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The Chinese characters can range in complexity from one stroke : 一 yī "one" to 36 strokes, the largest numbers of strokes in any character actually used: 齉 nàng "to speak with a blocked up nose."

Four Supernatural creatures which the Chinese look upon as omens of good are the Unicorn, phoenix, the tortoise, and the dragon. The K'i-lin, or Chinese Unicorn, is a hooved divine creature which appears with the imminent arrival or passing of a wise sage or an illustrious ruler. The Fenghuang, or phoenix, is reign over all birds,  the male is called Feng, and the female is called Huang.

Bonzee was a name referring to Chinese Buddhist used by Jesuit missionaries in 18th Century.  And so a Bonzary was a Buddhist convents or temple of Bonzee. A Chinese Bonzee often seen begging alms in the street with their bowls, a wooden bell which he would beat now and then to announce his approaching or attraction attention of the donor. A begging Bonzee normally kept silent and very solemn. Buddha was said to go out begging only in the morning and never beg and eat after noon. A Bonzee beggin Jesuits believed that it was necessary to become all things to all men, in order to gain over men to Christ,[1] so they in India became a Braman; in Siam a Talapoin; in China either a Bonzee, or a Confucian and philosopher; in Africa they appeared as Marabou. [2] Some times they appeared before Chinese as a Bonzee or a Confucianist. ---- [1]A Description Of The Solemnities Observed At Pe-king, When The Emperor's Mother Entered On The Sixtieth Year Of Her Age....

Phenomenalist was a class of scholars, often mentioned in the Lun-hêng by Wang Ch'ung, who seem to have themselves to the study of natural phenomena and calamities, such as heat cold, inundations, droughts, famines, etc. to which, however, they did not ascribe natural, but moral causes, misled by the pseudo-science of the liking and similar works. Phenomenalist believes that natural phenomena or calamities was not the result of government or conduct, especially of the sovereign. When the sovereign is pleased, it is warm, and, when he is angry, it is cold. Heaven punishes a sovereign's wrongdoing by earthquake, inundations, droughts, and famines, etc. People could influence weather conditions, When Tsou Yen (邹衍), a scholar of the 4th cent, b.c, had been put into prison upon a trumped up charge, he looked up to heaven and wept. All of a sudden snow began to fall, although it was midsummer. Phenomenalism has influence on Chinese for many centuries. A famous tragedy, ...

In music, gamut means a complete scale of musical notes. Ancient Chinese gamut has only five notes, namely: gong, shang jue zhi yu (宮商角徵羽), thus it's also called the Chinese pentatonic scale.

"The yamen doors are open wide To those with money on their side."

A disciple asked Confucius, saying, "Why, sir, does the superior man value jade much more highly than serpentine? Is it because jade is scarce and serpentine is abundant?" " It is not," replied Confucius; "but it is because the superior men of olden days regarded it as a symbol of the virtues. Its gentle, smooth, glossy appearance suggests charity of heart; its fine close texture and hardness suggest wisdom; it is firm and yet does not wound, suggesting duty to one's neighbour; it hangs down as though sinking, suggesting ceremony; struck, it gives a clear note, long drawn out, dying gradually away and suggesting music; its flaws do not hide its excellences, nor do its excellences hide its flaws, suggesting loyalty; it gains our confidence, suggesting truth; its spirituality is like the bright rainbow, suggesting the heavens above ; its energy is manifested in hill and stream, suggesting the earth below; as articles of regalia it suggests the exemplification...

This is a well written self introduction for job application two thousands years ago by Tung Fang Suo. What job did he apply for? Well, see the job advertisement by His Majesty 'Wu Ti' of Han dynasty, His Majesty was looking for heroes to fit the vacancies in his royal court: HEROES WANTED! Exceptional work demands exceptional men. A bolting or a kicking horse may eventually become a most valuable animal. A man who is the object of the world's detestation may live to accomplish great things. As with the untractable horse, so with the infatuated man; -- it is simply a question of training. We therefore command the various district officials to search for men of brilliant and exceptional talents, to be Our generals. Our ministers, and Our envoys to distant States. TUNG-FANG SO, lived in 2nd Century b.c., has been popularly known as "The Wag." The following self-recommendation was forwarded by him in response to the job advertisement of the Emperor of Han ...

TSENG KUO-FAN (曾国藩, A.D. 1811-1872) is the famous statesmzan and general who was chiefly responsible for the suppression of the T'ai P'ing rebellion, fighting strenously in the cause of the Manchus from 1853 to the fall of Nanking in 1864. Ennobled as Marquis and raised to the rank of Viceroy, he lived incorruptiye, and in spite of all the temptations to which a high Chinese official is exposed, died poor. In his family letter(dated 11th year of Hsien Feng (1861)), he set out family rules which has been handed down from his grandfather, those were "Eight Character Family Motto" and "Three Disbelieves": Eight Character Motto are 考宝早扫; 书蔬鱼猪，literally means "Examine, value, early, sweep, books, vegetables, fish, pork." These are typical traditional Chinese thoughts of "Cultivation and Reading" or "Farming and Reading to Bequeath Family Ideal." The First two character Kao actually means Sacrificing to ancestor, and Bao means ...

LIN TSE-HSU. A.D. 1785-1850 [The famous Imperial Commissioner and Viceroy of Hupeh and Hpnan, who seized and destroyed some ten million dollars' worth of foreign-owned opium and brought on war with Great Britain. For this he was recalled and disgraced, being subsequently banished to Hi. In 1845 he was restored to office, and once again rose to high rank. He was a fine scholar, a just and merciful official, and a true patriot. As "Commissioner Lin" he appeared for a time in Mme. Tussaud's collection of celebrities.] A LETTER TO QUEEN VICTORIA. THE ways of God are without partiality; it is not permissible to injure another in order to profit oneself. The feelings of mankind are not diverse; for is there any one "who does not hate slaughter and love life? In your honourable nation, which lies 20,000 li away, separated by several oceans, these ways of God and feelings of mankind are the same; there is no one who does not understand the distinctions between de...

This is a writing of CHANG KENG, found in the book Gems of Chinese literature by H. A Giles. Chang Kêng lived in 18th century a.d. He was the author of the Kwo hua ch'eng lu, published in 1739, a collection of short biographies of one hundred and thirty artists, exclusive of nine Buddhist priests, one Taoist priest, and ten women, followed by a supplement containing lives of seventy-two more artists, exclusive of six Buddhist priests and twelve women. The "Chiao," mentioned below, is Chiao Ping-chen, who painted "according to the method of western foreigners," and reproduced, with improved perspective, the pictures entitled "Agriculture and Weaving," by Liu Sung-nien (a.d. 1195- 1224) PERSPECTIVE UNDER the Ming dynasty there was Li Ma-tou (Matteo Ricci), a native of Europe, who, being able to speak Chinese, came to the southern capital (Nanking) and lived in the western camp at the Cheng-yang gate. He painted a picture of the Pope, and depicted...

The 七啟 Tseih-k'he is again quoted, as follows : " The beauty of discussion is, that it can cause living streams to spring up in a dry pool, and blossoms to shoot out from a dead tree ; argument may perhaps 感靈 move invisible, and 激神 influence spiritual beings, how much more may it affect human passions, which are so near to us."

楊萬里 (1127 - 1206 AD, South Song dynasty) Yang Wan-li, celebrating the bamboo in his verse, says: "Suppose we had never been favoured with 文與可 Wen Yu-ke, to delineate the bamboo; we should still have had the moon 傳神 to express the very spirit of its shadow." This thought is not unworthy of commendation; the idea is, that had painters never lived to throw the image of the waving bamboo on their canvass, the moon would have accomplished the same for us, by shadowing it on our floors.

Divining was engaged in in two forms. In 筮 the stalks 莢 were used, and in 卜 the tortoise-shell 龜. The stalks were struck in order to cause them to fall out of their case (韇), in which they were held by the diviner (筮人). The lines 爻, complete ——, and divided — —, which they indicated, were collected in two trines, which together made up a diagram (卦). This was first drawn on the ground and then transferred to a board by the recorder (卦者) of the divination, and after having been taken to the Master of Ceremonies by the diviner and looked at by him, was then examined carefully (占) by the diviner's three assistants in turn, and the augury declared by them as propitious (吉) or otherwise. In divining by the other method the shell was heated over a flame, and the diagram recorded and the result declared as above. The subject to be divined upon was decided by the Master of Ceremonies, and communicated to the diviner, who again communicated it to the divining instrument, as the vehicle ...

A totem is any supposed entity that watches over or assists a group of people, such as a family, clan, or tribe. Many Chinese people often use the term "Descendants of the Dragon" as a sign of ethnic identity, or totem. But this has not always been the case. The Yellow River is called "the cradle of Chinese civilization", as its basin is the birthplace of the northern Chinese civilizations, Chinese history begins with the Three August Ones (San Huang, or sometimes called three Sovereigns), followed by the Five Emperors (Wu Di). The three August Ones were said to be god-kings or demigods. Shennong the 'Blazing Sovereign' reigned 120 years, his tribe used dragon or ox as totems. His mother was influenced by a sacred dragon, she brought forth the blazing god with a man's body and an ox's head. This was Shennong, he has an ox body, but his mother was infuenced by a dragon, which might be another tribe's totem used by the tribe of Shennong's fathe...