When the enemy’s intention is obvious and the ally’s attitude hesitant, induce the ally to fight the enemy while preserving one’s own strength. This can be inferred from Sun. To avoid getting incriminated for his act of murder, a person can sometimes conduct the act with a “borrowed knife”, which generally refers to someone else […]
Crush the enemy’s main force and capture its chief to disintegrate its body. A dragon compelled to fight on land is faced with an impasse. This expression is taken from a poem by the Tang poet Du Fu: To draw a bow, draw one that is powerful; To pick arrows, take those that are long; […]
Although life is predetermined, ancient Chinese believes that life can be borrowed like money. When one got an incurable disease, his life was numbered, but if anyone would lend him “longevity”, his life might be prolonged. Therefore, his children or other close relations would fast, perform ablutions and go to ancestral temple to pray, saying […]
Chinese is well-known for their thrift and diligence. There are a lot Chinese proverbs about this kind of tradition. Chinese believes in “First bitter then sweet”, they think “The whole year’s work depends on a good start in spring, while the whole day’s work depends on a good start in the morning”. Although Chinese has […]
If winter comes, the stalls selling sugar-coated haws can be seen around the streets of Beijing, red, crystal clear, sweet and sour taste, crisp and delicious. It is a favorite snack for northern Chinese in the winter. “Sugar-coated haws” (Tang Hulu) is a fruit with a bamboo stick strung together, its shape is like a […]
Shanxi Province is treated as the land of wheaten food. There is a good saying, “the most delicious wheaten food of the world is in China, and while the most delicious one of China is in Shanxi.” Counting back from the Eastern Han period which kept record on the historical date of wheaten food, Shanxi […]
The term “zhong guo” first appeared in some historic records of the Zhou Dynasty (c.1100-221B.C.). In the oracle bone inscription, the form of the character “zhong” looks like a flag. At that time, the emperors would call on meetings under a flag and the participants would stand around the flag listening to orders. For this […]
Batik is a traditional Chinese folk art which combing and dyeing. It is originated in ancient China, no later than the Qin and the Han Dynasty, the ethnic minorities in the Southwest China had grasped the characteristic of wax resisting dyeing by using wax and in insect wax as their materials. It is one of […]
Western people are accustomed to treat guests with coffee while Chinese people prefer tea. Generally, the rule of “tea 50% full and wine 100% full” should be observed when serving tea in cups. Hot tastes better and it will get cool down if the guest can not finish a full cup of tea. When there […]
“Qilin xian shu” is a legendary tale told that once a “qilin”, a fabulous animal, delivered books to Confucius. “Qilin” was a Chinese legendary animal known as the Chinese unicorn by Western writers. It looked like a deer, but with a single horn on its head, large fish scales on its body, and a tail […]