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How to Weigh an Elephant?

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With the start of the new school year, this time we'd like to share a true story from Chinese history for kids. It is about a boy using his ingenuity to solve  a difficult practical problem.  Nearly two thousand years ago (around 200 A.D.), in the country of China, there lived a boy named Cao Chong . His father Cao Cao was the King of China. When Chong was six years old, a foreign guest brought an elephant from a distant land to the courtyard of the palace as a gift to Chong’s father.  Chong was very excited to see an elephant for the first time, since there was no elephant where he grew up. All the people in the court were amazed by the gigantic size of the elephant. A man with strong arms and legs tried to lift one leg of the elephant, but it moved not an inch. “I bet the elephant is really heavy.” Someone in the crowd shouted, I will give my precious marble to whoever knows exactly how heavy this wonderful beast is.”  The King turned to the guest who brought the e
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Zhuang Zi (II) -- The Debate on the Joy of Fish

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Last time we shared some high-level introduction of Zhuangzi. Here is a famous philosophical debate between Zhuang Zi and his friend Hui Shi, the debate on the joy of fish. It is in a way similar to the Socratic dialogues in Classical Greece. Zhuang Zi and Hui Shi were walking on the bridge over a river. Zhuang Zi said, "Look, the minnows are darting about free and easy! This is the happiness of the fish." Hui Shi replied, "You are not a fish. How do you know that the fish are happy?" Zhuang Zi challenged back, "You not being I, how can you know that I do not know that the fish are happy?" Hui Shi argued, "If I, not being you, cannot know what you know, it follows that you, not being a fish, cannot know the happiness of the fish." Zhuang Zi said, "Let's go back to the beginning of our conversation. You asked me how I knew the fish are happy. This very question that you asked shows that you already knew that I knew it. I knew it from my
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Zhuang Zi, a One-of-a-kind Philosopher (I)

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We have not updated our blog for quite a while. I have had a crazy start to this year both at work and home. Sorry about the long wait! Without further ado, let's jump right into today's topic. We'd like to introduce you to a truly magnificent ancient Chinese philosopher, my all-time favorite, Zhuang Zi (aka Chuang Tzu or Chuangtse, 庄子). He lived in roughly the same time as Confucius during the Spring and Autumn Period (771 - 476 BC). Zhuang Zi was a brilliant prose writer of the time. Unlike the dry moralizing of any early Chinese thinkers including Confucius, Dr. Lin Yutang described Zhuang Zi was "a humorist with a wild and rather luxuriant fantasy, [a fair] for [superb] exaggeration and for the big. One should therefore read him as one would a humorist writer knowing that he is frivolous when he is profound and profound when he is frivolous."  The mystic creatures he imagined in his work became so well known and widely used in the Chinese language through
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When to Quit According to Fan Li

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Fan Li (范蠡) wore many hats: he was a prominent politician, a military strategist, and a successful merchant in the State of Yue during the Spring and Autumn Period (770–476 B.C.). (See our map of Chinese states in the Spring and Autumn period ) He was not best known as a military strategist because of the galaxy of brilliant strategists serving at the courts of each Chinese state at his time, but rather was mostly renowned for his unparalleled political acumen and business savvy. The highlight of his political career came when he served as an advisor to Goujian (remember The King of Swords post?), the king of Yue, and helped him conquer the powerful neighboring state of Wu against all odds. At the pinnacle of his success, to the surprise of the king and his colleagues, he chose to resign and decided to make a living as a merchant. He explained to his best friend and political ally about this decision with an analogy. "When the cunning hare is killed, the fleet hound goes int
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The Art of War

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When Thales was pondering over the originating principle of nature in Miletus, a man in the East was writing a book, the global popularity of which in the centuries to come went well beyond his wildest imagination. The man's name was Sun Wu, (more commonly known as Sun Zi or Sun Tzu, meaning "Master Sun") and the book is none other than "The Art of War", which together with Clausewitz's On War is widely acclaimed to be the most influential treatises on military strategy in history. Sun Zi During the turbulent Eastern Zhou dynasty (770 B.C. - 256 B.C.),  China was politically fragmented with dozens of states competing for dominance. Constant wars turned out to be fertile ground for cultivating ambitious military strategists, and Sun Zi was among the best of them. His masterpiece "The Art of War" was developed largely based on his experience serving as a general in the kingdom of Wu (today's Jiangsu Province, see our map of Chinese state
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The King of Swords

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Today's post features the most famous bronze sword of ancient China. Figure 1: The Sword of Goujian, Hubei Provincial Museum You may have seen many ancient swords in museums all around the world, yet this one remains the most distinctive in many ways. Firstly, it is one of the oldest of its kind in the world, dating back to the late Spring and Autumn period ( 770–476 B.C.). Throughout this period as China remained politically fragmented with dozens of states competing for dominance, the state of Yue on the southeast coast (today's Zhejiang Province) was renowned for making the best bronze swords. The Sword of Goujian, named after its owner, the most accomplished king of Yue, is the cream of the crop. Figure 2: The chronological timeline from  Liangzhu  (Neolithic Age) to Eastern Zhou Dynasty (end of Bronze Age) Figure 3: The map of Chinese states in the Spring and Autumn period The second special feature of this sword lies in the fact that it was st
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Holiday Special Edition: Best friend = He/She who gets your music?

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The Chinese people call their best friend "Zhi Yin (知音)“. ”Zhi (知)", when used as a verb, means know/understand. "Yin (音)" is a noun meaning music/sound/voice. The literal interpretation of your "Zhi Yin" or best friend is hence somebody who gets your music. It probably seems a little odd but it will become intuitive after we tell you the story. Bo Ya and Zi Qi The story happened in around 300 B.C. Bo Ya (伯牙), a very famous composer and musician at the time, enjoyed playing his "qin (琴)*" in the nature. One cool summer day, Bo Ya performed at his favorite spot in the valley with a stream of the creek winding around. After a cup of wine, he started with the first movement, so deep and profound. "Ode to the mountains!", Zi Qi (子期), a nearby woodcutter heard the music and uttered, ”for its majestic rise!" Delighted, Bo Ya moved on to the second movement which began very softly with a barcarolle-like melody, so peaceful and e
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