The Book of Lao Zi, commonly known as the Dao De Jing, contains a little over 5,000 words in 81 short chapters. Brief yet profound, the wisdom in this book still attracts and fascinates readers in the 21st century. The foundation of Lao Zi’s philosophy is dao (道), meaning the way or the path. The [...]
The Book of Lao Zi, commonly known as the Dao De Jing, contains a little over 5,000 words in 81 short chapters. Brief yet profound, the wisdom in this book still attracts and fascinates readers in the 21st century. The foundation of Lao Zi’s philosophy is dao (道), meaning the way or the path. The [...]
Section from “Qingming Festival on the River” by Zhang Zeduan, Northern Song dynasty A sensational exhibit at the China Pavilion of the Shanghai EXPO 2010 is the animated rendition of a Northern Song dynasty (960 – 1127 CE) painting “Qingming Festival on the River” (also translated as “Along the River during the Ching-ming Festival”) by [...]
Hakka festival with insert of the Round HousesThere will be a grand celebration of the Hakka (Kejia 客家) origin of many Chinese on Sunday, 11th July, 2010, at the Chinese Cultural Centre of Greater Toronto.* The Hakka people are a branch of the Han Chinese who experienced several major migrations in their long history. They [...]
As Canada engages the 21st century, the Chinese in Canada have finally emerged from the 19th century notion that they are still the children of Gold Mountain with its attendant artifacts of the Head Tax, exclusion mentality, and an urge to return to the motherland of China. The 2006 census indicated that that there were [...]
Kong Fuzi (孔夫子551 – 479 BCE), popularly known in the West by the Latinized name of Confucius, was a teacher and a philosopher who shaped Chinese culture for the last 2,500 years. His personal name was Qiu (丘) and courtesy name* Zhongni (字 仲尼). He lived towards the end of the period referred to by [...]
This is the Year of the Tiger. This portrayal of a tiger, along with an old man, is most fascinating in the history of Chinese or even world Art insofar as the tiger is usually not perceived as a calm and cuddly cat. Shi Ke (石恪) of the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period (907-979 [...]
The most brilliant Chinese woman writer was the topic of a highly interactive lecture at the University of Toronto on February 11, 2010. For 90 minutes, the Council Chamber at the Scarborough was not only filled with recitations of Li Qingzhao poetry, but also with well crafted, relaxed, and straightforward remarks by Professor Wei Djao. [...]
Wei Djao’s latest book is about Li Qingzhao (~ 1084 – 1156 CE) of the Song dynasty who is indisputably the most brilliant woman writer in Chinese history. This biography offers an insightful interpretation of her character and a new translation of some of her writings. Wei Djao’s English rendition consistently captures the poet’s elegance, [...]
Section of the Tang dynasty handscroll “A Hundred Horses” The handscroll “A Hundred Horses,” ink on silk, was by an unknown artist of the Tang dynasty (618 – 907 CE). It shows horses in various poses: galloping, charging, rolling on the ground, feeding, etc. There are altogether 41 grooms in the picture and they are [...]