See China

Around 600BC in the Spring-Autumn era, a coalition army led by the Duke of Qi appeared on the border of Chu state, whose emissary quickly appeared on the scene to challenge the army’s presence “our respective circles are north and south; we have no entanglement with each other; for what cause do you come?”, and [...]

Do city people eat artificial rice? How can you find your home in your city where all houses look alike? If a student acts naughty in class in the city, will the teacher see it from the computer? How do you ride a plane? Do you sit on its wings or in its belly? These are some of the 100 questions written by primary pupils from remote Chinese countryside in Yunnan province.

Treasure not the golden thread suit; treasure more your time of youth Pluck straight the blooming flower - it begs to be; not till it wilts on an empty branch 劝君莫惜金缕衣，劝君惜取少年时。 花开堪折直须折，莫待无花空折枝 A poem recorded by the Tang Dynasty poet Du Mu, a contemporary of  Li Shangyin, in honour Du Qiuniang (who might have been the author), who was once [...]

 Once upon a time, the mulberry was an important plant in both eastern and western culture; the nursery rhyne “Here we go round the mulberry bush” so similar to the may pole dance, is what remains of an old pagan fertility ritual; mulberry was once the plant associated with Minerva/Athena, the Roman/Greek goddess of wisdom, [...]

A Chinese named Yang Heyang wrote an article on Sina.com, recalling how he became “the funniest man in the world”, a titled conferred to him by the kind citizens of Kiel, Germany.

Over the past two weekends, Beijing played host to three major music festivals, showing the breadth of the Chinese music scene. Local independent music label Modern Sky put on the Strawberry Music Festival, which has an indie-rock bent featuring Chinese acts and a smattering of international bands. The Midi Festival, organized by Beijing’s Midi School of Music, has a more rock ‘n’ roll vibe, a punk- and metal-heavy lineup, and an eleven-year history. And the smaller Ditan Park Folk Festival was launched just last year by an independent promoter who also owns a guitar shop in Beijing.

Another speculation put the ownership of the tomb to Kong Sizhen (孔四贞) the only proclaimed Qing princess of Han ethnicity. Kong’s father, Kong Youde, was a former Ming general who staged a mutiny and led a revolt against the Ming emperor.

The National Library of China, the world’s largest archive of Chinese books and manuscripts, is now soliciting old pictures about the life and history of global Chinese descendents. Donars of pictures eligible to be permanently collected by NLC will be conferred with an official certificate. Please contact nlcoldphoto@yahoo.cn for details.