Culture
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The Amazing Effectiveness of Folk Remedies
2003-11-18
After two weeks the wart had completely fallen from my cheek. The spot where the wart used to be grew new, soft, white skin. At first, if you didn’t inspect it closely you couldn’t even see that there used to be something there. Slowly the new skin blended in with the rest of my skin, so invisible that there were no signs where the wart used to be. I have read in health and medical books about people growing warts on their feet and dying because of ill treatment. I never thought that the folk remedy for curing my wart would be so easy and effective, and that there would not be any scars. -
Chinese Idiom: “Pan’s Writing and Yue’s Ideas Made a Perfect Article”
2003-11-11Pan Yue was Yue Guang’s contemporary, a great writer. Zhong Rong of the Liang Dynasty collected Pan Yue’s works in his book, Collections of Poems ranked them as the best in the book. Pan’s writing even won him such praise as, “Pan’s talent flows naturally like a running river.” Eventually, Yue Guang asked Pan Yue to write the resignation letter for him. Pan Yue obliged but said, “I would only be able to write this letter after I know your thoughts and ideas.” Yue Guang then eloquently described for Pan Yue his ideas within two hundred sentences, and Pan Yue did his best to describe Yue Guang’s ideas in the letter of resignation. The letter was so well written that Pan Yue gained fame as a writer. -
Stories from Ancient China: Princess Taihua
2003-11-01Princess Taihua was the daughter of Emperor Gaozong in the Tang Dynasty. It is said that she was the Queen of Emperor Gaozong in a previous life. The queen was murdered by one of Emperor Gaozong’s concubines, Madam Wu. After the queen died, Madam Wu gave birth to Princess Taihua. Princess Taihua never smiled. Even though Madam Wu was her mother, every time Princess Taihua saw Madam Wu she would become very angry. -
Story from Ancient China: The Destiny of Qiao Lin
2003-10-31Liu Yanzhuang asked him, “I’ve never seen you speaking to any of my friends and guests, whether they are virtuous or not. Qiao Lin, on the other hand, is a nobody. Why are you exceptionally courteous towards him?” Shen Tusheng replied, “This man isn’t an ordinary person! He’ll one day become your superior. You should treat him kindly, and in later years he’ll reward you for your courtesy today. I’m being friendly towards him on your account. Unfortunately, judging from his facial features, there are signs that he’ll rebel one day. If he were to be a high-level government official, he wouldn’t be able to keep the position for more than a hundred days. Furthermore, he would certainly be killed after seventy years of age. Please remember what I’ve said today.” -
Stories from Ancient China: The Rumour of the Tiger
2003-10-29There certainly cannot be any tiger downtown. A rumour that a tiger was spotted downtown is an obvious falsehood, but a rumour, if repeated often enough, can be accepted as truth. This spawned the Chinese idiom “three people can turn a rumour of a tiger downtown into an accepted truth,” which is used to express this meaning. For example, one might say, “To tell between truth and falsehood, one must carefully examine all facts and think thoroughly, and should not easily believe in rumours, or one is allowing ‘three people to turn a rumour of a tiger downtown into an accepted truth.’” -
Stories from Ancient China: The Red Thread Brings Lovers Together
2003-10-28Very early the next morning Wei Gu eagerly rushed to the temple. The moon was still in the sky when he arrived. There was an old man sitting on the steps, leaning on a bag and reading a book under the moonlight. Wei Gu glanced at the book, but could not read its words. So he asked the old man, “What kind of book are you reading? Ever since youth I’ve studied many different languages, even Indian Sanskrit. Yet, I must admit I’ve never come across the language written in this book. What can you tell me about it?” -
Stories from Ancient China: King Mu of the Qin State Wins Respect with Virtue
2003-10-26Some years back, King Mu of the Qin State lost a few prized horses. The three hundred residents at the foot of Mount Qi found and captured those fine horses, and consumed the meat. The law enforcement officers of the Qin State discovered their crime, arrested all of them, and were ready to administer the most severe punishments for eating the King’s horses. But King Mu announced, “A true gentleman would never punish people on the account of a few animals. By the way, I heard that eating the meat of good horses without wine is harmful to one’s body.” -
A Brief Discussion of the Relationship Between Illness, the Four Seasons and the Four Parts of a Day
2003-10-24According to The Yellow Emperor’s Internal Script, an ancient Chinese medical reference book, all illnesses arise from dryness, humidity, cold, heat, wind, rain, imbalances between Yin and Yang, happiness, anger, dietary imbalances and an inauspicious residence location. The ill person frequently feels better at dawn and during the daytime, but may feel worse at dusk and at night. In other words, the symptoms of an illness may intensify at dusk and get even worse at night. -
Tang Dynasty Calligraphy by Yan Qin Li Bei
2003-10-23The stone rubbing calligraphy of Yan Qin Li Bei was written by Yan Zhenqing in 779 AD and excavated in October 1922 in Chang’an City known today as Xi’an. Yan Zhenqing (709-785 AD) was an expert calligrapher during the Tang Dynasty and built the stone for his great-grandfather. The stone remains in good condition after being buried underground for many years. -
Ancient Cultivation Stories: Zhang Shiping’s Dedication Rewarded
2003-10-22After Zhang heard the scholar’s words, he immediately rose to meet the scholar. The scholar said, “The cure of your illness does not lie in medical herbs. Tomorrow you will hire ten laborers to build a well for you. The well will be your cure.” The next day Zhang Shiping fulfilled the scholar’s request and had ten laborers ready for the scholar’s command. After the scholar picked a spot for the well, the laborers began to dig until morning arrived. -
Chinese Idiom: Misfortune may be a Blessing in Disguise
2003-10-21There is an old Chinese saying, “Who could have guessed it was a blessing in disguise when the old man on the frontier lost his mare?” It means a loss may turn out to be a gain, or misfortune may be a blessing in disguise. It is now a common adage. This saying originally comes from a story in “Lessons from the Human World” of Hua Nan Zi compiled by Liu An in the West Han Dynasty. The story is as follows. -
Stories From Ancient China: The Story of Li Zonghui
2003-10-09Li Zonghui was a highly talented Chinese scholar who lived in ancient China. One day, he embarked on a journey to the imperial capital with another man to take the national civil service examination. During the trip, the man revealed a secret to Li Zonghui, “I can predict the exact menu for each man for each meal, and I am never wrong.” -
A Historical View of Chinese Culture
2003-10-03Ever since the pre-Qin period, through the successive dynasties, Chinese thinkers have searched tirelessly for the eternal Great Tao that Confucius and Lao Zi praised so highly. Where did the Great Tao come from and why and when did it decline? Is there any force that can rectify and renew the origin, and bring about a radical change in the universe? When people have tried all means to seek the Great Tao, they have had to face a question that no one can escape: where does humanity come from? -
Stories From Ancient China: Moving a Dragon into the Huai River
2003-09-30Cui Yanwei, the head of Zhenyuan County, and Bozhou gathered officers and laborers and they dug thousands of feet until reaching a dragon temple. When they first opened the temple, they thought it was an ancient grave. But it looked newly built and was very clean inside. When they looked around, they saw a dragon with scales of five colors lying in the hole. The dragon was more than 1 zhang (1 zhang = 12 ft.) long, and five or six carps were swimming around it. -
The Story of Wudi's Reincarnation in the Liang Dynasty (Part 2)
2003-09-27When one is neither enticed in poverty nor conceited in wealth, there is good fortune awaiting him or her. On the fifth day of the fifth month, when Furen departed in sitting meditation, in the house of a royal family in Lanling while Zhang (the wife of Xiao Shun-zhi) was in labour. Shun-zhi was a cousin of Emperor Qi Gao. While he was sleeping, Zhang dreamed of a golden man, over 10-feet tall, wearing official attire and a hat for heavenly descendants. A group of people in red attire surrounded Zhang in a coach to come into Xiao’s hall for a break. This golden man entered Zhang’s room and bowed to Zhang as a sign of respect. In astonishment Zhang was about to ask what was happening, however, she woke up from the dream and gave birth to a son.
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