Wisdom, Editor's Pick

Good Character Is the Only Invincible Arrow

The most important skill for an archer to develop is good character. In ancient times, a man called Gan Ying excelled at archery. As soon as he fitted an arrow to the bow and pulled on the drawstring, beasts became motionless, and birds fell from the sky. When Fei Wei heard about these skills, he ...

Helen London

An archery target filled with arrows.

2 Brothers Sought the Tao, but Only One Obtained It

Lao Zi once said: “When a wise person hears the Tao, he practices it diligently, but when an average person hears the Tao, he practices it on and off.” The following story is about two brothers who sought the Tao. A long time ago, there were two brothers who wanted to take up cultivation. However, their ...

Max Lu

Five stepping stones in the water.le of water.

The Merchant’s Retribution Was Changed

A merchant who cheats will suffer retribution. The merchant Zhao Defang was the father of three sons. He lived toward the end of the Qing Dynasty and enjoyed a very prosperous life. All of his sons were married. When Zhao celebrated his 60th birthday, he confessed to his three sons that he deliberately rigged his ...

Emma Lu

Weighing scales.

The Meaning Behind a Gift of Chopsticks

Chopsticks originated in ancient China and have become unique to Eastern culture. Not only are they part of the essential tableware of daily meals, but giving them as a gift has become part of Chinese culture and holds a special meaning.  The legend of chopsticks While there are several legends about the origin of chopsticks, ...

Tatiana Denning

Two colorful ceramic bowls, one blue with a white design and the other coral with a white design, have wooden chopsticks resting on top of them.

A Peculiar Medical Mystery

This is a true story that happened in Thailand. Wen Lai is a 43-year-old peasant and construction worker who lives in Thailand. He has had several surgeries over the last three years. Each time, his condition becomes more severe than before, with no improvement at all, offering a baffling medical mystery to the surgeons. It all ...

Max Lu

Thai fruit seller sailing wooden boat in thailand tradition floating market

2 Stories About Wisdom

Good luck or back luck — it all depends on how you look at it Wisdom can be as simple as changing your point of view. An old Zen master went on a trip and stayed overnight at an elderly woman’s place. The Zen master noticed the woman cried every day, and he wondered why. ...

Tatiana Denning

Blossoms on a tree branch.

Young Li Bai’s Influential Encounter by the Riverside

Li Bai is one of the great poets that lived during the Tang Dynasty. He was good at portraying the spectacular scenery of the natural world. His poetic style has been described as being magnificent and splendid with an ability to spark one’s imagination in a vigorous and unconstrained way. Every primary school student is ...

Emma Lu

A painting of immortal Chinese poet, Li Bai, lounging with his head propped on his arm and smiling, with one of his poems written above the painted figure.

What These Men Did With Apples Decided Their Futures

The rich and the poor were once at the same starting line, but the final result was quite different — what is the reason for this? This is a story about how three men’s futures were decided by what they did with some apples. Three men went out together to search for opportunities to make a ...

Raven Montmorency

Apples hanging on trees.

Showing Weakness Is a Kind of Wisdom

We usually believe that the strong will prevail, but actually, those who show their soft side may go further. The action of showing weakness at certain moments is a kind of wisdom and those who do so can win understanding for themselves and avoid embarrassment for all.   1. Showing weakness is not incompetence, but a ...

Helen London

Black basalt stones with an orchid and some bamboo.

3 Interesting Moral Fables

  Not everything is as it seems. People around the world have always used moral fables to help people gain deeper insights and understandings. Here are 3 moral fables to expand your thinking 1. Look up and you look beautiful  Jenny is a young girl. Not having faith in her looks, she always kept her head ...

Helen London

Optical illusion of a man grabbing the sun out of the sky.