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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逸: The freedom that lies beyond rest, and future plans for this blog
Inspired by China Has No ‘Aesthetics’ and interactions on Substack, I took a detour from the planned history post and instead wrote about 逸. The meaning of 逸 can’t quite be translated into English, for there’s always a negative connotation attached to the idea of “running away,” even if you’re running toward freedom, toward yourself. The first…
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The Ten Walking Beasts Above Palace Roofs
What started out as a practical way to cover nails transformed over time into legends and guardians. And for an ancient tale to make an impact that lasts through the millennia, of course it’s once again dark and bloody.
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The Nine Interspecies Children of the Dragon (Part 3/3)
The last three sons of the dragon are products of a Chinese dragon crossed with a tiger, jiao, and fish. What is a jiao you ask? Well, think of it like a Chinese wyvern. Unlike a dragon, it sometimes only has 2 front legs, no horns, and lives in fresh water. Legend has it that…
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The Nine Interspecies Children of the Dragon (Part 2/3)
I knew every creature I saw on ancient Chinese artifacts or buildings had its own interesting backstory. I just never knew how interesting until I dived into the lives of the dragon’s nine sons. Imagine: living in a world where every design element around you held a symbolic purpose rooted in mythology, where everything you…
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The Nine Interspecies Children of the Dragon (Part 1/3)
Did you know that the Chinese dragon can mate with any animal and produce viable offspring? I believe this is due to the fact that the dragon itself is an amalgamation of different animals to begin with. In my recent interview on Substack comparing East vs West perspectives on dragons and snakes, I mentioned how…
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The Primordial Turtle Áo (鳌)
Summary: Fruit of immortality, lost mountains of paradise, and the death of more primordial turtles after the real answers to life, universe, and everything. In my last article, we talked about how the sky is held up by turtle legs. This is not like in Terry Pratchet’s Diskworld where the land is carried on the back…
