Chinese History & Mythology

The moment you step outside, it feels like walking into an oven. For us modern people, the first thing we do when we get home is turn on the air conditioner, collapse onto the sofa, and say, “Air conditioning is keeping me alive.” But while feeling that cold air, a very interesting question suddenly came to my mind: in ancient China, when there was no electricity and no compressor at all, how did people survive those blazing hot summers that often lasted for months?

Now, when Jiang Wei saw Wei Yan rush into the tent and knock out Kongming’s life lamp, he was furious and drew his sword to kill him. Kongming quickly stopped him and said, “This is because my fate has reached its end. It is not Wenchang’s fault.” Only then did Jiang Wei put away his sword.

When the generals heard that Kongming would not pursue the Wei soldiers, they all entered the tent and reported, “The Wei soldiers have been trapped by the heavy rain and cannot even set up camp properly. Now that they are withdrawing, this is the perfect chance to pursue them. Chancellor, why do you not pursue?”

Do you know when China’s Ghost Festival is? And do you know what customs it has, and how it developed over history?

In the autumn, in the ninth month of the sixth year of Jianxing in Shu Han, the Wei Commander Cao Xiu was badly defeated at Shiting by Lu Xun, the Grand Commander of Eastern Wu. Warhorses, vehicles, weapons, grain, and supplies were almost all captured by the Wu army. After this defeat, Cao Xiu was terrified and deeply troubled. After returning to Luoyang, a poisonous swelling grew on his back, and in the end, he died of illness. The Wei ruler Cao Rui ordered that he be buried with generous honors.

After Cao Zhen and Guo Huai were defeated, they were in the camp discussing how to drive back the enemy. Guo Huai said to Cao Zhen, “The various tribes of Western Qiang have been sending tribute every year since the time when Cao Cao was still alive, and Emperor Wen also treated them generously. Now we can hold the dangerous passes and send people through small paths into Qiang territory to ask for help. We can promise them gold and silver, and also promise to form a marriage alliance. If the Qiang people are willing to raise troops and attack the Shu army from behind, while we send troops from the front, then with attacks from both sides, we will surely win a great victory.”

Next month, on Wednesday the 19th, it will be Chinese Valentine’s Day. Did you know that? Every year, on the seventh day of the seventh month of the Chinese lunar calendar, many Chinese people celebrate a festival called Double Seventh Festival, the Double Seven Festival.

After Kongming pacified the Southern Barbarians, he led the army back to Shu. Meng Huo brought the cave lords, chiefs, and tribal leaders, large and small, to come forward one after another, bow in thanks, and see him off.

That day, Kongming personally rode in his small carriage and brought several hundred cavalry ahead to scout the road. As they moved forward, they suddenly came upon a large river called the Xi’er River. The water did not flow very fast, but the river was wide, and there were no boats or rafts. For the moment, the troops and horses could not cross.

Right now, people all over the world are watching the World Cup at the same time. Billions of viewers are sitting in front of their screens. Once the whistle of the World Cup blows, the whole world seems to fall into the same rhythm for a while. Some people stay up late to watch the matches. Some study formations. Some are only waiting for the penalty shootout. And some watch the smooth teamwork of the strongest teams while quietly wondering when their own national team will finally let them prove their love without raising their blood pressure. Today, we are going to talk about the traces of soccer in Chinese history.

After Lu Xun of Eastern Wu defeated the Shu army at Xiaoting and Yiling, and then successfully forced back the Wei troops, Sun Quan trusted him even more. He appointed Lu Xun as General Who Supports the State, granted him the title Marquis of Jiangling, and also made him Governor of Jingzhou. From then on, almost all real military power in Eastern Wu fell into Lu Xun’s hands.

After the sacrifices were finished, Ma Liang advised, “Now all the enemies have been executed, and the revenge can be considered complete. Eastern Wu has sent Cheng Bing here. They are willing to return Jingzhou, send Lady Sun back, renew the alliance, and attack Wei together. They are still waiting for Your Majesty’s decision.”

After Liu Bei became emperor, he immediately prepared to raise troops for an eastern campaign against Eastern Wu, to avenge Guan Yu. Zhao Yun stepped forward and advised him, “The true traitors to the state are Cao Ren and Cao Pi, not Sun Quan.

Black-and-white, fluffy fur, and a vegetarian. Almost everyone would immediately think of the  panda. As China’s national-treasure-level animal, it is not an exaggeration to say that in any country, if a zoo has a panda, it can almost guarantee a steady flow of ticket sales. 

When Mi Fang heard that Jingzhou had already fallen, he did not know what to do. Suddenly, someone reported that Fu Shiren, the defender of Gong’an, had arrived. Mi Fang quickly invited him into the city and asked what had happened. Fu Shiren said, “It is not that I am disloyal. The situation was truly desperate, and there was simply no way to defend it. I have already surrendered to Eastern Wu. General, you should surrender early as well.”

Seeing that Huang Zhong was determined to go, Kongming said, “Since you insist on taking this campaign, I will send Fa Zheng with you. Discuss every matter with him before making a decision. I will also arrange reinforcements behind you.” Huang Zhong agreed and set out with Fa Zheng and his troops. Afterward, Kongming said to Liu Bei, “If the old general had not been stirred by this challenge, he might not have achieved much even if he went. Now that he has committed himself, we must secretly support him.” He summoned Zhao Yun and ordered him to take a hidden mountain route with a force of elite troops.

Every year on the fifth day of the fifth lunar month, people across China hold dragon boat races, eat zongzi, and follow many other interesting customs. To understand it, we need to start with where it came from. In fact, the Dragon Boat Festival was not connected to one famous person from the very beginning.

Sun Quan could not stop thinking about Jingzhou. Zhang Zhao offered a plan and said, “The person Liu Bei relies on most now is Zhuge Liang. Zhuge Liang’s elder brother, Zhuge Jin, serves in Eastern Wu. First, we can place Zhuge Jin’s family under guard. Then send Zhuge Jin to Western Chuan to meet Zhuge Liang and force him to persuade Liu Bei to return Jingzhou. Just tell Zhuge Liang that if Jingzhou is not returned, Zhuge Jin’s family will not be safe. Zhuge Liang values family loyalty and will surely agree.”

Pang Tong and Fa Zheng continued urging Liu Bei to kill Liu Zhang during the banquet. In their view, Western Shu could then be taken with little effort. But Liu Bei firmly refused. “I have only just arrived in Shu,” he said. “I have not yet earned the people's trust or established my reputation. Such a thing must never be done.” No matter how many times they tried to persuade him, Liu Bei would not agree.

These days, we are so surrounded by ads that we are almost numb to them. You unlock your phone and the first thing you see is a notification. You open a webpage and a pop-up jumps right into the middle of the screen. You scroll through short videos and suddenly one cuts in with, “Friends, you have to buy this.” Even when you just want to sit quietly and listen to some music, before the intro is even over, you can get hit with ads for shampoo, insurance, and during election season, even ninety-second campaign ads. Basically, whatever ads a website wants to throw at you, it just keeps cycling them in front of you. So it is very easy to feel that all of this belongs to the modern commercial world, as if advertising could only exist after factories, assembly lines, neon city lights, television, and the internet came along.

Zhou Yu had been defeated by the three forces of Guan Yu, Huang Zhong, and Wei Yan, which Zhuge Liang had arranged in advance, and Eastern Wu’s navy had also suffered considerable losses. Huang Gai and Han Dang quickly helped Zhou Yu back onto a boat. From a distance, Zhou Yu saw Liu Bei and Lady Sun standing on the mountaintop, watching the battle. Shame and anger surged through him. His arrow wound had not yet healed, and now, with rage attacking his heart, the old injury burst open on the spot. He fainted at once. After the generals revived him, they could only escort him back to Chaisang. Zhuge Liang ordered everyone not to pursue, then returned to Jingzhou with Liu Bei to celebrate and reward the soldiers who had made contributions.

Just as Kongming was about to execute Guan Yun Chang according to military law, Liu Bei quickly stepped forward and pleaded for mercy. He said, “Back when the three of us swore brotherhood in the Peach Garden, we vowed to live and die together. Although Yun Chang has violated military law, I truly cannot bear to break the oath we made in those days. I ask that you record his offense for now and spare his life, so that he may atone for it through future service.” After hearing this, Kongming finally agreed to spare Guan Yu.

 If time could move backward and we turned the clock back to the nineteen eighty, what kind of China would you see?

Now, back to Lu Su. Following Zhou Yu’s orders, he went to visit Kongming on his small boat. The moment Lu Su sat down, Kongming smiled and said, “I was just about to congratulate the Commander.”

Now, when Guan Yu released the waters from upstream, Zhang Fei charged out from downstream and cut straight into Cao Ren’s defeated army. The two sides clashed in fierce battle, and Zhang Fei soon ran into Xu Chu. He immediately lowered his spear and attacked. Xu Chu did not dare stay and fight for long, and quickly forced his way out and fled.

Today, we are going to talk about a steaming hot topic: morning markets and night markets in China. I believe many of you may have this habit. You open YouTube and watch videos about Chinese food. In the past two years, as China’s morning market and night market culture has become more visible, more and more creators on YouTube have started filming videos in different Chinese cities, walking through morning markets and night markets and recording what they see. Most of these videos do not have English explanations. They simply record Chinese street food, crowded streets full of people moving around, and the sounds of vendors calling out to customers. At this moment, many people may ask, “Where is this?” In fact, almost every city in China has a few streets like this. In the morning, people gather on these streets for a certain period of time, and then the crowds slowly disappear. When night falls, the same kind of street life appears again.

Liu Bei successfully recovered Fancheng and comforted the people. The county magistrate Liu Mi held a banquet to welcome him. During the banquet, Liu Bei saw a young man standing nearby. His bearing was impressive, so Liu Bei asked about him. Liu Mi answered, “This is my nephew Kou Feng. He was originally the son of the Kou family of Luohou. His parents died early, so he has been raised here with me.” Liu Bei admired his manner and wanted to take him as an adopted son.

Inside the prison, Tian Feng had already expected his death. He told the prison guards, “Yuan Shao appears broad-minded on the outside, but inwardly he is jealous and suspicious. If he had won, perhaps he might have spared me. But now that he has lost, his shame has turned into anger. He will surely kill me to vent his hatred.”

The hidden meaning behind President Donald Trump’s China visit: the Great Hall of the People, the Temple of Heaven, and Zhongnanhai. In mid-May 2026, U.S. President Trump set foot on Chinese soil. As one of the most powerful figures in the world, the schedule of his visit to China carried a strong sense of careful design. During this three-day visit, Xi Jinping took him to three places: the Great Hall of the People, the Temple of Heaven, and Zhongnanhai. These three places represent three different layers of China: the way modern Chinese politics operates, the deepest cosmology of Chinese civilization, and a tradition of state governance that has continued for thousands of years. Behind these places, what kind of civilizational history is hidden, stretching across several millennia? Why would a foreign head of state, after arriving in Beijing, be arranged to enter three completely different places?

When Yuan Shao heard that Yan Liang had been killed, he flew into a rage and ordered Liu Bei executed. But Liu Bei calmly replied, “Since we were separated in Xuzhou, I have not known whether Yunchang was alive or dead. Based on one report alone, how can we be certain the man who killed Yan Liang was truly Guan Yu?” Yuan Shao was already hesitant by nature, and after hearing this, he felt the argument made sense, so he spared Liu Bei.

breaking point of the entire plan? In this episode, we continue the story. Dong Cheng and the others asked Ma Teng, “Who is this person you mentioned?” Ma Teng replied, “Liu Bei, the governor of Yuzhou, is now in Xudu. Why not bring him in?” Dong Cheng hesitated. “Although Liu Bei is an imperial relative, he is now under Cao Cao. He may not be willing to take such a risk.”

In our main historical storyline, we are now in the Three Kingdoms period of Chinese history. Romance of the Three Kingdoms can be called a “super-rich mine” of Chinese idioms. There are more than three hundred idioms and historical references connected to it alone. Even today, behind everyday Chinese conversation, you can still see the shadow of Three Kingdoms stories. So today, let’s talk about Chinese idioms. In Chinese, there is a very special language phenomenon: four characters, or even a shorter phrase, can hold a story, a judgment, a personality, a war, or even a whole set of life experience. When foreigners first start learning Chinese, they often find this very strange.

Yuan Shu’s chief clerk, Yang Dajiang, proposed a plan. He believed Liu Bei should be attacked first, but Lü Bu had to be stabilized. He said, “Liu Bei is in Xiaopei. The city is small and his troops are weak, easy to defeat. But Lü Bu holds Xu Province. If he comes to help Liu Bei, it will cause trouble. Better to send him the grain we promised before to keep him satisfied, then move troops against Liu Bei. Once Liu Bei is gone, we can deal with Lü Bu afterward. Xu Province will fall sooner or later.” Yuan Shu was delighted. He immediately sent Han Yin with two hundred thousand hu of grain to Lü Bu, along with a secret letter. Lü Bu received the grain and was very pleased, treating Han Yin generously.

Why do Chinese people avoid the number 4, green hats, mirrors facing the bed, or saying the word “death” too directly? In this episode, we explore 15 everyday Chinese cultural taboos and the history, beliefs, and social values behind them. From weddings and funerals to bedroom layout, speech habits, feng shui, and nighttime rules, these customs reveal how Chinese culture understands luck, respect, harmony, and the rhythm of life.

The man who offered the plan was Mi Zhu, courtesy name Zizhong, from Qu County in Donghai. His family had been merchants for generations and was one of the famous wealthy families in the region. Mi Zhu was kind and generous. Once, because he treated a mysterious woman with respect, he learned in advance that his home would suffer a fire, and he was able to save most of his family property. After that, he saw how unpredictable life could be and often used his wealth to help the poor and suffering. His reputation spread widely. When Tao Qian heard of his ability, he invited him to serve as an aide in Xu Province.

A room, a few windows, and curtains pulled tightly shut. The new mother is wearing long sleeves and long pants, with a towel wrapped around her head. There is a smell of traditional Chinese medicine in the room, and a thermos sits on the windowsill. Her mother or mother-in-law comes in every few minutes and asks, “Are you cold?” Then she quickly closes the door again, as if she is afraid that even a little wind might slip inside. Beside the bed is a bowl of brown sugar millet porridge, and next to it is a small booklet filled with detailed food restrictions.

Starting from the last episode, our historical storyline entered the Three Kingdoms period, from 220 to 280 AD. Through the story of Romance of the Three Kingdoms, we’re exploring what actually happened during this period of history. In the last episode, we briefly introduced several important characters in the story: Liu Bei, Zhuge Liang,, and Dong Zhuo. We also talked about two incredibly powerful warriors, Guan Yu and Lü Bu. In today’s episode, we continue the story of Romance of the Three Kingdoms.

The Han Dynasty, we’re now stepping into a brand-new era starting this month: the Three Kingdoms period, from 220 to 280 AD. After the middle period of the Eastern Han Dynasty, political power kept shifting between the emperor’s relatives and court eunuchs. The government became more and more corrupt. Powerful families seized more land, ordinary people suffered, and life became increasingly difficult. Romance of the Three Kingdoms, along with Water Margin, Dream of the Red Chamber, and the famous Journey to the West, is widely recognized as one of China’s Four Great Classical Novels.

A name called “Becoming Chinese” started trending on TikTok, and along with it, a wellness drink became very popular.Apples are usually eaten fresh, so why would anyone boil them into a tea? And why did so many people suddenly start making boiled apple tea? What is so special about it that even foreign friends who are used to drinking ice water have started trying it?

Before dragons became famous worldwide, ancient China had its own monster universe. Creatures with nine heads, human faces, giant wings—and gods that controlled the sun itself. And they were all written down thousands of years ago in one of China’s strangest books: The Classic of Mountains and Seas.

It has been a while since we last sat down and talked about mythological stories together. In the past few episodes, we have mainly focused on stories about historical development. The reason we have not talked much about myths is that, in the period of history we have been covering, there really were not many highly representative mythological stories. It is also because these dynasties existed for a relatively short time in Chinese history, so they left behind very little literary material. So does that mean no mythological stories were passed down during this period?

The social turmoil at the end of the Qin dynasty began with uprisings from the common people. Chen Sheng and Wu Guang raised the banner of rebellion in Dazexiang. Although their rebel army was ultimately defeated, they lit the flames of resistance across the land. In this process, the noble descendants of the old six states responded one after another, hoping to restore their former glory. It was in this background that Xiang Yu stepped onto the front stage of history. He was the grandson of Xiang Yan, a famous general of Chu, and he came from a traditional military aristocratic family.

More than two thousand years ago, Qin Shi Huang brought a long age of war to an end and united scattered lands into one vast empire. This ruler was called the First Emperor, and his name left a deep mark on the long course of history. However, when it comes to the end of his life, the historical record contains many unclear and uncertain parts. The turning point in history came when he suddenly died during one of his imperial inspection tours. After that, later generations created countless stories about his death, his tomb, and his search for eternal life. These stories are not just stories. They reflect how people of that age understood life, death, and even the universe itself. For people who are not familiar with the historical background of East Asia, understanding these mysteries requires stepping into the cultural world of that time. People in that age believed that there was a connection between heaven and earth, and that the health of the ruler was closely tied to the fate of the state.

Hey friends, welcome back to another episode of Interesting Chinese Culture. The fact that Chinese people love drinking tea is something almost everyone in the world already knows. As the generations have changed, tea culture in China has also developed in many different ways, and one of the most popular forms today is milk tea, which young people are especially enthusiastic about. So why does tea culture have such a huge influence in China? And how did tea develop throughout Chinese history?

In the history of the Qin dynasty, Qin Shi Huang, Ying Zheng, left behind achievements that could never be erased. But the way such a huge empire rose so quickly in only fifteen years, and then collapsed in an extremely short time, is not something often seen in the long course of human history. The founding of the Qin dynasty marked the formal establishment of the first centralized imperial system in Chinese history, and that system shaped the political order of the next two thousand years. When we look back on this period, we often focus our attention on Qin Shi Huang, Ying Zheng, and think that the direction of the empire was decided entirely by his personal will. But in reality, the operation of an empire depends on a vast bureaucratic system, and the choices made by the few people at the top of that system can often determine the fate of the whole state. In the final years of the Qin dynasty, there were two figures who played a decisive role in the destruction of the dynasty. They were the Chancellor Li Si and the Palace Commandant Zhao Gao.

Although the Qin dynasty existed for only fifteen years in Chinese history, it made an enormous contribution to the history of China as a whole. Even today, Qin Shi Huang still attracts scholars around the world who are interested in studying his historical background. And once we start talking about the Qin dynasty, there is one place that we absolutely have to mention, and that is the Terracotta Army.

If you have listened to some of the earlier episodes, you probably remember that we once mentioned that Chinese history stretches back about five thousand years. Across those five thousand years, many objects and daily habits have been preserved and passed down. So today, we are going to talk about one of them: chopsticks.

There is a popular story that says Qin Shi Huang was actually a very handsome man. There is a book called Records of the Grand Historian. Some of you who are interested in Chinese history and culture have probably heard of it. In this book, in the section called The Basic Annals of Qin Shi Huang, there is a description of what Qin Shi Huang looked like.

Lü Buwei traveled a long way with Prince Yiren and finally made it back to Xianyang. Lü Buwei had already found out something important. Lady Huayang was from Chu. So he told Yiren to put on Chu-style clothes before going to see his father and mother. When Yiren met Lord Anguo and Lady Huayang, he cried and said, “Your unfilial son has been away for many years and has failed to serve his parents. I beg Father and Mother to forgive me.”

 For many people who are not familiar with Chinese culture, the first thing they may hear about Qingming is that it is a day for tomb sweeping and remembering the dead. But if we look deeper, we will discover that Qingming is actually a very rich cultural system. It contains elements of astronomy, agriculture, historical legend, ethics, and even everyday aesthetics of life.