Much of Chinese culture involves Chinese myths. To understand the many festivals and holidays of China, here are 3 popular Chinese myths that you might find interesting:     The New Year Legend The Chinese New Year legend begans in a small village thousands of years ago. Every winter, a monster with the body of a bull and a head of a lion would enter this village and attack the villagers. The monster is called a “Nian.” The villagers were scared and didn’t know what to do. Until a wise old man came up with an idea! The next time the Nian appeared to attack their village, the people would use fireworks and drums to scare of the monster! The plan worked perfectly and the monster fled into the hills. From today onwards, every year on the day they scared off the monster, they would light fireworks and celebrate their victory. This day was the start of the Chinese New Year and the Spring Festival.   Houyi and Chang’e - The Mid-Autumn Festival Houyi and Chang’e is an immortal couple living in heaven, according to the legends. One day, the ruler of all heavens, the Jade Emperor, orders Houyi for…

With the popularity of "A Dream of Splendor", the Chinese traditional folk life of the Song Dynasty shown in the drama has set off a retro craze in reality. The audience's focus on ancient costume dramas is no longer limited to makeup and costumes, but seeks to examine and explore deeper content. In recent years, it is common that ancient costume dramas based on historical research and restoration of ancient life, but most of them are still embodied in costumes and etiquette, do not fully restore the life of ancient China. So, what is traditional Chinese folk life like? STUDIO SHENLOUZHI (蜃楼志), as if they had traveled from ancient China, recreates the traditional Chinese folk life for the audience with their almost perfect short films. On June 10, 2019, their first work, "VAGUELY DREAM IN HOKCHEW - Short Film of Traditional Life in Late Ming Dynasty" suddenly becomes popular on the Internet, with more than 700,000 views. The creative team members are all post-90s traditional culture enthusiasts, who had no experience in film production or acting in any drama before. The short film shows the folk life in Hokchew City (Fuzhou) during the Chongzhen period of the late Ming Dynasty…

The latest immortal drama "Immortal Samsara (沉香如屑)" is on air on July 20. Yang Zi, Cheng Yi, Zhang Rui and Meng Ziyi are leading the cast. Unlike previous immortal dramas, Immortal Samsara tells the story of Ying Yuan, the emperor of the six realms who guards the boundaries and protects the world, and Yan Dan, the fairy who is kind-hearted and loves righteousness, as they fight against the forces of evil and guard the righteousness of the world together. The drama strives to break away from the creative shackles of romance and build a more ambitious and meticulous story structure behind the fantastical and magnificent imagery.   World structure of Immortal Samsara Main characters of Immortal Samsara Immortal Samsara constructs a vast group of immortal characters, the main characters include: Yan Dan (played by Yang Zi), the four-leaf lotus fairy. Intelligent and has a powerful gift for learning. However, she is naughty and lively, resting on her laurels, and is happy with her status as a fairy attendant. She is kind, sincere, and truly devoted to everyone. Ying Yuan (played by Cheng Yi), the leader of the four emperors in the heavenly realm and the first model of the heavenly.…

The mythical creature from "Classic of Mountains and Seas" are brought to life again! These ancient records from 2,000 years ago come to vivid reality in this girl's restoration. Xiang Liu (相柳): 《山海经·海外北经》：“共工之臣曰相柳氏，九首，以食于九山。相柳之所抵，厥为泽溪。……相柳者，九首人面，蛇身而青……” Shan Hai Jing - Hai Wai Bei Jing: "Gong Gong had a minister named Xiang Liu, who had nine heads and fetched food on each of the nine mountains. Everywhere the Xiang Liu touched, it would turn into swamps and streams. ....... Xiang Liu, with nine heads, had a human-like face, a snake-like body, and a greenish body." Ling Yu (陵鱼): 《山海经·海内北经》：“陵鱼人面、手足、鱼身，在海中。” Shan Hai Jing - Hai Nei Bei Jing: "There is a kind of Ling Yu, with a human-like face, arms and legs, and a fish-like body, living in the sea." Qiong Qi (穷奇) & Luo Yu (蠃鱼): 《山海经·西山经》：“又西二百六十里，曰邽山，其上有兽焉，其状如牛，猬毛，名曰穷奇，音如獆狗，是食人。濛水出焉，南流注于洋水，其中多黄贝、蠃鱼，鱼身而鸟翼，音如鸳鸯，见则其邑大水。” Shan Hai Jing - Xi Shan Jing: "Two hundred and sixty miles to the west, there is a mountain called Gui Shan. A beast on the mountain, shaped like a cow, with hair like the thorns of a hedgehog, is called the Qiong Qi, which makes a sound like a barking dog and can eat humans. Meng River originates from this mountain and flows southward into the…

According to legend, in the Tang Dynasty, during spring, Emperor Li Xian would order his servants to take out "colored flowers" from the inner palace and give them to the concubines of the harem to welcome the new spring, and these "colored flowers" referred to the Rong Hua (绒花, velvet flower). Today, Rong Hua is often worn with traditional hanfu and has become one of the most popular accessories in Chinese traditional costumes. The flower hairpin was always one of the most popular decorative styles of the ancients. In the painting "Court Ladies Adorning Their Hair With Flowers" by the famous Tang Dynasty painter Zhou Fang, the woman is wearing a high bun and wearing a flower as a hairpin, which is as elegant and beautiful as a fairy in a fantasy world. But flowers are limited by the season and easily withered, and the petals often wither. So the ancient noble ladies wished to have flowers that would last forever as accessories, and that's when the handmade Rong Hua came into being. The Chinese word for velvet flower is similar to the pronunciation of "Rong Hua (荣华, prosperity)" and has been given a meaning of good luck and blessing. The…

Have you ever noticed the motifs on a hanfu? They are diverse and can even be considered the finishing touch to a hanfu. Maybe it is some kind of animal from ancient times or different kinds of plants to match. Most of them have a special meaning, and some fantastical motifs even contain mythological stories.   Animal Motifs Qilin Motifs Although the production environment of the ancients was much less than the modern society, the ancients never skimped on their imagination when it came to creating sacred animals. For example, the Qilin (麒麟). With a dragon head, deer antlers, cow hooves, and lion's tail, the Qilin changed several times before the Tang Dynasty and had no fixed appearance. In the Song Dynasty, the body became a common lion-shaped scaly body, basically into the current form. In "Fantastic Beasts 3: The Mystery of Dumbledore", the Qilin appears as a new fantastic beast. This is the second Chinese mythical creature launched in the "Fantastic Beasts" series, Zouwu from the "Shan Hai Jing" appeared in "Fantastic Beasts 2: The Crimes of Grindelwald". Qilin is a symbol of auspiciousness and has a very high status in ancient times, and has been assigned with simple…

Unlike modern clothing, which is updated so frequently, the development of antique Chinese clothing was not only accompanied by the change of dynasties, but also combined with the level of fabrics of the time. However, there is no doubt that different periods in ancient China had distinctive fashion items.   01 Shenyi in Han Dynasty In 1972, when the three-month archaeological excavation ended, the archaeologists of Tomb No. 1 of the Mawangdui Han Tomb in Changsha were still excited. During the subsequent work, they discovered a dozen pieces of well-preserved Western Han costumes, thus opening a window for later generations to peek into the aesthetics of the dress worn by ancient Chinese 2000 years ago. The relics of the tomb that the archaeologists cleaned were from the tomb of Xin Zhui, the wife of Li Cang, the prime minister of Changsha in the early Western Han Dynasty. Based on archaeological and textual records, we know that there were two main types of clothing for the ancient Chinese during the Qin and Han dynasties. Type Yichang (衣裳), in which the clothing of the upper body and the lower body were not connected; Type Shenyi (深衣) in which the upper garment and…

China has a long history of tea drinking, which emerged in the Tang Dynasty and became prosperous in the Song Dynasty. It is in this context that the story of A Dream of Splendor takes place. In the drama, Liu Yifei as Zhao Pan'er, together with two girlfriends, opened a tea store in Bian Jing, the capital of the Song Dynasty. With Zhao Pan'er's excellent marketing skills, Sun San Niang's delicious pastries, Song Yin Zhang's wonderful Pipa performance, and most importantly, Pan'er's extensive experience in Dian Cha, as well as Cha Bai Xi, their tea store has achieved initial success. Dian Cha (点茶, whisking tea), as an important part of Chinese tea culture, is the main tea drinking method in the Song Dynasty, and also an important way of leisure and entertainment for the literati and ordinary people. Cha Bai Xi (茶百戏, tea painting art), also known as: Fen Cha (分茶), Shui Dan Qin (水丹青). Firstly, the finely ground tea powder is injected into the tea bowl with boiling water, while stirring with a tea whisk, the tea froth floats up and forms a suspension. Then use the teaspoon and water to draw words and patterns on the surface. Cha Bai…

When was the traditional Chinese fan born and what did it first look like? These are no longer available in kind. According to the speculation of Mr. Shen Congwen, the traditional Chinese fan was used at least not later than after the appearance of pottery in the Neolithic period.   Pre Qin Dynasty In ancient times, human beings picked a leaf of a plant or a feather of a bird in the hot summer, and simply processed it to fan the wind and take shade from the sun, which is the prototype of the original fan. In the initial era, the fan was called "箑(shà)" or "萐(shà)", and also "翣(shà)”", and only in the later development was it unified and called "扇(shàn)". The above-mentioned different fan of the ancient name, but also reflects the material of the fan at that time are bulrush, feathers, bamboo, and so on. The oldest fan excavation artifact at present is a short-handled bamboo fan, also known as Bian Mian (便面), unearthed from an ancient tomb of the Eastern Zhou Dynasty in Jing'an County, Jiangxi. As the earliest image of a fan, it appears on a bronze pot unearthed in Chengdu, which belongs to the…

The tiger hat (虎头帽, tiger head hat) is a typical child's hat style in Chinese folk costumes with the image of a tiger. Tiger hats, tiger shoes, tiger bibs, tiger dudou, etc. as an important part of Chinese children's clothing, with distinctive characteristics. The tiger is considered a kind of auspicious beast in Chinese traditional culture, and is an important object of totem worship for the Chinese nation. The tiger hat as a folk handed down to this day a kind of children's hat ornament, with the tiger as the image, hat shape, the pattern is also more tiger head model, so-called the tiger hat.   Origin and Development Origin 1: Ancient China was a traditional agrarian society that experienced a lot of hardships in claiming nature's materials, and various symbols and forms of divine power to help ward off disasters emerged. The tiger, as a positive symbolism, was recognized as a sheltering god that could block disasters, and the tiger totem has been passed down to this day in the worship of many evil suppresses. People gradually infiltrated this worship as a belief into the people's daily life, and developed unique handicraft clothing such as tiger hats. Origin 2: Chinese tiger…

Chinese clothing is the epitome of Chinese civilization. Traditional clothing colors are influenced by the "Theory of the Five Elements" and are divided into five colors: green, red, black, white, and yellow. The different colors revered by different dynasties reflect the characteristics of their dynasties. In this article, the most representative six dynasties of ancient China are selected: Han, Tang, Song, Yuan, Ming, and Qing, and their popular colors are analyzed.   Chinese Colours in Han Dynasty Characteristics: Simple and natural Popular colors: Xuan (玄, smoky black), Chi (赤, upsdell red), White (白), Green (绿) In 206 B.C., the Han Dynasty was founded. Influenced by the Taoist art of Huanglao and Confucianism, Han Dynasty costumes pursued the essential beauty. The color of Han Dynasty clothing was mainly monochromatic, and it was a respect for the dark and light colors, which made it look dignified, simple and natural. Carried the idea of "ritual rule and Taoism", and fabric dyeing of Han Dynasty clothing followed the beliefs of the five elements of yin and yang, with dark colors representing dignity. Color Xuan in Han Dynasty clothing After the Han Dynasty destroyed the Qin Dynasty, water virtue was revered according to the doctrine…

The exciting spy war plot, combined with the Three Kingdoms period, what kind of exciting plot will be presented? "The Wind Blows From Longxi" takes intelligence warfare as the basic, and launches a unique game of chance. The drama tells the story of Chen Gong (陈恭, Chen Kun) and Xun Xu (荀诩, Bai Yu), two minor characters. In that era when the country was divided into three and war was raging, they played an important role in the thrilling spy war and wrote a heroic legend outside the history books.   A new image of the spy drama With tension, excitement, and life hanging in the balance, "The Wind Blows From Longxi" maintains a tight plot from the first episode. In Zhuge Liang's first Northern Expedition, Jieting is lost. Si Wen Cao (司闻曹), the agency responsible for military intelligence in Shu state (蜀汉), discovered that during the battle, the Shu spy "Bai Di (白帝=Chen Gong)", who was lurking in the Wei state (曹魏), sent a secret report of the Wei army's battle plan, but it was a false intelligence, which misled the Shu army's decision and directly led to the defeat of the Northern Expedition. Subsequently, the You Xiao (游枭)…

Chinese Palace drama (宫斗剧, Gongdou, harem drama, or palace scheming dramas) refers to a drama set in ancient China's feudal dynasties. Female characters, such as concubines or female officials, are the main subjects of the story. The main plotline is the emotional entanglement of the characters or political power struggle. Palace dramas focus on entertainment and dramatization, and are somewhat different from historical dramas. The first hit palace drama was "War and Beauty" in 2004, then "Schemes of a Beauty" in 2010, and "Empresses in the Palace" in 2011 generated outstanding ratings and brought widespread attention to palace dramas. Almost all of the stories in the palace dramas occur in the isolated harem, where the "scheming" is the core plot and narrative focus. A group of originally delicate aristocratic women, fighting on this battlefield of deceit, with only one goal in mind: the emperor's favor. All the characters in the harem drama have no distinction between right and wrong, good and evil, but only the success or failure of their tactics and schemes, and the consequent differences in their fates. Therefore, the women in the situation have a strong sense of crisis and high sensitivity to their difficult situation. All…

Historical political dramas, focus on power and strategy. In Chinese historical political dramas, the protagonists are usually in changing dynasties, with tense plots and complex character conflicts that portray the dark rivalry between different forces and keep the audience engrossed in the drama. If you ask what is the attraction of historical political dramas? Probably it can meet the aesthetic experience and expectations of the audience in many ways. The overall story is set in ancient times, and most of the settings are related to the imperial court, which satisfies the public's desire to pry into the royal family. The storyline, full of logical reasoning and details, also makes the audience constantly look forward to the direction of the plot. There are three kinds of themes in Chinese historical dramas that show the means of power and strategies. The first is imperial dramas, in which the plot focuses on the struggle for power among emperors, ministers, and heirs, mainly highlighting the politics of strategists, such as "Kang Xi Dynasty" and "Ming Dynasty in 1566", etc, basically takes history as the main vein and is rated by netizens as the peak of the power and strategies drama. The second kind is…

When you browse through the tutorials of hanfu hairstyles, you will find that the use of wigs is widespread. Is it true that girls had long and dense hair in ancient China? The eternal problem of thinning hair is not only a problem for modern people, but ancient beauties also needed to rely on wigs to complete the look. The application of wigs has a history of thousands of years. Today we briefly introduce the history of wigs.   Di (髢, dí) and Bi (髲, bì) were the original names for traditional Chinese wigs. However, not everyone had access to wigs in ancient China. At the beginning of the wig's birth, it was not an ordinary accessory. The Rites of Zhou records that Zhuishi (追师), a kind of palace official in charge of the empress' headdress, made wigs and headdresses. 追师掌王后之首服，为副编次追衡笄…… ——《周礼》 Fu (副), Bian (编), Ci (次) are three different levels of wig types, only worn during critical events such as rituals, and only for the exclusive use of noblewomen such as empress and madam. The famous Mawangdui Han tomb has unearthed a well-preserved "Fu" wig. This set of wigs is thick and black, and Lady Xin Zhui chases…

In recent years, exciting Chinese anime productions have emerged, making great leaps in content and quality and gaining more and more recognition and love from anime fans. For example, the Wuxia anime The Legend of Qin, which is about to receive its seventh season, and the Xuanhuan anime Douluo Continent, updated to more than 200 episodes. The combination of Wuxia, Xuanhuan, and anime can be said to be perfect, with fantastic dueling images and heart-wrenching plots. Once you open the first episode, you will be immersed in it, and keep looking forward to the start of the new season. This article will list the Martial Arts and Fantasy Chinese Animation that will be released or updated in 2022. Bookmark this list, and we'll keep updating it here with exciting Chinese anime!   The Degenerate-Drawing Jianghu Season 5 · 画江湖之不良人5 Also known as: Hua Jianghu: Bu Liang Ren V Period Background: Tang Dynasty Genres: Wuxia Anime, Action, Historical Aired: January 20, 2022 Episodes/Duration: 12/25min "Buliang Ren" is an officer who was engaged in detecting and catching theft in Tang Dynasty. The story of this animation is about the hidden treasure of Longquan by "Buliang Ren". In The Degenerate-Drawing Jianghu, the heroes…

10 exciting historical series will be broadcast in 2022, tradition history, biography, suspense, what surprises will they bring for us?

The ancient women left their stunning figures in the ancient poets, and their bejeweled were equally eye-catching. That brilliant hanfu jewelry like a river of stars, will set them off quiet, elegant, highlighting the unique charm. In this article, let's go into the history of gorgeous Chinese traditional necklace and choker and see how the ancient people carried forward the beauty of neckwear.   The Ancient Times When our ancestors were still living in cold, dark caves, the sense of beauty was already awakened. They searched for anything that resembled "beads", drilled holes in them, strung them on chains, and wore them around their necks. Some of them were also painted red with hematite powder. At the Zhoukoudian Peking Man site, which is about 30,000 years old, a large number of neck ornaments have been unearthed. These neck ornaments are made of different materials, including gravel, animal teeth, fish spine bones, and bird bones, all of which have been carefully selected and polished. Among them, there is a string of rabbit bone chains, consisting of 12 pieces of rabbit backbone, each of which has a hole for threading. The holes have been worn out and deformed due to long-term wear,…

  A new cdrama, Royal Feast, recently aired! This culinary and palace drama set in the Ming Dynasty stars the original cast of the hit drama Story of Yanxi Palace. As the name implies, Royal Feast (尚食, Shang Shi) is a historical drama that focuses on the palace cuisine of the Ming Dynasty. The story takes place during the Yongle period of the Ming Dynasty, where the young cook Yao Zijin, played by Wu Jinyan, enters the palace and shows her "culinary talent" step by step, and eventually becomes a female official of the Food Bureau of the Imperial Palace. Royal Feast not only presents many court food, but also the sweet palace love between Yao Zijin and Zhu Zhanji, the imperial grandson. In this article, we will share the highlights of Royal Feast from food, costumes, and props.   Palace cuisine in Royal Feast The cuisine is the most important part of the drama! For the important Food Bureau of the Imperial Palace scene design, the team carefully drew a detailed structural model drawing, and made a detailed restoration of each place. In order to restore the menu of the Forbidden City in the Ming Dynasty, the non-heritage team…

In the year 2021 that has just passed, a topic that is often brought up is just how many Wuxia and Xianxia cdramas will be aired next year. It is not difficult to understand such a question. According to statistics from public sources, including various projects to be broadcast, wrapped, started filming, and in preparation, there are at least 40+ Wuxia and Xianxia cdramas exposed so far, which can be considered the most crowded track in the film and television industry in 2022. On January 14, the new-style martial arts drama "Sword Snow Stride " ushered in the first season finale. on January 16, "Mirror: Twin Cities" will first kick off the prologue of this year's fantasy cdrama.   Xianxia Cdramas: Adaptation Determines the Winner The most obvious phenomenon of Xianxia cdramas is that although the quantity is large, the hits are not easy to come by. On the one hand, although Xianxia cdramas have a fixed audience, there is a quota for scheduling, and only the real top dramas have the chance to be syndicated on multiple platforms. On the other hand, historical drama is a big part of cdrama, long creation period and large cost investment are its…