Introduction:
Temples are not only popular tourist destinations but also important part of Chinese culture. No matter it’s Buddhism, Taoism, Confucian, Ancestral, or any memorial one, it is a piece of cultural essence. It contains intangible value in architecture, art, religion, and sociology, etc.  From these different temples, we can know Chinese culture from a unique angle.  So temples are always among the best places of interest to travel. Here, I list top 10 temples in China with wikipedia links and google earth kml files. Let’s begin our trip in the …

Storyteller: People say that French are romantic. When I started to learn the French language in college, my teacher gave a very good example to show the romance of French.
The phrase: “Mon Amie”.
When you introduce a female friend in French as “Mon Amie”, it could mean either “my female friend” or “my girl friend”.  So people won’t know your exact relationship.
Wait a minute, is “girl friend” a “female friend”? Yes? No? It’s hard to say. Well, let me tell you a famous logic story first.
White Horse is Not Horse
In the …

Storyteller: Last month, I told a story “Satisfying Hunger with Picture Cakes“. It tells people not to rely on unrealistic fantasy. Today, I will tell a similar story: “Quenching thirst by watching plums”.  The idea within this Chinese idiom is pretty close the “picture cake” one.  Sometimes, people use these two idioms together, and in most cases, one can replace the other in a dialogue or context. However, given the stories behind the two idioms, there is a little difference between the exact meaning of two idioms. “Drawing a picture …

“Top 10 Chinese Classical Music – part I” continues
6. Flute & Drum Music at Dusk (夕阳萧鼓)

One of my favorites. It is one of the most popular Pipa pieces. In 1925,Shanghai Datong Music Society composed the famous “Blossoms on a Spring Moonlit Night ( 春江花月夜 )” based on this ancient Pipa solo.

Storyteller: Today I will tell a story about a world-wide popular idiom. According to wikipedia, there are at least 29 different versions of this idiom in different languages. The English version is: “Pot calling the kettle black”.
50 steps laughing at 100 steps
During the Warring States Period of China, there was a king in the state of Liang. He liked to drive his people into war fighting with neighboring states. One day, he met Mencius, and asked: “As a king, I think I govern the state fairly well.  If there is …