One Dream Thousands of Years

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

Have you noticed that Chinese people harbor a special fondness of jade jewelry? In mandarin Chinese, it is pronounced as "yu" and written as "玉“. The Chinese character "玉" looks very similar to the character "王" which means the king. In ancient times, "yu" is a symbol of royalty and power. If you wonder since when "yu" became so important to the Chinese, we probably have to go back to around 3300 B.C. to 2000 B.C. About one thousand years after Hemudu , another representative Neolithic culture, the Liangzhu Culture, emerged in the Yangtze River delta of China, almost around the same area as Hemudu. Like Hemudu, Liangzhu Culture is named after the place where the relics were first discovered. A large number of exquisite jade handicrafts were unearthed since excavations began in the 1930s. Archeologists were stunned not only by the large quantities of jade art crafts but also by the advancement of carving on the extremely tough tra

Hemudu (河姆渡) Culture dates back to around 5000 B.C. to 4000 B.C. It originated in areas near present day Hangzhou in  Zhejiang Province on the southeast coast of  China  (Check HERE for the geographical location of Hangzhou). The Hemudu relic site was one of the most prominent archeological discoveries in China. It proves the Neolithic culture was also present in south China. What's it like for people living in Hemudu? Hemudu people were natural architects. They designed and built their houses on stilts to adapt to their local living environment with plenty of rivers, lakes and ponds and associated humidity and floods. They also invented the mortise-tenon structure to combine two pieces of wood and widely used it in building their houses. While men were out hunting for animals, women were busy cooking. Hemudu people were among the first to cultivate rice. Cooked rice was usually served in potteries. Hemudu people were talented craftsmen with strong aesthetic sense. T

The story of   Liang Shanbo and Zhu Yingtai (Butterfly Lovers)   originated in Jiang Nan of China. Where is Jiang Nan? "Jiang Nan" is neither a province nor a city. In Mandarin Chinese, "Jiang" means river and "Nan" means south. "Jiang Nan" refers to a geographic area in China that sits right on the Yangtze River delta. It centers around the Lake Tai and comprises cities of Suzhou, Hangzhou, Yangzhou, Nanjing, Shaoxing, Zhenjiang, Wuxi, Huzhou, Shanghai, Ningbo, Changzhou, Jiaxing in a narrowly sense. From the earliest Hemudu Culture (around 5000 to 4000 BC) to the most prosperous region in today's China, we invite you to explore the history, culture, and art of "Jiang Nan" with our original illustrations through the first series of our blog. Top: Map of China (The area in the rectangle is Jiang Nan); Bottom: Map of Jiang Nan -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

1700 years ago in China, education was a privilege to men. Zhu Yingtai, a young girl from a wealthy family in Zhejiang Province, longed for knowledge and convinced her family to allow her to pursue education disguised as a man. She went to a private school in Hangzhou where she met Liang Shanbo, a young man who later became her roommate and the very best friend. For three years, they studied together and Zhu gradually fell in love with Liang. However, as nerdy as he is, Liang never suspected for once that Zhu was indeed a woman.  When Zhu turned 18, her family abruptly called her back and arranged her marriage to Ma Wencai, a man from another wealthy family in the nearby village. Despite their unwillingness to separate, Liang saw Zhu off at the Duan Bridge ("Duan" means broken in Chinese) on the West Lake in Hangzhou. Zhu hinted Liang that she was actually a woman but how could Liang get it given that no woman at that time were allowed to attend school.