One Dream Thousands of Years

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...

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...

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 s...

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 aestheti...

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 -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------...