faithfullness, he zhenfu, love story, lovesick, marriage, song of magpies

A Sad Love Story

The following is a sad love story from China’s Warring States Period. Han Ping was a member of the court of Kang Wang, the King of Song State. Han’s wife, He Zhenfu, was as beautiful as the flowers, virtuous, kind, and well-versed in writing poetry. Desiring her for her beauty, Kang kidnapped He Zhenfu and ...

Helen London

A Chinese woman with red parasol dressed in hanfu surrounded by clouds and water.

A Poignant Love Letter of an Unusual Kind

The day of my father’s funeral was met with an unusual encounter, as well as an unusual love letter. At the end of all the official funeral proceedings, I noticed an elderly lady in her seventies. Her grey hair was neatly styled, and she wore a hand-knitted black sweater with a small white flower corsage ...

Emma Lu

A pink lotus flower in bloom.