Culture

  • Reflections on History: Tyranny Is Crueler than a Tiger

    Though China’s history holds many tales of governmental corruption and stealing from those who can least afford it, none match the abuses of Jiang’s regime.
  • Walks in the Apricot Forest: A Girl’s Compassion Leads to a Cure For Leprosy

    Because of her compassionate thought to save the life of a young bachelor, she not only ended up saving her own life, but blessed all the people of future generations suffering from leprosy by discovering this magical medicine.
  • Fable: A Flying Wooden Swan

    The story of how a humble hermit showed a king that the value of things lay beneath the surface.
  • Predestined Fate - A Life Full of Misfortunes

    A Prime Minister in the Tang Dynasty learns that power, position and a comfortable life, as well as the lack thereof, are all in the hands of Destiny...
  • Culture: Man’s Sincerity Will Move the Heavens

    When two doctors gave the same prescription to or made the same herbal medicine for the same patient, the healing effects were oftentimes found to be different. There seems to be a positive correlation between the morality and virtue of the doctor and the healing effect. What could be the logical explanation for this observation?
  • Fable: Anger

    Once upon a time, when God had seen how the people had turned away from their evil deeds, he changed his mind about the calamity he had prepared and kept the inevitable disaster from them. One man among the citizenry in that ancient land was not pleased with this turn of events. Because he felt repentant for his prior misdeeds, he expected to be punished...
  • Prehistoric Cave Paintings: A Prehistoric Painting of a Policeman with a Gun

    A Canadian, Mr. Jiri Mruzek, re-examined the drawing after he had found this strange section of the artwork. He turned the drawing to another angle and re-described the outline of the head. It became clear that the picture is actually a policeman or a soldier, with a baton in one hand and the other hand points to his rifle on his leg, making it look like he is warning some lawless persons not to act rashly.
  • Revered Mountains and Ancient Temples: Mount Heng, the Most Significant Mountain in Northern China

    One cannot introduce Mount Heng without mentioning the Hanging Monastery, which has a 1,400 year history. The architectural design is most ingenious and beyond compare. It took more than the wisdom of an average architect to nest a monastery against a deadly cliff.
  • The Sanqi Herb

    In the treasure house of traditional Chinese medicine, there is a rare herb called sanqi. It is known for its amazing ability to stop bleeding, disperse "stagnant blood" (meaning that the passage of blood containing toxins is obstructed by some hardness, causing poor circulation), reduce swelling and relieve pain. It is used externally to heal wounds inflicted by trauma and to stop excessive bleeding. Sanqi is also highly effective for treating internal injuries, such as the bleeding of an internal organ or blood vessel. Sanqi is one of the main ingredients in the world famous yunnan baiyao. There is a Chinese folk saying, “When it comes to stopping people from bleeding, sanqi is worth more than its weight in gold.”
  • Justice Throughout the Ages

    When morals were high there was only the rule of the lord and everything was measured by de – virtue, the idea of what is right. The judicial corruption or abuse was a manifestation of the degeneration of the human heart. Justice was replaced by corrupt politics and eroded by personal interests. The legal system in countries ruled by dictatorships, such as the evil Chinese communist regime, has become a tool used by the powerful to oppress at will and persecute their own people.
  • Natural Disasters and the Decline and Fall of the Xia Dynasty

    The history of China is that of a succession of dynasties. The fall of each dynasty on the stage of China has been followed by the rise of another. There have been tens of thousands of colourful protagonists who have graced the stage and millions of Chinese people who have endured so much suffering. During these events, natural calamities that often lasted for years seem to have had major roles in the play. Each calamity warned that retribution would follow those who had violated the principles of Heaven. Each calamity seemed to direct the decline and fall of a dynasty, and the rise of a new dynasty led by a moral monarch.
  • The Virtuous Cheng Tang of the Shang Dynasty

    Upon completing paying respect to the imperial seal, Cheng Tang took his seat as a feudal lord, and said, “This throne belongs to a man of virtue, for China is a property of any family. Only a virtuous man should rule China. Only a man with principles (Tao) can govern the world because only a man with principles (Tao) knows how to govern the country properly.” Of all 3,000 feudal lords, no one dared to claim the throne. Cheng Tang modestly declined the unanimous vote of all feudal lords three times before he finally took the imperial seat graciously
  • A Look at Prehistoric Cave Paintings

    When people think of cave paintings by prehistoric men, most people have the impression of a group of primitives who wore leaves and sat around a fire after hunting. They think that these people would draw on the walls of stone caves as a way to record the hunting activities of the day. Many of the slabstone fresco's that have been discovered are scenes of primitive hunting, primitive people and animals. These drawings were made using very simple lines.This may be an acceptable description of some of those cave paintings. However, the slabstone fresco's shown in the following article are beyond the scope of that.
  • Discussion On Yin and Yang and Bearing Baby Boys and Girls

    The elderly journalist at my previous workplace had just learned some skills during his spare time. However, he was able to tell an embryo's gender at the very earliest stage of pregnancy with just the use of his fingers, whilst western medicine still can't accurately tell the gender to this day. Isn't the elderly mans way of determining a baby's gender more advanced? Perhaps we should think this over carefully. Should we just discard traditional Chinese culture, or should we take a fresh look at ancient Chinese civilisation and culture?
  • Accounts of Psychiatric Treatment in Ancient China

    The doctor asked her about her medical history and immediately understood what her ailment was. He chose one of her closest and most reliable servants, and told her, “I am going to prescribe some herbs that will produce vomiting and diarrhoea. You will be the one who cleans up the discharge. After she vomits, please tell her that you saw a worm in the discharge. But, don't ever let her know that you lied to her.” The servant followed the doctor’s instruction and indeed the women’s illness disappeared.