horse or cow? Beat it! I am in a hurry! You are as dumb as a cow!” Xia’s servant happened to return at this precise moment and heard the man’s insolent behaviour. He shouted and reprimanded the man, ordering him to kowtow and apologising to the high-ranking Minister. But Xia Yuanji stopped the servant. He said, “Forget it! He may be tired from having been walking so fast. He didn’t know what he was saying.” He smiled at the man and released him. -
Fun with Tang Dynasty Poetry: “The Book Burning Pit”
2005-09-10Zhang Jie is famous poet in the late Tang Dynasty (618 – 907 A.D.) He wrote most of his poems in seven-character regular verse (七言律詩.) He often expressed his rage for the injustices that civilians were suffering from in society in his poems. He also showed novel and creative ideas and techniques in his poems. He once created a new form of poetry, which was known as “The Reformed Form.” His contemporaries called him a “novelty poet.” A Complete Collection of The Tang Dynasty Poetry contains 26 of his poems. -
Stories from Ancient China: Huang Jianji
2005-09-09On the following day he made a special arrangement to have an inspection of Ximen in order to look for Huang Jianji. He was astonished to actually find a very low-level government official by the same name. He summoned him and was surprised to see him looking exactly the same as the man he saw in the dream. He asked Huang Jianji, “Have you done any great charity in your life? Why did The True God in the Purple Palace in my dream treat you with great respect and even placed you in a seat above mine?” -
Fun with Tang Dynasty Poetry: “The Elderly Charcoal Seller”
2005-09-08Bai Juyi, also known as Bai Letian, was a renowned poet during the Tang Dynasty. He lived from 772 to 846 AD. The less educated people at that time could easily understand the language used in his poems, with their explicit themes. The poems flowed so smoothly and his poetic style was so unique that it became a literary form commonly known as Fundamentally Plain Form (元白體.) -
A Pair of Divine Jade Pieces
2005-09-03She looked out through the window and saw the shower had diminished. She thought, “The blanket is too thin. If I carry the baby out in such a thin blanket, he is bound to catch cold. If only there were a bigger and thicker blanket.” Then suddenly a golden streak of light appeared. A large blanket came flying down from the sky. It was not too thick or too thin. It did not catch fire when thrown into the fire. It beaded up the water when thrown into water. In addition, it had a giant Chinese character “pre-destiny” embroidered on it. -
A Beautiful Heart Increases A Woman's Beauty
2005-08-30In order to educate his daughter Cai Wenji1, he wrote an essay titled “Lessons for Women” He did not object to his daughter dressing up or wearing makeup. In fact, he believed that women should wear light makeup to make themselves more presentable and that women should keep their hair clean and glossy. On the other hand, he emphasized that it is more important for a woman to cultivate her inner beauty than to improve outer beauty. He believed that true beauty comes from the inside. -
Han Xin: The Most Famous General of the Han Dynasty
2005-08-23Starting as a lowly guard for Xiang Yu, Han Xin became general under Liu Bang and achieved outstanding victories repeatedly within just a few years. He was the major figure in deciding the outcome of the war between Han and Chu. Quai Tong praised this all-powerful military figure as: “A rare brilliant strategist.” His principle of manoeuvring troops was highly praised by the later military strategists. According to Han Yiwenxhi, Han Xin wrote three chapters of Hanxin Military Strategy. It’s a pity that the book has now been lost. -
Fun with Tang Dynasty Poetry: “My Villa at Mount Zhongnan” by Wang Wei
2005-08-19In my mid life I began to love the Buddha Law.I decided to live the rest of my life at the foot of Mount Zhongnan.When I am in the mood for an outing, I wander alone in the woods.I savour the pleasant feelings with no one.I stroll along the brook to its origin.Then I sit down and watch the rising clouds.
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