Ancient Chinese Culture
Archive for category Chinese Literature
the God of Earth
Posted by ancient chinese culture in Chinese Myths on October 19, 2010
The God of Earth, also called the God of Land or Tu Di Gong, is a supernatural being living under the ground. He has magic power and is in charge of administering the affairs of a particular area. He is usually depicted as a kind elderly man with grey hair and white long beard. He always wears a gold hat and a red gown with a long wooden stick and a gold ingot in his two hands.
The worship of the Earth God originated from the worship of land in ancient China. Ancient Chinese attached great importance to the land, so the worship of land was viewed as one of the most important activities in ancient China. Read the rest of this entry »
Nine Sons of the Dragon – Ba Xia
Posted by ancient chinese culture in Chinese Myths on October 15, 2010
Ba Xia is the 6th son of the dragon. As he is very fond of water, he always lives in lakes and pools. It is believed that he is the king in the watery domain and controls floods and other kinds of water disasters. Therefore, his figure can be easily found on dykes, piers and bridges.
People also believe that it can bring auspicious luck to water. So placing his likeness near the water feature will be a good way to activate the wealth luck and ensure the safety for the water feature and the surrounding environments. Read the rest of this entry »
the Twelve Beauties of Jinling – Lin Daiyu
Posted by ancient chinese culture in Four Great Classical Novels on October 13, 2010
Lin Daiyu is one of the Twelve Beauties of Jinling (refers to the twelve excellent ladies) in the book of The Dream of Red Mansions. She is the heroine of the book and ranks the first among the Twelve Beauties.
Lin is the daughter of Lin Ruhai and the cousin of Jia Baoyu. In the book, her parents died early when she was very young. And she is described as a girl with poor health since she was a child. However, she has a good command of Four Arts and especially good at composing poetry.
She is an intelligent and beautiful lady but is proud and aloof in nature. She and Jia Baoyu have the same interests and are both the traitors of feudalism. She never persuade Jia to throw himself into feudal official career. Gradually, they two fall in love with each other. However, Jia is forced to marry Xue Baochai, thus causing the tragic death of Lin Daiyu.
the God of Kitchen
Posted by ancient chinese culture in Chinese Myths on October 9, 2010
The God of Kitchen, also called Zaowangye or Zao Jun in Chinese, is a supernatural being that has magic power and is in charge of diet in ancient Chinese folktale. He is also appointed by the Jade Emperor to report the family’s behavior during the previous year, which will determine their fate in the next year.
The God of Kitchen originated from the worship of fire. During the period of Han Dynasty (202BC~220), the God was personified and was given new responsibility (supervising the family’s behavior). In ancient times, it was not clear that whether the God was a man or woman. However, most people believed the God of Kitchen was a male god.
In order to show the respect for the god, the axes and knives are not allowed to be placed on the cooking stove. Complaining in front of the image of the god is also regarded as the lack of respect. It is said that on December 24th of each year, he will go to the heaven to report Read the rest of this entry »
The Romance of Three Kingdoms
Posted by ancient chinese culture in Four Great Classical Novels on October 5, 2010
The Romance of Three Kingdoms, also called San Guo Yan Yi in Chinese, is a Chinese historical novel written by Luo Guanzhong (1330~1400). It is one of the four great classic novels of Chinese literature and is also regarded as the first voluminous chapter novel which reaches the highest achievement of historical novels.
This novel is based on the events in the end of Eastern Han Dynasty (25~220) and the Three Kingdoms era of China. It describes the contradictions and conflicts of three political and military groups named Wei, Shu, and Wu in the turbulent years. Read the rest of this entry »
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