Chinese History & Mythology

Yuan Shu’s chief clerk, Yang Dajiang, proposed a plan. He believed Liu Bei should be attacked first, but Lü Bu had to be stabilized. He said, “Liu Bei is in Xiaopei. The city is small and his troops are weak, easy to defeat. But Lü Bu holds Xu Province. If he comes to help Liu Bei, it will cause trouble. Better to send him the grain we promised before to keep him satisfied, then move troops agains...

In our main historical storyline, we are now in the Three Kingdoms period of Chinese history. Romance of the Three Kingdoms can be called a “super-rich mine” of Chinese idioms. There are more than three hundred idioms and historical references connected to it alone. Even today, behind everyday Chinese conversation, you can still see the shadow of Three Kingdoms stories. So today, let’s talk about...

Why do Chinese people avoid the number 4, green hats, mirrors facing the bed, or saying the word “death” too directly? In this episode, we explore 15 everyday Chinese cultural taboos and the history, beliefs, and social values behind them. From weddings and funerals to bedroom layout, speech habits, feng shui, and nighttime rules, these customs reveal how Chinese culture understands luck, respect,...

The man who offered the plan was Mi Zhu, courtesy name Zizhong, from Qu County in Donghai. His family had been merchants for generations and was one of the famous wealthy families in the region. Mi Zhu was kind and generous. Once, because he treated a mysterious woman with respect, he learned in advance that his home would suffer a fire, and he was able to save most of his family property. After t...

A room, a few windows, and curtains pulled tightly shut. The new mother is wearing long sleeves and long pants, with a towel wrapped around her head. There is a smell of traditional Chinese medicine in the room, and a thermos sits on the windowsill. Her mother or mother-in-law comes in every few minutes and asks, “Are you cold?” Then she quickly closes the door again, as if she is afraid that even...

Starting from the last episode, our historical storyline entered the Three Kingdoms period, from 220 to 280 AD. Through the story of Romance of the Three Kingdoms, we’re exploring what actually happened during this period of history. In the last episode, we briefly introduced several important characters in the story: Liu Bei, Zhuge Liang,, and Dong Zhuo. We also talked about two incredibly powerf...

The Han Dynasty, we’re now stepping into a brand-new era starting this month: the Three Kingdoms period, from 220 to 280 AD. After the middle period of the Eastern Han Dynasty, political power kept shifting between the emperor’s relatives and court eunuchs. The government became more and more corrupt. Powerful families seized more land, ordinary people suffered, and life became increasingly diffic...

A name called “Becoming Chinese” started trending on TikTok, and along with it, a wellness drink became very popular. Apples are usually eaten fresh, so why would anyone boil them into a tea? And why did so many people suddenly start making boiled apple tea? What is so special about it that even foreign friends who are used to drinking ice water have started trying it?

Before dragons became famous worldwide, ancient China had its own monster universe. Creatures with nine heads, human faces, giant wings—and gods that controlled the sun itself. And they were all written down thousands of years ago in one of China’s strangest books: The Classic of Mountains and Seas.

It has been a while since we last sat down and talked about mythological stories together. In the past few episodes, we have mainly focused on stories about historical development. The reason we have not talked much about myths is that, in the period of history we have been covering, there really were not many highly representative mythological stories. It is also because these dynasties existed f...

The social turmoil at the end of the Qin dynasty began with uprisings from the common people. Chen Sheng and Wu Guang raised the banner of rebellion in Dazexiang. Although their rebel army was ultimately defeated, they lit the flames of resistance across the land. In this process, the noble descendants of the old six states responded one after another, hoping to restore their former glory. It was...

More than two thousand years ago, Qin Shi Huang brought a long age of war to an end and united scattered lands into one vast empire. This ruler was called the First Emperor, and his name left a deep mark on the long course of history. However, when it comes to the end of his life, the historical record contains many unclear and uncertain parts. The turning point in history came when he suddenly di...

Hey friends, welcome back to another episode of Interesting Chinese Culture. The fact that Chinese people love drinking tea is something almost everyone in the world already knows. As the generations have changed, tea culture in China has also developed in many different ways, and one of the most popular forms today is milk tea, which young people are especially enthusiastic about. So why does tea...

In the history of the Qin dynasty, Qin Shi Huang, Ying Zheng, left behind achievements that could never be erased. But the way such a huge empire rose so quickly in only fifteen years, and then collapsed in an extremely short time, is not something often seen in the long course of human history. The founding of the Qin dynasty marked the formal establishment of the first centralized imperial syste...

Although the Qin dynasty existed for only fifteen years in Chinese history, it made an enormous contribution to the history of China as a whole. Even today, Qin Shi Huang still attracts scholars around the world who are interested in studying his historical background. And once we start talking about the Qin dynasty, there is one place that we absolutely have to mention, and that is the Terracotta...

If you have listened to some of the earlier episodes, you probably remember that we once mentioned that Chinese history stretches back about five thousand years. Across those five thousand years, many objects and daily habits have been preserved and passed down. So today, we are going to talk about one of them: chopsticks.

There is a popular story that says Qin Shi Huang was actually a very handsome man. There is a book called Records of the Grand Historian. Some of you who are interested in Chinese history and culture have probably heard of it. In this book, in the section called The Basic Annals of Qin Shi Huang, there is a description of what Qin Shi Huang looked like.

Lü Buwei traveled a long way with Prince Yiren and finally made it back to Xianyang. Lü Buwei had already found out something important. Lady Huayang was from Chu. So he told Yiren to put on Chu-style clothes before going to see his father and mother. When Yiren met Lord Anguo and Lady Huayang, he cried and said, “Your unfilial son has been away for many years and has failed to serve his parents....

 For many people who are not familiar with Chinese culture, the first thing they may hear about Qingming is that it is a day for tomb sweeping and remembering the dead. But if we look deeper, we will discover that Qingming is actually a very rich cultural system. It contains elements of astronomy, agriculture, historical legend, ethics, and even everyday aesthetics of life.

After Su Qin and Zhang Yi said farewell to Guiguzi and left the mountain, their fates turned in completely different directions. Zhang Yi went to the state of Wei, while Su Qin returned to his hometown in Luoyang.

The Yue minister Wen Zhong returned from the state of Wu with troubling news. King Fuchai of Wu had agreed to make peace, but he demanded that King Goujian of Yue come to Wu at once and serve as a slave. The Grand Steward Bo Pi was already waiting by the river to escort him. Goujian heard this and burst into tears. Wen Zhong said calmly, “Crying will not help. Time is short. We must return to the...

If you are invited to a formal Chinese family dinner for the first time, you will likely have many questions. Why does everyone sit around a round table? Why are dishes placed one by one in the middle, instead of each person having their own portion in front of them? Why do older people always pick up their chopsticks first? Why does someone keep putting food on your plate? Why do wine glasses kee...

After Duke Jing of Qi returned from Pingqiu, he looked calm on the surface and formed an alliance with Jin, but in his heart he could see it clearly. Duke Zhao of Jin had no real vision. So Duke Jing began to think again. He wanted to push Qi one step higher and walk the old hegemon path of Duke Huan. He asked Yan Ying, “Jin is trying to dominate the northwest. Can we not dominate the southeast?”

The Jin army had surrounded Biyang for twenty-four days. The city was small, but it was tough. They simply could not break it. Then heavy rain poured down. The water rose to three feet deep. Xun Yan and Shi Gai saw that morale was about to collapse. They hurried to the central command and quietly advised Zhi Mao: “We thought a small city would fall quickly, but it has dragged on. Now the rivers ar...

Every year around February, during the Chinese New Year season, city hotels are almost fully booked, wedding planners work until after midnight, ancestral halls in the countryside are decorated with lanterns and red banners, and social media fills with one red wedding invitation after another. Why do so many people choose to get married right before or after the Spring Festival? And why are Chines...