During the reign of Emperor Wu in the Han Dynasty (206 B.C.–23 AD), the Crown Prince of that time was framed by his enemies and executed for planning to overthrow the Emperor. At the time of his execution the Crown Prince had a grandson who was only a few months old. Due to this tragedy the baby boy lost his entire family as they too were executed along with the Crown Prince.

The evolution of furniture in ancient China reveals that the transformation of ancient people’s living style from sitting on the floor to sitting on high chairs occurred only after the Song dynasty. This means the custom of sitting on high chairs has a brief history of one thousand years in Chinese culture. One might wonder why it hadn’t occurred to the ancient Chinese people before that sitting on a taller chair might be more comfortable? It doesn’t make much sense especially if you’ve read about the incredible technological developments and inventions in ancient China recorded in Meng Xi Bi Tan by Shen Kuo of the Song dynasty. Can it be true that only after the appearance of Hu Chuang that the ancient Chinese people realised they could sit on stools?

The location of the carvings indicate that at that time humans mostly inhabited the area the Danube River and that the artistry at that period is very different from ours today. This discovery completely overthrows the traditional idea that art developed gradually from that of the primitive and rough style to the fine, contemporary craftsmanship today. "It seems that the first modern humans in Europe were astonishingly precocious in their skills," says Sinclair.

In the era of the Emperor Xuzong during the Tang Dynasty, there was a fortuneteller who claimed he could foretell what foods people would eat in the future. Many officials in the Imperial Court went to see him to ask him to tell their fortune. Only one senior official, named Li Qijun, didn't believe him.

Du Xian was a prime minister during the Xuanzong period of the Tang dynasty. One day, a youthful Du Xian was trying to cross the river at Pu Jin at a point where the current was very fast with heavy under currents. Many people had boarded the boat, and the person who untied the boat had already untied the cable and was ready to leave. At that time, an elderly man on the bank called out to the boat: “Mr. Du, please stay for a moment!” The old man’s manner was very sincere, so Du Xian had no choice but to depart the boat and go and see the old man. He talked with him for a long time. The people on board waited for Du Xian impatiently. After a period of time there was stil no sign of Du Xian returning to the boat, so they threw his bag onto the bank and left without him

Ji Kong was a proud person who chose his friends carefully. When the group showed up at his house, he was working on working a piece of iron. He had a furnace set up and was pounding iron under a tree. When he saw the group, he acted as if he hadn’t seen them and kept pounding the iron for a long time, without saying a single word. Zhong Hui was very embarrassed and disappointed and turned to leave. Ji Kong asked him just before he left: “What is it that you came here to hear and what have you seen that is making you leave?” Zhong Hui responded quickly and said: “I heard what I wanted to hear when I came and I saw what I was supposed to see before I am to leave.” This exchange of questions and answers is a famous anecdote in Chinese literary history.

During the Spring and Autumn Period, Shou Mong, the king of the state of Wu had four sons. He named the eldest son Zhu Fan, the second Yu Ji, the third Yu Muo and the youngest Ji Zha. Among all four, Ji Zha was the one with the most pleasant personality. The king was extremely fond of his youngest son. In A.D. 561, the king became seriously ill. He asked for Ji Zha and told him that he would be the successor to his throne. However, Ji Zha would not accept it. He said: “Generally, the eldest son inherits the throne. Father, please, do not continue to shower me with gifts to show your affection.” Therefore, the king’s eldest son, Zhu Fan, inherited the throne. Before he died, the king tasked his oldest son to take good care of Ji Zha.

Cui Yan was a commander in the Luoziwu Valley at that time and he was in charge of many soldiers there. One day he saw a Taoist walking into the valley. The Taoist refused to tell Cui Yan his name, but he did give Cui Yan a special prescription to cure his ailment. He said, “get one or two liters of Chinese Honey Locust sticks and bake them to ashes. Steam rhubarb nine times, drying the rhubarb each time after steaming it. Grind it into fine powder. Before eating it, pour the ashes of the Honey Locust sticks and the rhubarb powder into the decoction of rhubarb. Eat the entire decoction.”

After two weeks the wart had completely fallen from my cheek. The spot where the wart used to be grew new, soft, white skin. At first, if you didn’t inspect it closely you couldn’t even see that there used to be something there. Slowly the new skin blended in with the rest of my skin, so invisible that there were no signs where the wart used to be. I have read in health and medical books about people growing warts on their feet and dying because of ill treatment. I never thought that the folk remedy for curing my wart would be so easy and effective, and that there would not be any scars.

Pan Yue was Yue Guang’s contemporary, a great writer. Zhong Rong of the Liang Dynasty collected Pan Yue’s works in his book, Collections of Poems ranked them as the best in the book. Pan’s writing even won him such praise as, “Pan’s talent flows naturally like a running river.” Eventually, Yue Guang asked Pan Yue to write the resignation letter for him. Pan Yue obliged but said, “I would only be able to write this letter after I know your thoughts and ideas.” Yue Guang then eloquently described for Pan Yue his ideas within two hundred sentences, and Pan Yue did his best to describe Yue Guang’s ideas in the letter of resignation. The letter was so well written that Pan Yue gained fame as a writer.

Princess Taihua was the daughter of Emperor Gaozong in the Tang Dynasty. It is said that she was the Queen of Emperor Gaozong in a previous life. The queen was murdered by one of Emperor Gaozong’s concubines, Madam Wu. After the queen died, Madam Wu gave birth to Princess Taihua. Princess Taihua never smiled. Even though Madam Wu was her mother, every time Princess Taihua saw Madam Wu she would become very angry.

Liu Yanzhuang asked him, “I’ve never seen you speaking to any of my friends and guests, whether they are virtuous or not. Qiao Lin, on the other hand, is a nobody. Why are you exceptionally courteous towards him?” Shen Tusheng replied, “This man isn’t an ordinary person! He’ll one day become your superior. You should treat him kindly, and in later years he’ll reward you for your courtesy today. I’m being friendly towards him on your account. Unfortunately, judging from his facial features, there are signs that he’ll rebel one day. If he were to be a high-level government official, he wouldn’t be able to keep the position for more than a hundred days. Furthermore, he would certainly be killed after seventy years of age. Please remember what I’ve said today.”

There certainly cannot be any tiger downtown. A rumour that a tiger was spotted downtown is an obvious falsehood, but a rumour, if repeated often enough, can be accepted as truth. This spawned the Chinese idiom “three people can turn a rumour of a tiger downtown into an accepted truth,” which is used to express this meaning. For example, one might say, “To tell between truth and falsehood, one must carefully examine all facts and think thoroughly, and should not easily believe in rumours, or one is allowing ‘three people to turn a rumour of a tiger downtown into an accepted truth.’”

Very early the next morning Wei Gu eagerly rushed to the temple. The moon was still in the sky when he arrived. There was an old man sitting on the steps, leaning on a bag and reading a book under the moonlight. Wei Gu glanced at the book, but could not read its words. So he asked the old man, “What kind of book are you reading? Ever since youth I’ve studied many different languages, even Indian Sanskrit. Yet, I must admit I’ve never come across the language written in this book. What can you tell me about it?”

Some years back, King Mu of the Qin State lost a few prized horses. The three hundred residents at the foot of Mount Qi found and captured those fine horses, and consumed the meat. The law enforcement officers of the Qin State discovered their crime, arrested all of them, and were ready to administer the most severe punishments for eating the King’s horses. But King Mu announced, “A true gentleman would never punish people on the account of a few animals. By the way, I heard that eating the meat of good horses without wine is harmful to one’s body.”

According to The Yellow Emperor’s Internal Script, an ancient Chinese medical reference book, all illnesses arise from dryness, humidity, cold, heat, wind, rain, imbalances between Yin and Yang, happiness, anger, dietary imbalances and an inauspicious residence location. The ill person frequently feels better at dawn and during the daytime, but may feel worse at dusk and at night. In other words, the symptoms of an illness may intensify at dusk and get even worse at night.

The stone rubbing calligraphy of Yan Qin Li Bei was written by Yan Zhenqing in 779 AD and excavated in October 1922 in Chang’an City known today as Xi’an. Yan Zhenqing (709-785 AD) was an expert calligrapher during the Tang Dynasty and built the stone for his great-grandfather. The stone remains in good condition after being buried underground for many years.

After Zhang heard the scholar’s words, he immediately rose to meet the scholar. The scholar said, “The cure of your illness does not lie in medical herbs. Tomorrow you will hire ten laborers to build a well for you. The well will be your cure.” The next day Zhang Shiping fulfilled the scholar’s request and had ten laborers ready for the scholar’s command. After the scholar picked a spot for the well, the laborers began to dig until morning arrived.

There is an old Chinese saying, “Who could have guessed it was a blessing in disguise when the old man on the frontier lost his mare?” It means a loss may turn out to be a gain, or misfortune may be a blessing in disguise. It is now a common adage. This saying originally comes from a story in “Lessons from the Human World” of Hua Nan Zi compiled by Liu An in the West Han Dynasty. The story is as follows.

Li Zonghui was a highly talented Chinese scholar who lived in ancient China. One day, he embarked on a journey to the imperial capital with another man to take the national civil service examination. During the trip, the man revealed a secret to Li Zonghui, “I can predict the exact menu for each man for each meal, and I am never wrong.”

Ever since the pre-Qin period, through the successive dynasties, Chinese thinkers have searched tirelessly for the eternal Great Tao that Confucius and Lao Zi praised so highly. Where did the Great Tao come from and why and when did it decline? Is there any force that can rectify and renew the origin, and bring about a radical change in the universe? When people have tried all means to seek the Great Tao, they have had to face a question that no one can escape: where does humanity come from?

Cui Yanwei, the head of Zhenyuan County, and Bozhou gathered officers and laborers and they dug thousands of feet until reaching a dragon temple. When they first opened the temple, they thought it was an ancient grave. But it looked newly built and was very clean inside. When they looked around, they saw a dragon with scales of five colors lying in the hole. The dragon was more than 1 zhang (1 zhang = 12 ft.) long, and five or six carps were swimming around it.

When one is neither enticed in poverty nor conceited in wealth, there is good fortune awaiting him or her. On the fifth day of the fifth month, when Furen departed in sitting meditation, in the house of a royal family in Lanling while Zhang (the wife of Xiao Shun-zhi) was in labour. Shun-zhi was a cousin of Emperor Qi Gao. While he was sleeping, Zhang dreamed of a golden man, over 10-feet tall, wearing official attire and a hat for heavenly descendants. A group of people in red attire surrounded Zhang in a coach to come into Xiao’s hall for a break. This golden man entered Zhang’s room and bowed to Zhang as a sign of respect. In astonishment Zhang was about to ask what was happening, however, she woke up from the dream and gave birth to a son.

During the long river of more than 5000 years of Chinese history, monarchs and emperors were numerous. Except for Emperor Taowudi (Northern Wei), Emperor Wudi (Northern Zhou) and Tang Wuzhong (Tang Dynasty) who suppressed Buddhism, no monarchs or emperors disrespected Buddhism or Taoism. Also, many monarchs played a crucial role in promoting Buddhism and Taoism in China. During the reign of the Southern Dynasty, Emperor Liang Wudi (whose name is Xiao Yan) (464-549 AD) was one of the better-known emperors.

Any unearthed relics and ancient books show that, no matter whether East or West, ancient human beings believed in and adored gods. They followed the principles taught by gods (myths) to behave and handle matters, and passed them down generation after generation. Later, however, human beings could not comprehend the inner meanings of myths, and gradually started to think that myths were something from early fuzzy imaginations. Recently, more and more scholars have begun researching ancient myths, and have found credible research evidence, which differs from previous ideas. Let’s take a look.

Everything is alive. Particles are also alive. People at high levels can control the particles that are below their levels. The following is a story of an ancient person who had the ability to control the particles of paint pigment in order to create beautiful and unusual paintings.

The Emperor’s messenger went to see Wang Cizhong and told him about the Emperor’s order. Wang was not angry and said nothing. Then he became a beautiful great bird and flew into the blue sky. The messenger was startled and scared. He kneeled down and kowtowed to the bird ceaselessly. He said, “Wang Cizhong, you became a bird and flew away. But how can I report that to the Emperor? He will kill me! I know you are a Deity. Please save me! The great bird hovered for a while, dropping three feathers to him intentionally. The messenger had to take these feathers back for the Emperor to see.

According to the historical texts, Pei had the ability of clairvoyance. Every time he went to war, he was able to predict the date of his victory. He also had the ability to select the best people for a job. Yang Jiong, Wang Bo, Lu Zhaolin and Luo Binwang were famous scholars of his time. But Pei said after meeting them, “Although they are gifted, they do not have the destiny to enjoy a nobleman’s life. Yang Jiong has the most virtue among them, and he’ll be a low-level commander, but the others won’t enjoy a successful life.” His prediction came true.

The Nazca culture in the South American country of Peru is world renowned for its enormous and mysterious drawings on the Nazca Plain. The drawings include gigantic flying birds, monkeys, spiders and plants. Some of the handicrafts excavated from ancient tombs in the area are even more surprising than these. They are very hard to explain and their age cannot be determined.

A trusted messenger of the minister was sent to see the men. One time after the four men had gotten half drunk, the messenger showed up to greet them and to give them Minister Zhangchou's message. The message being, “I have worked hard cultivating myself. As I know you immortals are here, I wish to serve you. Will that work?” The men acted as if they had not heard the words at all, and kept drinking. After the first round of alcohol, the four immortals asked the liquor vendor, “How many dou have we drunk?” The vendor said, “One dan.” They all clapped and laughed, “Too much!” As soon as they finished the words, they disappeared immediately from their seats.

The Gabon Republic in Africa has a nuclear reactor that went critical 2 billion years ago and operated for 500,00 years. A human footprint has been found on a trilobite fossil formed 260 million years ago. Egyptian pyramids were built according to astronomical changes, calendar calculation, geometry and mathematics. The topography of Antarctica was drawn from upper air at least 6000 years ago. These examples are a small part of those great discoveries. With more and more undeniable evidence revealed to the public, it can be inferred that the theory of evolution is just an assumption. Yet, we still don’t know where pre-historic culture originally came from.

Mt. Huashan, also known as Western Mt. Huashan in Shaanxi Province, is the pinnacle of awe-inspiring precipices and has been revered as the King of the Five Sacred Mountains of China. Mt. Huashan is situated south of Huayin City, with Mt. Zhongnan further south and the Yellow River and the Wei River located to the north. A Chinese poet once admiringly described Mt. Huashan's breathtaking views as "Soaring above the white clouds and over-shadowing the Yellow River."

Kong Rong, was a littérateur in the Lu Kingdom of the Three Kingdoms after the end of the East Han Dynasty. He was once appointed as governor of Beihai and was hence called Kong Beihai at that time. He also held a number of other official positions. He was a noted poet and was one of the “Seven Famous Personages of Jian An.” The essays he wrote were incisive and concise. Most of them contained sarcastic words. Eventually he offended Cao Cao and was executed by him.

Lu Xiangjun was a good flute player. Whenever he came across a lovely spot with a scenic view of the lake, he would paddle his boat over to anchor and play his flute. One night in mid spring, under the moon, Lu Xiangjun paddled over to Jun Hill by himself to relax and have a few drinks. After he finished each cup, he played his flute. Suddenly he saw a fishing boat approaching on the mist-covered water. As the boat came closer, he saw an old man with white hair and bushy eyebrows steering the boat. The old man’s aura seemed out of the ordinary.

In the Kai Yuan Period of the Tang Dynasty, under the rule of Emperor Xuan Zong, there was a Buddhist monk named Yi Fu who was renowned as a diligent Buddhist cultivator. Due to an illuminating radiance and virtuous character, people from both the upper and lower strata of society were drawn to study the teachings of Zen Buddhism with him. Once, while accompanying Emperor Xuan Zong on a trip to the Eastern Capital of Luo Yang, Yi Fu was offered monetary donations by dozens of people. Living up to his admired and legendary character, Yi Fu declined them all.

Yin Jiuxia from Qingcheng Mountain. Yin had the supernormal ability of divination. When Wu Zhongyi asked Yin to predict his life span and his career development, Yin replied, “Mr. Situ [Wu’s formal job title], you are already the governor of a province. What you desire is no more than an upgrade of power and authority, as well as an advancement to nobility! As long as you conduct yourself with compassion, virtue, righteousness, and humanity, you will have more wealth and honour than you desire.”

The Song Dynasty appears to be a turning point regarding the definition of “women of virtue” in Chinese history. The claim to fame for most virtuous women before the Song dynasty was that they made significant contributions to the country and its people, were outstandingly talented and took courageous actions, were wise enough to differentiate right from wrong in morally depraved times, or because they were highly devoted to their parents and husband, and the like.

Li Sixun’s landscape portraits have an elevated mood and a very unique style. He has beautifully captured the texture and realness of the mountains and rivers with the strokes of his brush. Li Sixun had an equally excellent command of portraying both animals and landscapes. His son, Li Zhaodao, put more emphasis on technique in his paintings of mountains, rivers and wild animals, which decreased their artistic quality. His composition and mastery of the brush cannot be compared to those of his father Li Sixun.

During this time, he created portraits of sixteen Arhats, a portrait of a Buddha, and two portraits of Bodhisattvas in the Chinese style of painting using ink and water. In his paintings, boulders were enveloped by clouds and mist, while pines were knotted, serpentine, and dark green with ancient vines warped around them. The countenances of the Buddha, Bodhisattvas, and the sixteen Arhats looked ancient and rustic, yet superb and prominent, making them very different from similar portraits produced by other artists.

The invaders stood in awe of Gou Jubo and started to discuss this unusual turn of events among themselves. One of them said, “It appears that we depraved people have entered a town of morality and justice.” They all agreed. Thereupon they withdrew their forces and left the whole town untouched.

Zheng Xiangru thereupon asked Zheng Qian, “Uncle, don’t you know that I will succeed in my examinations? Confucius said, ‘He who is capable of inheriting the Zhou Dynasty can be foreseen even a hundred generations in advance.’ I am only an ordinary person, but if Confucius were still alive, I would be at the same level as his second best students, such as Yan and Zi Xia, if not at the level as his best student Yan Hui.” Zheng Qian was quite astonished by his audacious comment on being able to foresee the future, so he tested Zheng Xiangru with several questions, which Zheng Xiangru answered with ease.

The true masters of the Book of Changes in ancient Chinese times worked miracles in divination. They were capable of giving the finest details as if they had seen the future through the eyes of a god. Despite their incandescent capability in divination, the true masters of the Book of Change would never use it for personal fame or profit. They usually consciously avoided showing off their skills and remained unknown, which manifested all the more their noble moral standing.

According to a book that was released in the United States, 1421: The Year China Discovered America, by Gavin Menzies, Columbus was about 70 years behind the Chinese. The author, a retired Royal Navy submarine commander and historian became fascinated with the Great Wall and the Forbidden City during a trip to China with his wife. This led to years of research on the Chinese Emperor Zhu Di. In the course of this, he learned about a Portuguese map from 1424 that depicted Caribbean islands. Subsequently he found other pre-Columbian charts of this and other regions that had come from the Chinese.

The Analects of Confucius is widely considered to be the most influential text in the history of China and East Asia. The Prime Minister during the Northern Song Dynasty, Zhao Pu, claimed that half of the book, The Analects of Confucius, was written as a guide for governance. Zhao’s statement is valid. From the beginning of the Han Dynasty, all the Chinese dynasties for the next two thousand years have basically tried to govern the country according to the teachings of Confucius.

How do the gods determine our lives? One thing is for sure. It is guided by a very strict standard. Gods will reward a man based on the amount of virtue he carries from his previous lives. One’s virtue determines everything. This is why the Chinese people always remind each other to accumulate virtue by doing good deeds, and not to do bad deeds.

Architecture is humanity’s most spiritual embodiment of culture. Every stage of human civilisation has developed its own unique building styles, by either borrowing from past cultures or inventing original forms. Today, architectural relics from many distant ages remain, including little known works in the deep seas and deserts. Some of these appear remarkably modern.

“Relatives of the wives of emperors are always greedy. They want all of their daughters to marry dukes and all of their sons to marry princesses. This disturbs me. One should be content with one’s lot in life. People who boast of their riches are often ridiculed.” Yin could not agree more. From then on she was even stricter with herself, never asking for positions or privileges for her family members.

In ancient times, Chinese people believed that human society and the universe corresponded to one another. Changes in the human world were the result of changes in celestial phenomena, which could bring either good fortune or disasters to human society. One’s future was predestined and governed by cosmic laws, be it birth, ageing, sickness, or death. As to whether one can escape these cosmic laws or not, readers can draw their own conclusions from reading this ancient story.