Alternatively, browse terms in alphabetical order according to their Chinese Pinyin 汉语拼音
Sunshu Ao (孙叔敖, c. 630 – c. 593 BCE) was a hydraulic engineer and politician during the Eastern Zhou Dynasty (770-258 BCE). When he was a child, he came across a snake one day. The snake was unusual because it …
Li Bai (李白, courtesy name Taibai 太白, 701–762) from Tang dynasty (618–907) was one of the greatest poets in Chinese history. He was also famous for his love of wine and was extremely productive in writing poems while he got …
This is from Scene Two of Act Four of the Chinese popular drama Romance of the Western Chamber (西厢记 Xixiang Ji). Miss Cui Yingying 崔莺莺 and Zhang Junrui (张君瑞, also called Scholar Zhang 张生) were deeply in love. Yingying’s maid, …
Deer were reputed to live for a very long time and hence, like cranes and tortoises, they are symbols of longevity. For this reason, deer antlers are a highly valued ingredient in many preparations of traditional Chinese medicine, and are …
Tao Yuanming (陶渊明, 365–427), also known as Tao Qian 陶潜, the paragon of ‘Fields and Gardens poetry’, spent most of his life as a hermit in a cottage in the countryside, reading, drinking wine, and writing poetry in an unmannered style. …
‘Tiao Mei He Geng 调梅和羹’ is a metaphor that likens the art of governing a country to the adequate seasoning of a stew with salt and sour prunes. The scene is often made up of a group of women or …
Wang Xiang (王祥 185–269) served as the Grand Protector (taibao 太保) in the Western Jin court (西晋 265–316 CE) and, as a significant politician, has his biography in the Book of Jin (jinshu 晋书), an official historical text covering the …
Wang Xizhi (王羲之, 303–361) is often said to be the greatest calligrapher in Chinese history. He has his biography in the official history of Jin 晋 dynasty (c. 265–420). One anecdote in it concerns his fame for his calligraphic skill …
Wei Jie (卫玠, 286-312) was admired as a handsome “jade man’ when he appeared in his signature goat-drawn carriage in town. Wei Jie shone like a piece of gleaming diamond whichever company he was in. On 17th century porcelain, the …
Nicknamed xingzhe (行者), ‘Pilgrim’ or ‘Traveller’, Wu Song (武松) is a popular fictional figure well-known for his slaying a tiger single-handedly after he was intoxicated on local rice wine. His heroic deed was first recorded as a title of a …