Avaricious Beast – Tan
Tan (貪 pinyin:tān) In ancient times, on the walls of the Yamen (衙門 pinyin:yá mén) or Chinese courthouses, there is a painting of a fabulous beast. This mythical beast has a head resembling a dragon,...
View ArticleJustice Animal – Xiezhi
Xiezhi (獬豸pinyin:xiè zhì) A fabulous beast called Xiezhi (獬豸 pinyin:xiè zhì), by the Chinese, is described as being somewhat like a unicorn and a dragon, although with a singular horn and cleft-foot...
View ArticleWangtienhou
Admonisher Animal – Wangtienhou (望天吼 pinyin:wàng tiān hǒu) In front of the main gate, Tienanmen (天安門 pinyin:tiān ān mén), the Gate of Heavenly Peace, of the Imperial palace in Beijin China, there is a...
View ArticleThe Auspicious Lion Dance
Wushi (舞獅 pinyin:wǔ shī) The Chinese Lion Dance, Wushi (舞獅 pinyin:wǔ shī), as we know it today, has a continuous history of some on thousand years. However, the first record of the performance of an...
View ArticlePixiu
Pixiu (貔貅 pí xiū) A fabulously fierce beast called Pixiu (貔貅 pí xiū), is believed to be more powerful than the lion or any other animal, and in ancient literature, it is referred to as Mengshou (猛獸...
View ArticleLion or Shi
Shi (獅 pinyin: shī) The Lion, in Chinese is called Shi (獅 pinyin: shī) or Shizi , a term which has been advanced to have been derived as a transliteration of the first syllable from some Iranian...
View ArticleDove or Jiu
Jiu (鳩 jiū) The dove and a pigeon is very similar, in fact the former is a kind of pigeon, so that it is generally grouped together and called in Chinese as Ge (鴿 gē). However, in colloquial Chinese,...
View ArticleTwo hawks with one arrow
一箭雙鵰 (yī jiàn shuāng diāo) – Two hawks with one Arrow There is an English expression, ‘Two birds with one stone’. However, this same idea is expressed in Chinese as Yi-jian-shuang-diao or Shooting two...
View ArticleCat or Mao
The Cat, called Mao (貓 māo) in Chinese, is said to have been given this name because of its mewing, but the composition of the written character, is to express an animal which catches rats in grain...
View ArticleLychee or Lizhi
Lychee (荔枝 pinyin: lì zhī) The Lychee (Litchi chinesis) is probably the best known of all Chinese fruit trees. It is extensively cultivated in south China, particularly in the provinces of Kwangtung,...
View ArticleLunar Calendar
There is a cycle of 12 years with an animal representing each year. The first month of the year is called the First Moon; the second month of the year is called Second Moon, etc. Some moons have a...
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