Listen to this make-believe story about how the twelve animals were selected to be the animals of the Chinese Zodiac. What terrible thing did the rat do to get its bad reputation and why do cats hate rats?!

This story is about Han Prime Minister Cao Cao's six-year-old son, Cao Chong (196 to 208 B.C.). The theory this little boy used to weigh an elephant is similar to Archimedes' Principle (287 to 212 B.C.), which is that the weight of an object submerged in fluid is equal to the weight of the displaced fluid.

This well-known story commonly used to educate children on the values of courtesy and fraternal love involves four-year-old Kong Rong giving up some larger pears to his older and younger brothers. Still employed in current times, this text has been used for elementary education since the Song Dynasty.

This idiom indicates that something seemingly bad may turn out to have been a good thing in the end, a blessing in disguise. The story in the video explains it quite well. And, while the idiom can also have the opposite meaning (a good thing becoming something bad), the former is more frequently used.

There are many different Chinese idioms out there that people use today in modern Chinese. "Dui Niu Tan Qin" literally means, "Playing the Zither for a Cow." It means that some people will just never understand or appreciate certain things.

This video concerns one of the stories from the very famous Chinese novel, "Journey to the West." It informs us from where the idiom, "to wolf down your food," originates.

This Chinese legend sheds light on the origin of the famous saying, "How you treat others is how you will be treated." It involves the famous and influential Chinese philosopher, Mencius, giving sage advice to a king during the Warring States period.

This idiom is used as a metaphor for the punishment of a person to alert others to correct their behavior.

Learn the story behind the saying, "To kill two birds with one stone."

Hear the story from which the saying, "Hun Shui Mo Yu" came about. It means to take advantage of a chaotic time or deliberately create confusion to obtain benefits.

Learn the story of Bole and the idiom derived from his tale.

Find out how a passage from Cao Pi inspired the saying "to draw cakes to allay hunger" (To comfort oneself with illusions).

This Chinese idiom advises people not to give up halfway through or leave something unfinished.

"Shou Zhu Dai Tu" means, "Sitting by a stump, waiting for a careless rabbit to hit the stump." Originally, it referred to the routineer in an ironic way. Later, the metaphor came to mean one does not take the initiative to work hard and wants to get a windfall.

Where does the term "Tui Qiao" (literally to "Push and knock") come from?

By chance, Jia Dao meets a scholar who convinces him to aspire to a bureaucratic position.

Jia Dao's tragic life was revered after his death.

Learn about the Chinese naming system and some of the issues concerning names that are being encountered today.

Learn about the Chinese naming system: there's a method to the madness!

The Chinese naming system is very complex. It follows precise rules, stating the differences between a person's last name, given name and courtesy name. In particular, the difference between the last two is strictly connected with the rituals that used to bring a child from childhood into adulthood in ancient China.

Chinese last names worked in a different way in the past than they do now. Chinese children used to get their mother's last name. That is because Chinese ancient society was matriarchal and divided into clans.

Through a detailed report of the Zhou Dynasty's history, we discover how the Chinese last name system worked and what has changed over the years and become today's practice.

This interesting discussion on the origins of Chinese last names and clan names shows how the tradition has evolved from the matriarchal to the patriarchal practice.

This interesting discussion on the origins of Chinese last names and clan names shows how the tradition has evolved from the matriarchal to the patriarchal practice.