Philosophically speaking, the Chinese live in the life-world and the westerners in the scientific-world. Life-world concerns more with human beings and Scientific-world with beings. One of the best ways to understand the Chinese Life-world is to go into contact with the vast treasure house of Chinese legend, folklore, fables, ghost stories. 从哲学角度来看，华人活在生活世界，洋人活在科学世界。生活世界是关于人的存在，科学世界注重存在。要了解华人的生活世界，一个最好的方法是接触华人神话、民间故事、寓言与神鬼故事的这个巨大宝藏。
Liu Ling was an ancient Chinese Daoist poet notorious for his love of alcohol, who, according to legend, asked that he be buried with a gourd of wine after his death.
He is known as one of The Seven Sages of Bamboo Grove.
The following story comes from ‘A New Account of Tales of the World’ (Shi Shuo Xin Yu).
Liu Ling was ill after drinking too much wine, but he still wanted to drink some more, so he asked his wife for it.
After pouring out all the wine and smashing the vessels, his wife pleaded with tears in her eyes, “You're drinking far too much. It's not the way to preserve your life. You'll have to stop drinking."
Ling said, "Fine. But I find it very hard to stop by myself. It can only be done if I pray to the ghosts and spirits and take an oath that I'll stop it. So you may get ready the wine and meat for the sacrifice."
His wife said, "As you said," and setting out wine and meat before the spirits, requested Ling to pray and take his oath.
Ling knelt down and prayed, "Heaven produced Liu Ling, and took 'wine' for his name. At one gulp he will down a gallon - five dipperfuls to ease the hangover. As for this woman's complaint, be careful not to listen."
He then finished off the wine and meat, and soon he was drunk again.
The following story is from the book Random Notes on the Living and Nether Worlds by Liu Yiqing (403-444). Liu was famous for his another book entitled ‘A New Account of Tales of the World’ (Shi Shuo Xin Yu).
Pang Ah of Julu was a very handsome man. A daughter of the Shi family in that district saw Pang in her family hall and fell in love with him at the first sight. When later she was seen calling on Pang, his wife became extremely jealous. One day, hearing the girl coming, Pang’s wife instructed the maids tie her up and take her home; but on the way the young lady vanished like smoke. The maids reported this to the girl’s family.
The girl’s father was astounded. ‘My daughter has not left the house,’ he said. ‘How dare you slander us like this?’
But Pang’s father watched his son carefully, and discovered the girl in his study one night. He seized her himself and went to the Shi family.
When the girl’s father saw her, he was surprised. ‘I have just come from a inner room,’ he said. ‘I saw my daughter there working with her mother. How can she be here?’
Ho told his servant to call his daughter out, and the moment the girl appeared the other vanished. The puzzled father told his wife to investigate, and the girl explained, ‘Last year when Pang came to visit at our family hall, I had a chance to peep at him. I have dreamed ever since of going to his home, and had been caught by his wife when I went in.’
‘Well, I have never seen such strange happenings!’ exclaimed her father. When a spirit is deeply involved, it can assume any form it chooses. So what vanished was her spirit after all.
Since then the girl resolved not to marry anyone else. A year later, however, Pang’s wife contracted a strange disease which proved incurable. Then Pang sent gifts to the Shi family and married their daughter.
Zhang Liang was a distinguished statesman of the early Western Han (207BC -25) period. Zhang was the descendant of a noble family of State of Han during the Warring States Period - his father, grandfather and great-grandfather (a total of five generations) were all royal officials of the state of Han. He later joined Liu Bang in 208 BC to rebel against the rule of Qin and helped him establish the Han Dynasty, after which he soon retired and became a practitioner of Daoism.
Zhang Liang was considered one of the Three Pillars of Liu Bang's victory, along with the Han Xin, the grand-general of Han forces and Xiao He, the first Prime Minister of the Han Dynasty.
Here is a story about him recorded in the ‘Records of the Grant Historian’
One day when he was leisurely walking along a river near a bridge at Xia Pi, an elderly man in homespun approached, suddenly took off his shoe and dropped it under the bridge. He turned to Zhang and said, ‘Young man, go down and fetch it for me.’
Zhang was astonished, thinking of hitting the old man. However, he controlled himself on account of the other’s old age and went down to fetch the shoe. The old man then said, ‘Put it on for me.’ Since Zhang already fetched the shoe, When Zhang complied, the old man proceeded to lee knelt down to put it on. The old man just stretched out his foot for it and then going away with a laugh. Zhang looked at him in amazement.
After going some distance, the old man turned back and said, ‘You can be taught, young man! Meet me here five days from now at dawn.’ Zhang’s curiosity was aroused, and he knelt down and answered, ‘I will.’
Five days later Zhang Liang went back to the place at dawn. However, the old man was there before him. The old man said angrily, ‘Why are coming late for appointment with an old man? Come earlier five days from now.’ With that he left.
This time Zhang Liang got up early, but still the old man beat him to the clock. The old man was angry again, ‘Late again. Why? Come earlier five days from now.’ With that again he left.
This time, Zhang got up in midnight and went to wait at the bridge. The old man came shortly. He said approvingly, ‘That’s right.’ He took out a book and said, ‘Read this book and you will become the teachers of kings. Ten years from now you will make it big. Thirteen years from now you will see me again as the yellow rock at the foot of Mount Gucheng, north of the River Ji.’ Without another word he left and did not appear again.
When the day broke, Zhang examined the book and found that it was The Grand Duke’s Art of War. Prizing the book, he read it again and again.
The Shang Dynasty was, according to traditional sources, the second Chinese dynasty, after the Xia Dynasty.
The decline of the Xia Empire led to the rise of Shang as the leading state in the Empire. The clan totem of Shang was the bird. In the Yen Ben Zhi chapter of The Records of the Grant Historian (Shiji), it is written that the mother of Xie, the founder of Shang was impregnated by a Black Bird:
"Three ladies including Jian Di went to take a bath. They saw that a black bird dropped an egg. Jian Di took and devoured it, became impregnated and gave birth to Xie. Xie grew up, assisted Yu in his work to control the flood with success."
The use of the "black bird", as the father of Xie, relates to the "black bird" as a popular totem of ethnic groups in China. This passage indicates that the founders of Shang were of mixed origin.
The Book of Poems also praised that the sacred bird was sent down from Heaven, and gave birth to the first Shang King. The King thereby justified his authority by proclaiming that he had divine right to rule over his people.
Heaven commissioned the Black Bird,
To descend and give birth to [the father of our] Shang.
[His descendants] dwelt in the land of Yin, and became great.
[Then] long ago God appointed the martial Tang,
To regulate the boundaries throughout the four quarters.
[In those] quarters he appointed the princes,
And grandly possessed the nine regions [of the kingdom].
The first sovereign of Shang,
Received the appointment without any element of instability in it,
And it is [now] held by the descendant of Wu-ding.
The descendant of Wu-ding,
Is a martial king, equal to every emergency.
Ten princes, [who came] with their dragon-emblazoned banners,
Bear the large dishes of millet.
The royal domain of a thousand li,
Is where the people rest;
But there commence the boundaries that reach to the four seas.
From the four seas they come [to out sacrifices];
They come in multitudes; -
Jing has the He for its outer border.
That Yin should have received the appointment [of Heaven] was entirely right;
The story of Meng Jiangnu, spread through many regions of China for more than 2,000 years, is perhaps the most popular folktale concerning the Great Wall of China.
The Great Wall of China was built, rebuilt, and maintained between the 5th century BC and the 16th century to protect the northern borders of the Chinese Empire during the rule of successive dynasties. The most famous is the wall built between 220 BC and 200 BC by the first Emperor of China, Qin Shi Huang. It is estimated that between 2 to 3 million people had lost their lives building the Great Wall, and many more died by defending her.
The story of Meng Jiangnu's deep affection for her husband has moved many Chinese people and they call her cry ‘The saddest cry in the world’.
In Chinese, Meng means the eldest, and Jiang apparently refers to a family name. Meng Jiangnu therefore means the Jiang family’s eldest daughter. The most complete version of story was told by Feng Menglong of Ming dynasty in his book ‘Love Tales in History’.
Meng Jiang, lived during the Qin dynasty, was the eldest daughter of a rich family. She was just married to Fan Qiliang. On the third day of her marriage, Fan was taken away to build the Great Wall. Winter came but Fan did not return. Meng made some warm clothes for her husband and decided to take them to him. She came to the construction site and was then told that Fan had died. She was so heartbroken that she stumbled, cried loudly till the earth was shaken.
The Great Wall collapsed and exposed the bones and bodies of many dead men. However, it was impossible to identify Fan’s body. Meng cut her fingers and dripped her blood on the dead one by one until her blood flowed into one. Knowing that this was her husband, she carried the body home. However, she was exhausted upon reaching Tong Guan, which was still far away from her home. She knew that she could not make it home, so she placed the dead body at the foot of a mountain and sat there silently until she died.
The people of Tong Guan were so touched by her chastity that they constructed her sculpture as a memorial to honour her.
Fan Li was an advisor in the state of Yue in the Spring and Autumn Period (722-481 BC). In 494 BC, Goujian, the King of Yue State, decided to start a war against the Wu State, Yue’s northern neighbour. Fan Li advised the king not to start the war, but the king did not listen. The Yue State lost the war. Fan Li followed Goujian to the Wu State as hostages. Three years later they came back and he helped Goujian to carry on a reform. At last Yue was able to defeat the state of Wu.
After Goujian became king, Fan Li felt that it was unsuitable for him to stay on as an advisor. He resigned and renamed himself Tao Zhu Gong (Lord Tao Zhu). He became a successful businessman in his later years and was famous as a rich person.
Here is a letter he wrote to his friend Wen Zhong advising him to desert the King as well. Wen Zhong did not listen to Fan’s advice and was finally forced by the King to kill himself.
I have learned that just as there are four seasons in a year, with summer brave and winter bare, there are also vicissitudes in man’s life. When good luck reaches its limit, misfortune is destined to follow. If there is one who knows well when to advance and when to withdraw and in the meanwhile always remains righteous and upright, he should be esteemed as man of virtue and wisdom, shouldn’t he? Humble as I am, I have come to know this regular pattern of advance and withdrawal. When high-flying birds have all flown away, strong bows will be cast; and when cunning hares have all been hunted, fleeing hounds will be cooked as food.
And now let us have a look at the King of Yue – long-necked and beak-mouthed, hawk-eyed and wolf-footed. He is a man with whom you can weather difficult times together but not happiness; with whom you can weather danger together but not live peace together. If you don’t leave him now, he will harm you sooner or later. Isn’t it clear enough?
In Chinese calendar, 2009 is the year of the earth ox. It started on the Chinese New Year, which was on 26 January 2009.
The ox is the second sign of the Chinese zodiac and signifies time for hard work and smart moves from the honest approach; slow and steady wins the race in the end! Earth favours those who are tied to the land, such as wine and fruit, organic foods, and those who do a lot of routine work, deal with practical matters or perform work of a spiritual nature.
Based on the characteristics of both earth and ox, it could be a very good year for those with careers in services business, construction, engineering, health, academic, planning and great for entrepreneurs with a soulful heart.
Generally speaking, people who are born in the years of ox are supposed to be bright, peace-loving, often easy-going and trusting. But, on the other hand, they can also be stubborn, methodical, and fiercely competitive, with, shudder, fierce tempers to boot.
There is a legend about ox as a river god.
During the Warring States Period (476 – 221 BC), Li Bing, the magistrate of Shu (Sichuan), made history by building Dujiangyan, the irrigation infrastructure which is still in use today. It irrigates over 5,300 square kilometers of land in the region.
According to a wide-spread story about him, there was a river god in the region who insisted on marrying two little girls each year. With the interests of the people at heart, Li Bing decided to marry his own daughter to the river god. On the wedding day, Li Bing went to the temple where the marriage was to take place to scold the river god for its harmful deeds. Then both Li Bing and river god disappeared suddenly. After quite a while, people saw two oxen having a ferocious battle on the river bank. Li Bing returned in the anteroom to tell his subordinates the ox to the south with white colour on its waist was him. The subordinates stabbed the ox to the north to death. That was the river god.
A dominant theme in the Chinese aesthetics is the notion of gongfu, which refers to the need to have a long time physical and spiritual training and constant practices to achieve a result that is supposed to come across with perfect and natural ease.
Here is a story told by Zhuangzi about Cook Ding cutting up oxen to illustrate the notion of gongfu:
Cook Ding was cutting up a cow for Duke Wenhui. Every blow of his hand, every heave of his shoulder, every tread of his foot, every thrust of his knee, every sound of the rending flesh, and every note of the movement of the chopper were in perfect harmony - rhythmical like the dance of ‘The Mulberry Grove,’ simultaneous like the chords of the ‘Ching Shou’. (‘The Mulberry Grove’ and ‘Ching Shou’ are two pieces of beautiful antique music.)
‘Ah, admirable,’ said the prince, ‘that your art should become so perfect!’
The cook laid down his chopper and replied: ‘What I love is Dao, which is more advanced than art. When I first began to cut up cows, what I saw was a simply whole cow. When I first began to clean, what I saw was simply a whole mess. After three years' practice, I saw no more cow as whole. At present, I work with my mind, but not with my eyes. The functions of my senses stop; my spirit dominates. Following the natural veins, my chopper slips through the great cavities, slides through the great openings, taking advantage of what is already there. I did not attempt the central veins and their branches, and the connectives between flesh and bone, not to mention the great bones. A good cook changes his chopper once a year, because he cuts. An ordinary cook changes his chopper once a month, because he hacks. Now my copper has been in use for nineteen years; it has cut several thousand cows; yet its edge is as sharp as if it just came from the whetstone. At the joints there are always interstices, and the edge of the chopper is without thickness. If we insert that which is without thickness into an interstice, there is certainly plenty of room for it to move along! Nevertheless, when I come to a complicated joint, and see that there will be some difficulty, I proceed anxiously and with caution. I fix my eyes on it. I move slowly. Then by a very gentle movement of my chopper, the part is quickly separated, and yields like earth crumbling to the ground. Then standing with the chopper in my hand, I look all around, with an air of triumph and satisfaction. Then I wipe my chopper and put it in its sheath.’
‘Excellent,’ said the prince, ‘from the words of this cook, I learned the ways of cultivating life.’
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The 9th day of the 9th lunar month is the traditional Chongyang Festival, or Double Ninth Festival. It usually falls in October. This year, the Chongyang Festival was on 26 Oct.
The Chongyang Festival is also a time when chrysanthemum blooms. So enjoying the flourishing chrysanthemum also becomes a key activity on this festival. Also, people will drink chrysanthemum wine. Women used to stick such a flower into their hair or hang its branches on windows or doors to avoid bad luck.
In 1989, the Chinese government declared the Double Ninth Festival as the Seniors' Day. A scholar in the Ming Dynasty (1368 – 1644) described how the Festival is celebrated:
On the ninth day of the ninth lunar month, people take wine glasses, teapots and food boxes and go up the mountains. All the mountains in the Xiangshan range are high. In these mountains are Fazang Temple with all a tall pagoda; Xianling Temple and Baoguo Temple, both elevated structures. Monks do not go up the mountains, but common people rent mountain gardens and pavilions or go to the pleasure haunts in the mountains to have fun.
The pastry shops sell cakes sprinkled with dates and chestnuts as thick as stars in a night sky. These cakes are called huagao – flower cakes. Pastry shop owners usually put colourful paper flags on their cakes. The flags are called ‘flower cake flags’. On that day, parents expect their married daughters to return home to eat flower cakes. If the daughter cannot come, the mother will complain, the daughter will be filled with sadness, and the younger sister will weep because she really wants to enjoy this rare chance to see her sister. Thus, this day is also called Daughter’s Day.
Kong Rong (Kong Wenju 153 – 208) was a bureaucrat, poet, and minor warlord during the late Eastern Han Dynasty and Three Kingdoms era of China. A well-known story commonly used to educate children even nowadays on the values of courtesy and fraternal love involves the four-year-old Kong Rong giving up the larger pears to his elder and younger brothers. This story is also mentioned in the Three Character Classic, a text used for elementary education since the Song Dynasty.
Kong Rong showed his quick wits since his young age. Here is a story recorded about him in ‘A New Account of Tales of the World’ (Shi Shuo Xin Yu).
Kong Wenju came to Luoyang with his father when he was ten.
At that time Li Yuanli (110-169) enjoyed great prestige in Luoyang as the Attorney-General. Only prominent figures or his close relatives were allowed to visit him.
Wenju approached his gate and said to the door man, ‘I’m a relative of Mr Li.’
After he was allowed in and sat down, Li asked him, ‘How is it that you are my relative?’
Wenju replied, ‘Long ago, my ancestor Confucius called your ancestor Laozi (note: Laozi’s surname is said to be Li) by the title of Master, therefore you and I have a relationship spanning many generations.’
Li and his guests were impressed by his reply. A while later, Chen Wei, an adviser of the Emperor, came and other told him the words of the boy. He uttered, ‘Being smart at a young age doesn’t mean he’ll be somebody when he grows up.’
Wenju answered, ‘I’m sure you must be smart when you were young.’
The story of painting animals without eyes was first told in the book Taiping Guangji (Tai Ping Anthologies).
‘During the first year of the Qin dynasty, a man named Yi, who was good in carving and painting, was presented to the First Emperor.
By spurting out vermilion and green stone from his mouth onto the ground, he can transform them immediately into many funny faces and various things. When he carved stone into various types of animals, the animals were extremely lifelike that even their hairs appeared to be real thing.
He also marked the carving time on the chest of the animals.
By laying a cloth on the ground, he could paint rivers, maintains and maps of all states within the small piece of cloth.
The dragon and phoenix drawn by him were so lifelike that it appeared that they were ever ready to fly away into the sky. But no eyes would be drawn. If the eyes were drawn, the animals would really fly away. The First Emperor sighed and said, ‘These are not real things, how can they fly away?’ He allowed the painters to draw an eye on each of two jade tigers on a painting. In ten days, both jade tigers disappeared and nobody knew where to look for them.
Residents lived near mountains and rivers reported that they saw two tigers, each had only one eye. They always moved together and were inseparable as body and shadow. They looked the same, even the hair and colour looked exactly the same. They also looked different from the normal tigers.
In the following year, the Western people presented two tigers to the First Emperor, each had only one eye. The First Emperor inspected them and suspected they were from the painting. The tigers were killed and the marks on their chests shown that they were indeed painted in the first year of his reign.’
The Chinese proverb ‘Hualong Dianjing’ (literally painting the dragon and adding the eyes) refers to the finishing touch, or is used to describe how, when writing or speaking, one or two key sentences could enhance the contents.
The proverb was made famous by a story about the famous painter Zhang Sengyou who lived in the Southern and Northern Dynasties Period (420-589).
“Once Zhang Sengyou visited the Jinan temple in Jin Ling (Nanjing) and painted on the wall four dragons, but gave none of them eyes.
He explained, 'With the eyes painted on, the dragons would fly away.'
Nobody believed this, so Zhang took up his brush and added eyes to one of the dragons. No sooner had he finished than the dragon flew into the sky amid a thunderstorm. The other dragons without eyes stayed painted on the wall.”
In China, people came up with a simple and amusing way to count the years. They use 12 animals, namely rat, ox, tiger, rabbit, dragon, snake, horse, sheep, monkey, chicken, dog and pig, to represent years and make up the Chinese zodiac.
Do you know how they picked those animals? Do you know why the little rat is the first? The following interesting story will answer your questions.
Once upon a time, the cat and the rat were good friends, every day they would play together, everyday they would eat together, and life was very happy. One day, the Lord of Heaven told the God of Earth, "I feel that the way we calculate the years is really uncomfortable, so I think I’ll hold a competition for crossing the river between the animals, the first animals to arrive at the finish line will make up the new 12 calendar-years."
The God of Earth released the news to all the animals on earth. All the animals were happy to hear the news and they all wanted to participate.
As both cat and rate could not swim, on the day of competition, they rode on the ox to cross the river. When the ox arrived half way, the cat pointed at the other side of the river and said, "Look! The other animals still haven’t crossed the river, I’m sure we’ll be the firsts in the competition." The cat didn’t even get to finish his sentence, when the rat walked from behind and pushed him off, and the cat fell into the water. The rat laughed and said, "Oh, so sorry, my brother the cat. You can continue swimming slowly… now I’m definitely the first!"
The ox didn’t pay attention and continued to swim, and arrived at the end point. The little rat jumped of the ox to the shore and ran happily towards the finish line, seeing that the others still aren’t there.
The ox ran and arrived second. Next was the tiger, the little rabbit quickly followed, the dragon came from within the clouds and announced, "I’ve arrived". As the horse arrived at the finish line, a snake suddenly appeared from the grass, making the horse and the sheep jump in horror. The monkey, the chicken, and the dog quickly ran to the finish line. The competition was about to end.
The Lord of Heaven said, "Rat, ox, tiger, rabbit, dragon, snake, horse, sheep, monkey, chicken and the dog are the 11, who’s going to be the last one?” At that moment, a very fat pig came running in and announced, "I’m starving!"
The Lord of Heaven was about to announce the 12 winning animals, when the cat arrived, asking, "What number am I?" The Lord of Heaven replied, "I’m sorry, you got here too late, and you can’t be part of the Zodiac". The cat replied angerily, "That’s all the rat’s fault, I will never forgive him."
From that day forward, the cat wants to bite the rat, and so the rat fears the cat. The rat hides from the cat all day, and comes out only in the evening.
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The joyous Mid-Autumn Festival was celebrated on the fifteenth day of the lunar eighth month, around the time of the autumn equinox. Many referred to it simply as the "Fifteenth of the Eighth Moon". It is also widely known as the Moon Festival, Mooncake Festival, Lantern Festival, etc. In the Western calendar, the day of the festival usually occurred sometime between the second week of September and the second week of October. This year, the Med-Autumn Festival falls on 3 Oct 09.
The Mid-Autumn Festival is a popular East Asian and overseas Chinese celebration of abundance and togetherness, dating back over 3,000 years to China's Xia Dynasty.
The moon at the night of Mid-Autumn Festival is said to be at its fullest and brightest. Compared to many Chinese festivals that are inundated with vibrant colours and sounds, the Mid-Autumn festival remains more subdued. Traditionally celebrated outdoors under the moonlight, people eat moon cakes and pomeloes together, and gaze at the moon. In modern times, barbecues with families and friends are also common. There are additional cultural or regional customs, such as carrying brightly lit lanterns, lighting lanterns on buildings and towers, floating sky lanterns, burning incense in reverence to deities including Chang'e, performing Fire Dragon Dances.
The custom of worshipping the moon (called xiyue in Chinese) can be traced back as far as ancient Xia and Shang Dynasties (2000 - 1066 BC). In the Zhou Dynasty (1066 - 221 BC), people held ceremonies to greet winter and worshiped the moon whenever the Mid-Autumn Festival set in. It became very prevalent in the Tang Dynasty (618-907) that people enjoyed and worshiped the full moon. In the Southern Song Dynasty (1127-1279), however, people sent round moon cakes to their relatives as gifts as an expression of their best wishes for family reunion. When it became dark, they looked up at the full moon or went sightseeing on lakes to celebrate the festival. Since the Ming (1368 - 1644) and Qing Dynasties (1644 - 1911), the custom of Mid-Autumn Festival celebration becomes unprecedented popular.
Mid-autumn festival is a time to think of and remember people close to us. Whenever the festival sets in, people will look up at the full moon, drinking wine to celebrate their happy life or thinking of their relatives and friends far from home, and extending all of their best wishes to them.
It is common to see golden carp fish swim leisurely in peaceful ponds in Chinese gardens. The Chinese like carp fish because the Chinese character for carp (li) is pronounced the same as both the character (li) for "profit" and the character (li) for "strength" or "power". The carp is also a symbol for an abundance of children because it produces many eggs.
For the Chinese, a pair of carp symbolizes a harmonious marriage.
In Chinese paintings, a frequently seen image is of a carp swimming and leaping against the current of a river. This refers to the legend that a carp which is able to leap over the mythical "Dragon Gate" will become a dragon. This is an allegory for the persistent effort needed to overcome obstacles.
The legend comes from Tai Ping Guang Ji (Tai Ping Anthologies):
‘East of the Yellow River stood a mountain called Longmen (Dragon Gate). King Yu dug into it and made in it a one-li (half-km) long gate, through which the Yellow River flowed downward. On neither side of it could carriages or horses stand or move.
Towards the end of spring every year, yellow carps from the seas and rivers would vie with each other in coming to the gate and trying to get through it. But no more than seventy-two of them would succeed. Once they passed the Dragon gate, they would be followed by clouds and rain, and their tails would be burned off by heavenly fire. Then they would become dragon. ’
The story simply means that if a person works hard at whatever he does, he could one day become successful. The saying ‘carps jumping over the dragon gate’ is used to encourage a person to persist in one’s endeavour.
In the past, a carp leaping over the dragon’s gate was used as a metaphor for success in passing the imperial examinations which started about 2,000 years ago. The examinations were used to select the brightest brains for top government positions. Those who made it in the examinations would ensure prestige and wealth for the family.
On the basis of this legend, the Carp becomes, in the Chinese cultural tradition, a symbol of courage and perseverance. It teaches that only the fittest and the strongest can achieve the highest goals.
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The idiom ‘blow hot and cold’ refers to changing one's mind easily, as in Peter's been blowing hot and cold about taking an overseas holiday. This expression comes from Aesop's fable (c. 570 BC) about a man eating with a satyr (ancient god who roamed the woods and mountains) on a winter day. At first the man blew on his hands to warm them and then blew on his soup to cool it. The satyr thereupon renounced the man's friendship because he blew hot and cold out of the same mouth. The expression was repeated by many writers, most often signifying a person who could not be relied on.
In Chinese, the proverb Zhao San Mu Si (literally means Three at Dawn and Four at Dusk), has the same meaning. The proverb comes from a story told by Lie Zi who lived in the Warring States period (476 – 221 BC).
Once upon a time, in the state of Song, there lived a man who kept monkeys. He was very fond of monkeys and kept a large number of them. He could understand the monkeys and they could also understand him. He reduced the amount of food for his own family in order to satisfy the monkey‘s demands. After a while his family did not have enough to eat, so he wanted to limit the food for the monkeys.
But he was afraid that the monkeys would not submit to him. Before doing that he played a trick on them： “If I give you three chestnuts in the morning and four in the evening, would that be enough?” he asked the monkeys. All the monkeys rose up in a fury. After a while, he said, “If I give you four chestnuts in the morning and three in the evening, would that be enough?” All the monkeys lay on the floor, very happy with this proposal.
Originally this proverb was used to mean a fool can be tricked by changing the appearance but now it has evolved into meaning unreliable person who is inconsistent or changes his mind easily.
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英语成语‘blow hot and cold’（呼热呼冷）指一个人拿不定主意，比如彼得对出国旅行这件事，一直‘呼热呼冷’。这句话出自伊索（大约公元前570年）寓言中关于某人在冬天与萨梯(希腊神话中的出入于山林之神)一起用餐的故事。开始时该人用口吹手指来取暖，然后又用口吹热汤以凉之。萨梯因此与之断交，因为他用相同的口来呼出热气与冷气。这句话为不少作者引用，大多象征一个不能信赖的人。
There is a Chinese saying that life is like a dream and a dream is like life. This is illustrated vividly by Zhuangzi with the following story:
‘Once Zhuang Zhou dreamed he was a butterfly, a fluttering butterfly. What fun he had, doing as he pleased! He did not know he was Zhou. Suddenly he woke up and found himself to be Zhou. He did not know whether Zhou had dreamed he was a butterfly or a butterfly had dreamed he was Zhou. Between Zhou and the butterfly there must be some distinction. This is what is meant by the transformation of things.’
The story probably also sums up much of Zhuangzi’s thought. How do we know when we’re dreaming, and when we’re awake? How do we know if what we perceive is “real” or a mere “illusion” or “fantasy”? Is the “me” of various dream-characters the same as or different from the “me” of my waking world? How do I know, when I experience something I call “waking up” that it is actually a waking up to “reality” as opposed to simply waking up into another level of dream?
It is interesting to note that he used butterfly as the thing in his dream. The butterfly is a symbol of transformation; it follows the breeze yet arrives at the flower; its actions are spontaneous and free. Thus it doesn't wear itself out fighting the forces of nature.
Once fully awakened, if one can tell, one may distinguish between what is a dream and what is reality. Before one has fully awakened, such a distinction is not even possible to draw empirically.
In Chinese tradition, the fifteenth day of the seventh month in the lunar calendar is called Ghost Day and the seventh month in general is regarded as the Ghost Month, in which ghosts and spirits, including those of the deceased ancestors, come out from the lower realm. This year the Ghost Month starts on 20 August and the Ghost Day falls on 3 September. The festival is said to have started in the Liang Dynasty (502-557).
The Ghost Month is also known as the Ghost Festival, Hungry Ghost Festival, Zhongyuan Festival, Yu Lan Pen festival, and a number of other names.
During the Qingming Festival the living descendants pay homage to their ancestors and on Ghost Festival, the deceased visit the living.
It is believed that during this time, the souls of the unborn and that of departed ancestors and friends are released from Purgatory to wander the earth for 30 days. The souls of the dead ignored by relatives may do acts of mischief, so steps must be taken to appease the spirits before they go on a rampage. Hell money, paper offerings and joss sticks are burnt to see to their material needs; food is offered so that the souls do not go hungry and thus less likely to wreck havoc.
According to the Ullambana Sutra, the monk Mu Lian had great magic power. His mother fell into the path of hungry ghosts. All food that entered her month would turn into strong flames which put her in great pain. Mu Lian had no idea on how to save his mother, so he asked Buddha for help. Buddha told him the Yu Lan Pen canon and asked him to save his mother on the 15th day of the 7th lunar month with the help of Yu Lan Pen.
The festival is taken seriously by Chinese all over the world. The reason why the Chinese observe this festival is to remember their dead family members and pay tribute to them. They also feel that offering food to the deceased appeases them and wards off bad luck. In Hong Kong, Malaysia and Singapore, it is a common sight to see entertaining Chinese Opera shows performed on outdoor stages in many neighbourhoods. These events are always held at night. Such entertainment would please those wandering ghosts that come to earth once a year.
And now you should know why Chinese believe the seventh lunar month is a bad month.
In Chinese mythology, Nuwa is a mythological character best known for making mankind and repairing the wall of heaven. She had the body of a snake, a human head and the virtue of a divine being.
The book Huainan Zi first recounted how the sky was damaged.
‘In ancient time, while fighting with Zhuan Xu for the Earth leadership and saw that he was losing, Gong Gong angrily smashed his head against Mount Buzhou, a pillar holding up the sky. The pillar collapsed and that rope that connected the sky and earth broken. This caused the sky to tilt towards the northwest and resulted in sun, moon, and stars moving towards the northwest. It also caused the earth to shift to the southeast and resulted in all rivers flowing southeast into the ocean. ’
The book then detailed how Nuwa mended the sky.
‘In ancient times, the four pillars that supported the four corners of the sky collapsed and the nine regions (the world) split open. The sky could not cover all the things under it, nor could the earth carry all the things on it. A great fire raged and would not die out; a fierce flood raced about and could not be checked. Savage beasts devoured innocent people; vicious birds preyed on the weak and old.
Then Nuwa melted rocks of five colours and used them to mend the cracks in the sky. She supported the four corners of the sky with the legs she had cut off from a giant turtle. She killed the black dragon to save the people of Jizhou, and blocked the flood with the ashes of reeds.
Thus the sky was mended, its four corners lifted, the flood tamed, Jizhou pacified, and harmful birds and beasts killed, and the innocent people were able to live on the square earth under the dome of the sky.
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During the Western Zhou Dynasty, power became decentralized from the King to the feudal lords, also known as dukes of a state. Strident annexations, battles and assimilations between states were typical during this period. Here is a story from ‘Strategies if Warring States’ on how a good official in Qi state influenced his duke to implement virtuous rule.
Zhou Ji of Qi state was more than eight feet tall and he looked handsome. One morning, after putting on his clothes, he looked into the mirror and asked his wife, ‘Do you find Xu of the northern part of the city or me more handsome?’ His wife replied, ‘My dear husband, you are more handsome. How can Xu compare to my husband?’ Xu of the northern part of the city was famous for his good looks in Qi. Ji did not have self-confidence, and again asked his concubine, ‘Do you find Xu or me more handsome?’ The concubine answered, ‘How can Xu compare to my husband?’
On the second day, a guest from the countryside came. They sat down and had a chat. He asked the guest, ‘Do you find Xu or me more handsome?’ The guest replied, ‘Xu is not as handsome as you.’
The next day, Xu came. He stared at Xu for a long time, and confirmed that he was not as handsome as Xu. He looked into the mirror again, and realized the difference was even more. In the evening, he thought about this in the bed, ‘My wife said I was handsome, because she is close to me. The concubine said I was handsome, because she is afraid of me. The guest said I was handsome, because he had a favor to ask of me.’
Therefore he went to the court for an audience with Duke Wei, and said, ‘I know for sure that I am not as handsome as Xu. But because my wife is close to me, my concubine is afraid of me, and my guest had a favor to ask of me, they all said that I was more handsome than Xu. Now, Qi is one thousand square kilometer, and has 120 cities. Of the palace ladies and advisors, all are close you. Of the officials in the court, all are afraid of you. Within four borders of your territory, all have favors to ask of you. Therefore, we can conclude from here my lord has not been receiving the truth from these people.’
The Duke said, ‘Well said.’ He then issued an order, ‘Those who criticize me in front of me for my fault will receive best awards. Those who send a memorandum to admonish me, you will receive good awards. Those who censor and ridicule me in the market and the court, and convey them to me, will receive normal awards.’
Immediately after the order was issued, many subjects come to remonstrate. The gate of the government office was crowded as market. After several months, occasionally, people still came to submit their criticism. After one year, people had no more suggestions for submission.
Other states, such as Yan, Zhao, Han, and Wei, heard this and all came to pay tribute to Qi. This is called, ‘Winning the battle at your own court.’ .
Liu Bang (256 BC or 247 BC– 195 BC) was the first emperor of the Chinese Han Dynasty, ruling over China from 202 BC until 195 BC, and one of only a few dynasty founders who emerged from the peasant class.
His life story is recorded in the ‘Records of the Historian’.
Gaozu (Liu Bang) was from Yang Li in Fengyi, Peixian County (today’s Fengxian County). His family name was Liu and his alternative name was Ji. His father was known as Taigong and his mother Liu Yun. On day Yun was resting at a lake side and in her dream she was courted by a divine. At that time, the sky was dark and there were lighting and thunder, and Taikong saw a giant snake coiled around her body. Later Yun was pregnant and gave birth to Liu.
Once, Liu served in the military in Xianyang, capital of Qin. He was very impressed with the pomposity of the guards of honour who accompanied the First Emperor of Qin on his inspection tours. Liu had a long breath and sigh, ‘Ah, what a way to be a man!’
Lu, from a prominent family in Shanfu County (today’s Shanxian, Shandong), was a close friend of the magistrate of Peixian County. Escaping from a family enemy, Lu came to live in Peixian. All prominent people and local gentry in the county turned out to congratulate him on his arrival and settling in their hometown. Xiao He, a county secretary who was there on the day registering gifts received by Lu, told guests, ‘All those with gifts worth less than a thousand dollars please sit outside.’
Liu Bang did not think highly of the local gentry, although he was then only a minor official. He had no money to offer as a gift, but he wrote on the visiting card, ‘A ten thousand dollar gift for the host.’
When Lu was shown the visiting card, he was overwhelmed and so he hurried out of the sitting hall to greet the guest. Lu was good at face-reading. After looking at Liu, Lu was clearly impressed and invited Liu to sit in the hall. Xiao He remarked, ‘Liu is full of empty talk and he seldom completes his tasks.’
Liu behaved in a manner that is disrespectful to other guests by taking the VIP seat without hesitation.
After the feast, Lu asked Liu Bang to stay and said to him, ‘I have been doing face-reading since young. While I have done so many face- readings, I have not seen any face as good as yours. I hope you look after yourself well. If you do not mind, I would like to marry my daughter, Lu Zhi, to you.’
Lu’s wife was angry and complained, ‘You have always wanted our daughter to marry someone special and outstanding so that she can have a good life. The magistrate of Peixian is your friend but you refused to marry her to him. But now you want to marry her to a scoundrel!’ Lu said, ‘it is something that is beyond your understanding.’
So Lu married his daughter to Liu. She later became the Empress Lu who gave birth to Emperor Xiaohui and princess Luyuan.
The following story is from ‘Gossips from the Micro-reading Hall’.
There was a Mr Shi living in the village of Xian, can’t remember his name now. This gentleman was broadminded and righteous on major principles. He seldom bothered himself with minor financial matters.
One day he made a small killing at the casino and was on his way home. He saw a villager, his wife and a new born baby hugging and crying in deep sorrow. Mr Shi made inquiry and was told that this family had owed thirty taels of gold to the loan shark, was unable to repay and had to sell the wife to settle the debt. And as the baby was still being fed on his mother’s breast milk, the separation was all the more painful.
Mr Shi asked about the agreed sale price of the wife and was told that it was fifty taels of gold. He also asked whether that was redeemable with cash and was told that it was still possible. On hearing that, he took out his winnings of seventy taels of gold and gave them to the villager telling him to repay the loan, redeem his wife and start a business with the reminder.
The villager was so beholden to Shi that they invited him to their house for dinner and drink. After the meal, the village carried the baby out and gestured his wife to entertain Shi for the night. Shi when learned of this proposal from the lady was furious. He said that he had been morally unblemished throughout his life and would never dream of taking advantage of someone else’s wife while that person was in distress; such conduct was not only immoral but also debased. He left in anger without saying further.
Half month later, a fire broke out around Shi’s house. It was the dry season after harvest time and all the households stacked the harvested dried hay on their roofs. The fire therefore spread rapidly to engulf the whole area. Shi was caught in the house with his wife and son. Fire was raging around them on all sides and escape seemed impossible. Then someone shouted on the roof top, ‘There is an urgent order from the god of the eastern mountain. Spare the members of the Shi family.’ Soon after this a wall on the eastern side of Shi’s house collapsed and Shi ran out with his wife and son to safety.
The whole village was razed to the ground. His neighbours remarked after the fire, ‘We were all laughing at his stupidity when he donated the entire winnings on a family in distress. Now it would appear that the donated charity had saved him three lives instead.’
In my humble opinion, the god of the eastern mountain rewarded him partly for his monetary assistance to the family in distress, may be up to the extent of only forty per cent. The remaining sixty per cent was to reward him for his exemplary conduct in rejecting the sexual offer made by the grateful family.
Here is a story found in ‘A New Account of Tales of the World’ (Shi Shuo Xin Yu) about Xun Jubo, who lived during the Han dynasty (202 BC – 220).
Xun Jubo travelled far to visit a friend who was badly ill. In that period the Hun invaders were making an attack on the county in which his friend lived. The friend said to Xun, ‘I am dying, please go.’
Xun said, ‘I came a long distance to see you, but you want me to leave. Being disloyal to a friend only to save myself is an unrighteous act that is beneath me.’
The invaders arrived at last and asked Xun, ‘Our troops are coming, all the people in the county have fled, But what kind of man are you, who dare to remain here alone?’
‘My friend is terribly sick,’ Xun said, ‘I can’t bear to leave him alone. I prefer to be killed in his place.’
The invaders said to themselves, ‘We are unrighteous. How can we make an attempt on a righteous county?’
Then they withdraw the troops and the whole county was saved.
The Chinese calendar follows a 60-year cycle. Within this cycle, there are two separate sub-cycles, which interact with one another. The first sub-cycle comprises of the ten heavenly stems, namely the Five Elements in their Yin and Yang forms. These elements are Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal and Water. The second sub-cycle comprise of the twelve zodiac animal signs, also known as the Earthly Branches. Because the Chinese calendar is based on the moon's rotation, the new year can occur anytime from mid-January to late February. The twelve animals are arranged in the following order: rat, ox, tiger, rabbit, dragon, snake, horse, ram, monkey, rooster, dog and pig. These 12 animals represent the rotating 12-year cycle that is the basis of the Chinese Zodiac. You’ve likely heard reference to a particular year being the "Year of the Rabbit" or "Year of the Pig." The system of the twelve-year cycle of animal signs was built from observations of the orbit of Jupiter (the Year Star 岁星). Each animal in the zodiac is associated with its own element — metal, wood, earth, water or fire - while each year is assigned an element. The combination of these two elements is said to define a person's personality. Much of Chinese philosophy is built around the belief in the five elements and their abilities to interact with and create relationships between natural phenomena. The five elements have been part of Chinese culture almost from the beginning. Interestingly, few people outside the Asian world understand the importance of the five elements, especially how each relates to the workings of the Chinese Zodiac. This can be illustrated with the example of wood which can be used to spark a fire. Water can then be used to overcome fire and fire can help in the production of metal. Thus we find that the Chinese philosophers drew out their parallels from the natural behavior and processes of the five elements with each other. Generally speaking, the years ending in odd numbers are Yin, while the years ending in even numbers are represented by Yang. 2009 is the Yin Earth Ox year. This means that 2009, is an Ox year that will have the Yin influence or a quieter, slower and tranquil feel. The Ox symbolizes the attainment of prosperity through fortitude and hard work. The underlying tone of the Ox year is patience, perseverance, dependability and dedication. The Earth OX energy in particular is about ideals and principles; therefore, you may notice these attributes being very important in whatever you pursue for 2009. . 华人日历以六十年为一周期。在这周期里，有含有两个分周期。这两个分周期相互交流。第一个分周期由十个天干所组成，也就是五行的阴与阳。五行是：木、火、土、金、水。另一个分周期由十二生肖所组成，亦称为十二地支。 有为华历史根据月亮的运转来计算，新年会在阳历一月中至二月尾间的任何一天。 十二生肖动物的排列次序是：鼠、牛、虎、兔、龙、蛇、马、羊、猴、鸡、狗、猪。这十二动物代表十二年的运转周期，成为华历的主成分。所以你经常会听到说某年是兔年或猪年。 以动物生肖为符号的十二的周年时根据观察到的岁星轨道而建立起来的，所谓十二黄道带也。 每一个生肖动物都与五行（金木土水火）中一个元素相连，每年指定一个五行元素。据说这两个元素的结合就决定了一个人的个性。 中国哲学大部分是基于对五行的信仰与它们同大自然的交流与所建起的关系。五行几乎是从开始就是中国文化的一部分。有趣的是，在亚洲以外，很少人了解五行元素的重要性，尤其是每个元素与华人生肖运作的关系。 可以说明的例子是，木可以用来生火；水可以用来制火与火可以用来冶金。所以我们可以看到，中国哲学家把自然界的行为与五行元素的运作对等来看待。 一般来说，单数年属阴，双数年属阳。2009年是阴土的牛年。就是说，这个牛年受阴的影响，相对会平静、缓慢、安静。 牛年代表必须坚忍不拔与勤劳奋力争取幸福。牛年的基调是耐心、耐性、可靠、献身。土牛的能量特别适合用于理想性与原则性的东西；所以，在2009年，无论做任何事，都要牢记这些属性很重要。
简易居士 means a resident of the "House of Simple Living" or a Simple-living Person. The idea of 简易 or Jianyi comes from Yijing. It has been translated to mean Simply Change or Simplicity. It represents that although the Dao 道 expresses its way in different patterns, we can learn about this through our vigilant observation. To name my home 简易居 is to express my desire to live a simple and happy life.
简易居士，就是住在简易居的人士。
为何称住家为简易居呢？我读易经，而易经讲三易：‘不易’是说宇宙最大本体现象不变，‘变易’是说自然现象时时刻刻都在变，‘简易’是说大自然现象虽然一直在变，看似复杂，其实简单，只有八大现象，六十四中现象和三百八十四小现象。
我也是学书法的。唐代书法理论家张怀瓘在他的《文字论》中就说：“文则数言乃成其意，书则一字已见其心，可谓得简易之道。”
此言于我心有戚戚焉。
Liu Ling was ill after drinking too much wine, but he still wanted to drink some more, so he asked his wife for it. 
