Chinese Culture

The Legend of the Mid-Autumn Festival

Chinese festivals have a unique flavor of their own. The Mid-Autumn Festival is one of the prominent festivals in Chinese culture. There are some interesting stories and legends behind the Mid-Autumn Festival. Among the stories, the most popular one is that of Chang’e – the legendary story of the Chinese Moon goddess. The legend changes ...

Emma Lu

mooncake

Sima Guang: Assessing the Abilities and Virtues of People

Sima Guang (1019-1086), courtesy name Junshi, was a native of Shanxi Xia County, a litterateur, and a historian in the Northern Song Dynasty. He consecutively served as an official across four emperors, taking charge of the compilation of the first Chinese general history, History as a Mirror. He was a paradigm of Confucian education and ...

Nspirement Staff

Sima Guang.

The Virtue of Gratitude: A Meal Worth a Thousand Pieces of Gold

The idiom of “a meal worth a thousand pieces of gold” is a common saying in China and dates back to Han Xin of the Han Dynasty. It means that one should always show gratitude for the kindness received from someone. Although the favor received may be very small, even a little help in times ...

Tatiana Denning

Egg noodles and rice.

Chinese Folktales

Chinese folktales are some of the most colorful and varied stories ever written. For thousands of years, China has produced an unparalleled treasure house of fables, myths, and anecdotes passed down through generations.  The traditional Chinese culture has an enigmatic history and rich, colorful folklore. Written during the Three Kingdoms period (220-280 CE), Lu Shang’s ...

Viena Abdon

Sun Wu Kung, the Monkey King.

2 Ancient Chinese Brainteasers

Are you as clever as these people from ancient China? The following stories raise some perplexing questions. See if you can unravel these brainteasers. Confucius examines Xiang Tuo In the Spring and Autumn period (around 770 to 476 B.C.), Confucius and his students once went out for a ride in a carriage. They saw many ...

Helen London

Tiny white flowers in Spring in front of scrolls with Chinese characters written on them.

Wisdom of the Ancients: ‘Ugly Women’ 

In today’s world of instant beauty fixes, Instagram posts, and social media influencers, it is easy to forget that beauty is in the eye of the beholder. While some think that contouring makeup and padded underwear make a woman beautiful by current standards, the ancient Chinese people had other ideas, and “ugly women” were not ...

Helen London

Painting of the imperial court in ancient China.