Literature
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The Dream of the Yellow Millet is a famous Chinese fable from the novel “The Story of the Pillow’ by the Tang Dynasty writer Shen Jiji. A poor scholar surnamed Lu chanced upon an old Taoist priest surnamed Lü at an inn in Handan, whilst on his way to sit the imperial examinations. Lu lamented…
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The “Thousand Character Classic” is one of the most widely circulated and most influential early educational texts in pre-modern era China. Together with the “Three Character Classic,” the “Hundred Family Surnames,” and the “Poems of a Thousand Masters” it is collectively known as the “Three, Hundred, Thousand, Thousand” (三百千千). Using one thousand different, non-repeating Chinese…
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Duke of Zhou was the younger brother of King Wu of Zhou dynasty and the uncle of King Cheng of Zhou. After King Wu’s death, the young King Cheng ascended the throne, and the Duke of Zhou acted as regent. This aroused suspicion among his older brothers, Guan Shu and Cai Shu, who spread rumours…
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Madame Huarui (?—976AD) , originally named Xu (or Fei), was a consort of Meng Chang, the ruler of the Later Shu Kingdom during the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period. She was beautiful and talented, especially known for her poetry. Meng Chang was an incompetent ruler who indulged in pleasure and ignored Madame Huarui’s advice to…
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Someone painted a picture and asked the renowned poet-monk Master Cangxue (1588–1656AD) to inscribe it. Upon seeing the painting, Master Cangxue immediately picked up his brush and wrote this poem: “There is no one under the pine tree; only a game of Go, left unfinished, lies there. Mountain pine cones fall, scattering across the board.…
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Su Dongpo (1037-1101AD) was a renowned writer, calligrapher, and painter of the Northern Song Dynasty, he also served as Minister of War among other official positions. Whilst serving in Guazhou, north of the Yangtze River, Su Dongpo formed a deep friendship with the eminent monk, Zen master Fo Yin of Jinshan Temple, situated on the…