The modern Mid-Autumn Festival has, to some observers, become yet another example of our world’s rampant materialism, in which the act of gifting an expensive box – with all its...
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Duck is cooling, chicken is heaty. Green tea is cooling, black tea is heaty. Crabs are cooling, shrimp are heaty. To an outsider, these classifications might seem as random as the...
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They were born nearly 2400 years apart, but the similarities between these two great thinkers are well worth considering. This article written by Leo Timm was originally published in Epoch...
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China’s prolific history of innovation has generated much debate and speculation. Rather than wade through a long list of Chinese inventions, let’s focus on four major game-changers plus four lesser-knowns...
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The sheer volume of language learning advice out there is overwhelming, so why not let us streamline it for you into six highly practical and actionable recommendations?
You know that uneasy feeling before interviewing for a job, giving a speech in public, or making a major life decision? The Chinese have a variety of expressions to convey…
Chinese eunuchs across history belong to a vast, anonymous clan, sharing the same unspoken shame in service to emperor and court. Several of these brave souls, however, rose to such…
The China Simplified team plays with the story of a foreigner messing up the phrase “let’s go out” with surreal consequences. Chū means exit. Jiā means home. If language was...
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The excruciating surgery featured in this post falls outside “normal” medical procedures. Yet it’s far from rare. China’s Ming Dynasty alone produced over 100,000 eunuchs!
The China Simplified team explores Chinese gifting taboos and the tragic (albeit slightly exaggerated) consequences of a guy giving his combustible girlfriend the wrong presents. For example, his first gift...
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