chinese folktales, folklore, folktales, legend of confucius, lu shang, tale of the white snake, the ape sun wu kung, the spirit of wu-lian mountain, traditional culture

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.

Hawaii’s Nutritional Taro Root and Recipes

The edible taro is a corm that is cut from the Colocasia esculenta plant. Its root system stores its nutrients inside a thick swollen part of the root. This section is chopped, peeled, then cooked and added to a meal. The word esculenta is the Latin word for edible. Captain Cook found the Colocasia growing ...

Trisha Haddock

The Taro plant plantation in Hawaii at sunset.

Lithuanian Lullaby: Step Back in Time and Hear These Beautiful Sounds

The lullaby is evocative of a mother’s love, care, and protection, of being cradled in her tender arms, and of being tucked in at bedtime. The lullaby is the memory of our grandmothers and our ancestors. It is an archetypical sound, ancestral, as well as a foundational connection with our culture. Lithuania is a beautiful ...

Jessica Kneipp

A mother singing a lullaby while holding her daughter.

The Guqin: Playing Music From the Heart

The guqin is a five- or seven-stringed plucked instrument originating in Ancient China. It was considered essential to know how to play the instrument by ancient men of virtue because it was a symbol of saintliness and noble character. The music of the guqin blends in with the traditional culture and reflects a distinct, simple, ...

Helen London

A 7-stringed guqin.

No More Traditional Culture as the Last Chinese Villages Are Dying

When we talk about Chinese traditional culture, some of the things that come to mind are the philosophical and ethical teachings of Confucius and the Daoists, the colorful clothing, and the close-knit communities whose members take care of each other. But communist rule has completely wiped out any trace of such culture from the large ...

Armin Auctor

A Chinese villager.

The 10 Admonishments of Imperial Official Lin Zexu (Part 1)

Lin Zexu (林則徐, 1785-1850) was an honest official in the late Qing Dynasty known for his strict crackdown against the opium trade. In 1839, he made a tour of Macao and, seeing the ills plaguing society, penned 10 maxims based on his 54 years of experience to warn against the futility of performing superficial good ...

Emma Lu

A statue of Lin Zexu.

How Kenya Is Reviving Ancient Traditions

Modernity has gifted humanity with many good things. In the process, many practices have been blindly cast out on the pretext that they are useless or outdated. This has created a sense of loss for numerous cultures around the world, with many communities feeling that disregarding their ancient traditions has somehow destroyed their close-knit societies. ...

Jessica Kneipp

Traditional Masai dancers.

The Secret to the 33,000 Centuries-Old Stores in Japan

There are more than 33,000 stores in Japan that have endured for centuries. This is the country with the most time-honored brands in the world, including the world’s oldest hotel, Nishiyama Onsen Keiunkan in Yamanashi, which was founded in A.D. 705. There is also the Candy dessert shop Ichimonjiya Wasuke, a company based in Kyoto, ...

Helen London

Nishiyama Onsen Keiunkan.

Is There a Link Between Chinese Shen Yun and Ballet?  

Some people think that the style of dance presented in a Shen Yun performance is similar to ballet. However, the truth is that Shen Yun has nothing to do with ballet. Instead, its foundation is completely based on traditional Chinese dance. Ballet and Shen Yun A few decades back, the Chinese government started inviting dance ...

Raven Montmorency

The Shen Yun logo.

The Oriental Blossoms

Hong Kong’s Flower Show in March 2018 opened up to much fanfare and celebration as it honored the joy of blooming flowers. This annual show of oriental blossoms is always a success, as flowers are of great importance to the Chinese people. Flowers in China are not just essential for their artistic value; they are ...

Nspirement Staff