The First Chinese Festivals
Come discover the legends and history behind traditional Chinese festivals! Celebrated for thousands of years, each festival has a fascinating origin story. Learn how festivals are celebrated today, and experience the original Chinese words with pinyin and English pronunciations.
L Sam Zhang PhD
- Author, illustrator, translator, and publisher living in Michigan
- Finalist for the 2024 PEN America Emerging Voices Fellowship
- Member of Arts Midwest Board of Directors (part of the U.S. Regional Arts Organizations).
- 2023-24 National Leaders of Color Fellow
- Ex-neuroscientist
Join me on a journey through Chinese mythology, history, culture, and language
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Nüwa Patching the Sky
Last time, we explored how Nüwa created humans from mud by the river. This initial group of humans lived peaceful and happy lives until conflict among the gods shattered their idyllic world. The great calamity began when the water god Gonggong clashed with the fire god Zhurong. There isn’t a clear consensus as to how their…
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Nüwa and the Creation of Humans
In our journey through Chinese history/mythology, we began with the legend of Pangu. Born from the cosmic egg of primordial chaos, he pushed the sky away from the earth. Then upon his death, his giant body became the world. But Pangu did not create humans. That honor belongs to the goddess Nüwa (女娲). Nüwa the legend,…
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A World Without Gendered Pronouns
Pronouns in English Gendered pronouns are quite important in modern English. It’s not just a word used to substitute a noun, it’s now a title representing one’s personal identity. It’s attached to emails, available for strangers to see as part of your online presence, and is often the first thing to introduce yourself as in…
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Chinese History Always Starts at the Creation of the Universe
Chinese creation myth answers the question of which came first, the chicken or the egg, describing the Singularity and Big Bang while it’s at it. Also how according to Chinese mythology, what separate humans from gods is just effort. Where history begins Most Western history books start in one of two places: either in ancient Greece…
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Anti-China Propaganda – the sobering reality
I put “China” in Substack’s search bar for the first time today, thinking I’ll find some fellow writers of history, culture, or mythology. Instead, the results made me realize that my time on XiaoHongShu (RedNote) has given me a false sense of hope. If search results on Substack are to be believed, then China-hating is…
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Qingming Festival: Dates, Traditions, and Why You Should Never Say “Happy Qingming”
What is Qingming Festival Qingming Festival (清明节), also known as Chinese Tomb-Sweeping Festival, is a time when Chinese families honor their ancestors and celebrate the arrival of spring. It s not only one of the 24 Solar Terms (which is quite an interesting way of separating the seasons), it is also one of the four major traditional Chinese…
