We’ve come full cycle again to the Year of the Dog, known as an auspicious animal associated with good fortune. If you were born in the Chinese Year of the…
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People of many cultures call upon a God or gods for guidance and protection in their daily lives, and the Chinese are no exception. Let’s meet three traditional deities who…
Want to put your best foot forward and create better impressions while working and living in modern China? Here are three seemingly harmless words that, when used in certain contexts,...
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The Daoist/Taoist philosophers were known for their unforced approach to life, serving as a welcome relief to stultifying Confucian perfectionism. And the Daoist Master, Zhuangzi, more than perhaps any other...
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Sinophiles who’ve yet to read the Journey to the West (西游记, Xīyóujì) can still recognize the novel’s shapeshifting protagonist by name. Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) author Wu Cheng’en based his fictional...
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Let's remove the common misperceptions surrounding Beijing Opera as a Chinese art form to better understand its unique and multifaceted storytelling approach. Here are five common myths eager to be...
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This week we spoke with Jesse Appell, an American comedian living in Beijing, about his views on Chinese comedy and performing for a Chinese audience. read short versionread full version How's...
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Halloween is coming fast! Is your costume ready? To kick-start your creative process, here's our shortlist of five Chinese culture-inspired Halloween costumes guaranteed to spark interest at parties, or at...
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The modern Mid-Autumn Festival has, to some observers, become yet another example of our world’s rampant materialism, in which the act of gifting an expensive box – with all its...
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Duck is cooling, chicken is heaty. Green tea is cooling, black tea is heaty. Crabs are cooling, shrimp are heaty. To an outsider, these classifications might seem as random as the...
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