The Wenzi Begins: Echoes from a Forgotten Taoist Voice

The Wenzi Begins: Echoes from a Forgotten Taoist Voice The Wenzi (文子) is an ancient Daoist text attributed to a disciple of Laozi. Although its authenticity has been debated throughout history, its content clearly reflects the Daoist worldview and its influence on the...

A Humble Proposal for Rethinking Historical Periodization: To Go Beyond Dynasties in Chinese History

A Humble Proposal for Rethinking Historical Periodization: To Go Beyond Dynasties in Chinese History Historical narratives are never neutral. The way we divide time reflects not only the facts we choose to remember, but also the frameworks we use to interpret them. In...

The Primitivist: The Taoist Philosopher of Simplicity

The Primitivist: The Taoist Philosopher of Simplicity The Taoist classic Zhuangzi is not the work of a single philosopherAnyone who takes a closer look at the foundational works of Taoism will quickly discover that the book known as Zhuangzi was not entirely written...

An Old Book on the Sani-Yi Minority

An Old Book on the Sani-Yi Minority One may wonder whether it makes any sense to read, in the first decades of the 21st century, a book written at the end of the 19th. Clearly, the person who has spent some of their time translating it, revising it, updating the old...

Praise for the book on Chinese characters

Praise for the book on Chinese characters Good News! I'm happy to share that my book Chinese Characters: An Easy Learning Based on Their Etymology and Evolution has been selected by BookAuthority.org as one of The Best Etymology Books for Beginners! BookAuthority...
The five secret temples of the lamas in Lijiang
The five secret temples of the lamas in Lijiang

The five secret temples of the lamas in Lijiang Religions of Lijiang Although the city of Lijiang is known primarily for the Dongba religion practiced by the traditional shamans of the Naxi, also called Dongba, who with their rituals administered the religious and...

Tales of the faithful dog: China, Mongolia, the West
Tales of the faithful dog: China, Mongolia, the West

In Chinese culture there are many historical and folkloric stories that extolled dogs, placing the animal friend above the other human beings. This was due to the dogs  fidelity to their master, one of the most appreciated virtues in Chinese society. In legends,...

Ethnic groups

The five secret temples of the lamas in Lijiang
The five secret temples of the lamas in Lijiang

The five secret temples of the lamas in Lijiang Religions of Lijiang Although the city of Lijiang is known primarily for the Dongba religion practiced by the traditional shamans of the Naxi, also called Dongba, who with their rituals administered the religious and...

The economics of human plowing
The economics of human plowing

The economics of human plowing  According to “The Exploitation Of The Works Of Nature”, a 17th century Chinese book.  In farming households where there are no oxen to use, farmers fix a pole to the plough and two men pull the plough by placing the pole on their...

Chinese culture

Zhang Yongzheng, the master of deluding reality
Zhang Yongzheng, the master of deluding reality

Zhang Yongzheng, the master of deluding reality Reality is an illusion, say Buddhist texts. And each of Zhang Yonggzheng's (Gansu, 1978) works plays with this concept to remind us again and again that there is no immutable reality but a fluid universe of forms that...

Chinese characters -person
Chinese characters -person

A sample of the first three pages of the English translation of my book on Chinese characters 人 rén – person, human being • adult • each.  This is a pictogram of a person standing, with legs separated. Person > kind of person > every > other. It is one of the...

We are working to republish all the old post in this new format, but due to the vast amount of post published in the last years, it is possible that old and new design posts will coexist during some months.

INDEX OF ETHNIC GROUPS PAGES

 

GeneralAchang BaiBaima – BaoanBulangBuyangBuyiChashanDaiDaur – DeangDengDong – DongxiangDulong – Ersu – EwenkiGejia – GelaoHaniHezheJingpoJinoKucongLahuLhobaLiLisuManchuMaonanMiaoMongolsMosoMulaoNamziNaxiNuOroqenPumiQiangSaniSheShuiTaluTibetanTuTujiaUygurWaXibeYaoYiYugurZhuang