CHINESE CULTURE
In this section, the reader will find articles related to Chinese culture in English.
Many of them are of our own production, elaborated throughout the more than 15 years that this page has been in operation, others are extracts from books or articles that we have dared to publish (generally after translating them) because of the interest they have for the English-speaking readers.
We are in the process of converting all the articles to a more modern format, but given the hundreds of articles in the different sections, it may take a few months.
The main sections are:
GENERAL ASPECTS OF CHINESE CULTURE
HOROSCOPE AND ANIMAL SIMBOLISM
MOVIES
Last posts about Chinese culture
Imperial Processions to the Temple of Heaven
Imperial Processions to the Temple of Heaven Those who know China—even if only through a brief trip—and who have visited the Temple of Heaven in Beijing will surely have been fascinated by the sober beauty of its buildings. Yet, whether on a crowded day or during a...
Most Frequent Scenes from the Life of the Buddha in Tibetan Art
Most Frequent Scenes from the Life of the Buddha in Tibetan Art In fact, only a few moments are repeated very frequently in Tibetan paintings. In some versions there are eight—an auspicious number for Tibetans, corresponding to the Noble Eightfold Path and the eight...
The Dog as Psychopomp in China
The Dog as Psychopomp in China One of the oldest human beliefs was that after death there existed an immaterial part of the person—later called the soul or spirit—that did not disappear with the body. Its origin may lie in the “presence” of the dead in dreams,...
An ambitious project to rewrite history
An ambitious project to rewrite history. It is what we see in Lhamsuren Munkh-Erdene, The Nomadic Leviathan. A Critique of the Sinocentric Paradigm. Brill. Leiden. 2023. Now free to download in the publisher’s webpage. This book is a critique of a theoretical paradigm...
Why I devoted more than a year to researching suicide in Chinese culture
Why I devoted more than a year to researching suicide in Chinese culture In early November 2022 my friend, the psychiatrist Luz González Sánchez, told me that she was preparing a lecture on suicide. On the 8th of that same month, during a quiet moment, I made a brief...
The Tibetan Deity with a Horse Face
The Tibetan Deity with a Horse Face During my most recent journey to Tibet, someone pointed out to me in a temple a deity who bore a small horse upon his head. I knew that this protector is called Hayagriva, and that he is sometimes referred to as “Horse-Headed” or...
The Horse God as One of the Most Popular Deities in China
The Horse God as One of the Most Popular Deities in China If a visitor goes to the Great Wall at Juyongguan, the section closest to Beijing and one of the most historically significant, and takes the time to explore the complex of structures carefully—a...
Geckos and the “Mark of Chastity” in Imperial China: History, Symbolism, and Cultural Context
Geckos and the “Mark of Chastity” in Imperial China: History, Symbolism, and Cultural Context Across the long span of imperial Chinese history, the gecko occupied a surprisingly prominent place in discussions of female chastity, bodily integrity, and the regulation of...
Why It Is Necessary to Study Suicide in Chinese Culture
Why It Is Necessary to Study Suicide in Chinese Culture While drafting new chapters for my Brief History of China, cases of suicide kept appearing in the most diverse circumstances. Ministers and wives who allowed themselves to be buried alive to accompany kings to...
Chinese characters
The Shuangdun Signs and the Origins of Chinese Writing
The Shuangdun Signs and the Origins of Chinese Writing When the origins of Chinese writing are discussed, attention almost always turns to the oracle bones of the Shang dynasty. Yet thousands of years before characters were carved onto turtle plastrons, surprisingly...
Ethnic groups
The Bull that Shaped the World and Other Sacred Bovines among the Bulang Minority
The Bull that Shaped the World and Other Sacred Bovines among the Bulang Minority The Bulang people (布朗族), an Austroasiatic ethnic group primarily inhabiting Yunnan’s tea-growing highlands, revere the ox as a sacred being intertwined with creation, agriculture, and...
tRAVELS
Discover the Treasure of Weibaoshan Mountain in Yunnan
Discover the Treasure of Weibaoshan Mountain in Yunnan Weibao Mountain (巍宝山) is one of the sacred mountains of Yunnan. Within its relatively small area it brings together a historical, artistic, natural, and monumental ensemble that makes it a unique place in China...
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