Tag: Ming dynasty
The Daylily’s 2,500-Year Journey: How China Turned a Poet’s Flower into a Kitchen Staple
The Chinese idiom "huánghuācài dōu liáng le," literally "even the daylily dish has gone cold," is a northern...
China’s Five Sacred Creatures and What They Actually Meant
The dragon: lord of transformation, emblem of imperial power The Shuowen Jiezi, the Han dynasty's...
Ancient Chinese Health Wisdom: What the Book of Rites Says About the Body
In classical Chinese thought, virtue produces a physically observable effect on the body The Book...
Ming Dynasty Master Qiu Ying’s ‘Spring Morning in the Han Palace’ — A Masterpiece of Chinese Court Painting
Qiu Ying: a professional painter who rose from poverty to the top of Chinese art Qiu Ying (c. 1494...
Why the Chinese Communist Party Pulled a Book About a Failed Emperor
Editor Zi Meng According to Reuters, the book Chongzhen: The Diligent Emperor Who Lost His Dynasty...
Siheyuan: How China’s Courtyard Homes Shaped Family Life for 3,000 Years
A courtyard enclosed on four sides For many Chinese families, the idea of a proper home begins with...
The Lantern Festival in Chinese History: Ritual Origins, Imperial Celebrations, and Folk Traditions from
The Lantern Festival falls on the fifteenth day of the first lunar month. This year it lands on March...
Why the Forbidden City Roofs Have No Bird Droppings: 5 Secrets of Beijing’s Palace Museum
The ingenuity of ancient builders continues to attract admiration. In an era with limited technology...
A 600-Year-Old Mystery: Who Designed the Forbidden City?
By Yi Xin As the imperial palace of 24 emperors across the Ming and Qing dynasties, the Forbidden...
Frugality, Luxury, and Legacy: How Screens Shaped Imperial China
By Dai Dongni Screens are among the oldest forms of furniture in Chinese civilization, appearing as...
Princess Wencheng’s Journey Along the Tea-Horse Road
By Xiao Jing A line from a Yuan-dynasty drama echoes across centuries: “Managing a household begins...
The Great Chinese Treasure Ships of Zheng He
Ask an American to name the world’s greatest maritime explorers and you will likely hear the names of...