I am starting a new post series that compares elements of Chinese fantasy versus Western fantasy. For the very first post, I am going to focus on dragons. When we say “dragon”, we are often assuming a shared idea. But that assumption doesn’t really hold once you compare Chinese and Western contexts. Broadly speaking, theContinue reading “Chinese vs Western Fantasy: A comparison of Elements (1): Dragons”
Category Archives: Inspiration
Ideas: Recycling and Autobiography
I think I alluded to this topic of ideas generation before but I didn’t have enough material to actually blog about. But I think now I can start to talk about this in light of my recent experience of letting the WIP that I had been working on for about 10 years go and redevoteContinue reading “Ideas: Recycling and Autobiography “
The Role of Etiquette in Chinese culture (5)- Subtlety
Besides a general cultural preference for subtlety, it plays an important role for etiquette. In particular, it features heavily in communications but also relates to the concept of humility, which is a virtue as deemed by Confucianism. In terms of communications, there are a lot of things left unsaid or implied. Double entendres are aContinue reading “The Role of Etiquette in Chinese culture (5)- Subtlety”
Remarkable Women in Ancient China (27)- Deng Sui
Who is She? Notable Life Events Why is She Remarkable? Moonlake’s Thoughts on her: I’m a little time constrained and didn’t read her long biography in details so I couldn’t see much personality but again, we definitely have a highly capable educated woman in her. English reference: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deng_Sui
The Role of Etiquette in Chinese culture (4)- Number of wives
Chinese society is very hierarchical and one of the aspects that evidences this is the number of wives allowed between different social classes. The lowest class or commoners tend to practice monogamy while the wealthy have a wife and various concubines. And depending on the dynasty, sometimes merchants are considered to be a cheap socialContinue reading “The Role of Etiquette in Chinese culture (4)- Number of wives “
The Role of Etiquette in Chinese culture (3)- Ceremonial Rites
There used to be more ceremonial rites in ancient China but many have grown out of fashion. For example, the coming of age ceremony for the high born where males aged 20 are capped and given a courtesy name while girls’ hair is styled into a bun and given a hairpin at the age ofContinue reading “The Role of Etiquette in Chinese culture (3)- Ceremonial Rites “
Remarkable Women in Ancient China (26)- Liang Hong Yu
Who is She? One of the known female generals in ancient China and potentially the only one that had spent some time in a humble situation Notable Life Events Why is She Remarkable? I didn’t actually know she was the one who started a trend of wives of officials earning a separate wage. I didn’tContinue reading “Remarkable Women in Ancient China (26)- Liang Hong Yu “
The Role of Etiquette in Chinese culture (2)- Left versus Right
There are two aspects to which left versus right is important in Chinese culture. The first is that unlike Western society where right is considered the power position, it’s the reverse in Chinese culture. By the power position, I mean both seating arrangements and whether you walk to the left or right of someone else.Continue reading “The Role of Etiquette in Chinese culture (2)- Left versus Right “
The Role of Etiquette in Chinese culture (1)- Titles and Personal Addresses
This topic is actually inspired by my study in translation (I started my graduate certificate in translation in the middle of July) and I thought etiquette does play a very important role in Chinese culture, all the way from ancient times. Before I delve into the topic area of this post, I will just listContinue reading “The Role of Etiquette in Chinese culture (1)- Titles and Personal Addresses “
Remarkable Women in ancient China (25)- Zhao Rao
Who is she? Notable Life Events Why is She Remarkable?She is not the only palace maid who has risen to a high position (nor the only nanny for the Emperor for that matter) but I did find it interesting how it was effectively palace servants, of which Zhao Rao is one, that the Dowager EmpressContinue reading “Remarkable Women in ancient China (25)- Zhao Rao”
Moonlake's Fiction Space 