In the Tang Dynasty (618-907 A.D.), patriarch Pi Luoge of Mengshe Zhao, (the most powerful among the six tribes in Dali) schemed to annex the other five tribes. On the twenty fourth of the sixth lunar month in the twenty sixth year of the Kaiyuan Period (713-741 A.D.), P Luoge set the pine tower on […]
If loss is inevitable, decrease yin to increase yang. War, as a contest of strength, leads to losses on the part of the winner as well as the loser. The different lies in that the loss is inflicted upon the lose but is expected and accepted by the winner. It therefore follows that loss is […]
Feign ignorance and make no move rather than feign knowledge and make rash moves. Stay motionless and hide one’s intention. Clouds and thunder symbolize Tun. In warfare, suddenness can be achieved either by secrecy, concealing one’s open maneuvers. Secrecy is the normal method and is widely applicable. One who is not ready to take action […]
There is a Chinese saying that all the minor groups are good at saying and dancing, like the Zang people, Yi people and Zhuang people. There is a very interesting Singing-song tradition in these groups. The youth in national costumes line up and start the antiphonal singing, and the lyrics of the songs cover a […]
Dali is situated in the southwest of Yunnan China. According to Chinese literature, Dali Ancient City was a gateway to the Silk Road in Southwest China, and also serves as a seat of government and a major military barracks for Yunnan Province in the ancient time. It enjoyed magnificent scale, with a wall length of […]
At first, the knots are used to keep records. On the land of Hua Xia, “knot” was used by the ancestors to mean “contact” or “agreement” in law. Meanwhile it has the function of recording the historic events, so “knot” is respected a lot. Also, in the long process of developing, the knot is given […]
If a Chinese child saw this question, he would laugh, because everybody knows “xiao xue” is Chinese for the primary school. But the “xiao xue” here refers to some other thing. It was the traditional Chinese philosophy in feudal times. It included “wenzi xue” (the study of ancient forms of written characters), “xungu xue”(the study […]
“Leeway” refers to room for maneuver in speech or action, implying that people should reserve opportunities to retreat or make new choices. Lao Zi(circa 600-500 B.C.), a philosopher of the late Spring and Autumn Period, once said a person should not be arrogant or overbearing, but be prudent in words and actions and treat others […]
“Zhajiang Mian” (fried sauce noodles) is a northern Chinese dish consisting of thick wheat noodles topped with a mixture of ground pork stir-fried with fermented soybean paste. In Beijing cuisine, soybean paste id used, while in Tianjin and other parts of China, sweet sauce, hoisin sauce, or broad bean paste may be used in place […]
If you have a general idea about Chinese history, you might know Qin Shi Huang, he called himself the first emperor of China. He was born in c. 259 B.C. in the northwest China. His personal name is Ying Zheng. He was the king of the Chinese State of Qin from 247 B.C. to 221 […]