“Stone Guardian from the Baekje Era” – I’m calling him Charley! He just looks so #happy! He’s probably singing the song in his head 😜 He looks like he’d get along great with #Mushu the #dragon
Asian
#Door to the Past
There were a few hundred of these lovely doors (each painted a different way on top). The middle class and nicer neighborhoods in town are still in the old kinda #Traditional style with a big front Door to the courtyard and small rooms for the Family off the center. Very Awesome! And Beautiful artwork!
Visiting Gongyi Grottos
Gongyi Grottos – one of 4 Famous grottos in China. These are places where loyal monks have carefully carved out thousands and millions of buddhas and religious statues into the walls of nearby caves over CENTURIES! An amazing, awe-inspiring sight! Well worth the trip! Thanks to the #Henan Provincial Government Tourism Bureau for sponsoring us. It was a great day!
Finding #Love over the Magpie Bridge
Xiān yún nòng qiăo, fēi xīng chuán hèn, yín hàn tiáo tiáo àn dù
Jīn fēng yù lù yì xiāng féng, biàn shèng què rén jiān wú shù
Róu qíng sì shuĭ, jiā qī rú mèng, rĕn gù què qiáo guī lù
Liăng qíng ruò shì jiŭ cháng shí, yòu qĭ zài zhāo zhāo mù mù
As Clouds float like works of art;
Stars shoot with grief at heart.
Across the Milky Way the Cowherd meets the Maid.
When autumn’s Golden Wind embraces Dew of Jade
All the love scenes on earth, however many, fade.
Their tender love flows like a stream;
This happy date seems but a dream.
Can they bear a separate homeward way?
If love between both sides can last for aye,
Why need they stay together night and day?
(Translated by Xu Yuanchong)
In a magical world in a century so long ago it has faded into dream and myth, there lived a tragic, poor, lonely man named Niu Lang. Most of his family had all died several years before, and those who remained had thrown him out on the street. So to stay alive, he found a small job taking care of some cows.
Imagine his surprise when he found out that one of those cows was something special. It actually had once belonged to the God of the Heavens, and it could talk to Niu Lang! They had some lovely conversations, and the cow came to like Niu Lang.Because although he was poor and his life was not good, his heart was still rather cheerful and he had a knack for finding joy in even the difficult times. So the cow decided to give Niu Lang a little bit of advice. (more…)
Discovery of the World’s Oldest Tea
Archaeologists have uncovered the world’s oldest set of tea leaves from the tomb of an ancient Chinese emperor!
Living 2,150 years ago in the Western Han Dynasty, Emperor Jing was a major fan of the delicious drink. Like all the rest of us tea lovers, Emperor Jing understood the power of the tea leaf and its healing/renewing abilities.
The collection of tea leaves was 42 feet x 8 inches. That is a major tea haul! If you ever tried drinking tea from leaves rather than a lipton bag, you’ll know that it only takes a small amount to go a long way. This amount probably lasted him a long while in the afterworld!
This particular type of tea, Camellia Sinesis, comes from a type of small evergreen shrub known as a tea tree. The leaves and buds of the tree are used to create a special, expensive green tea. There are actually two varieties of the tree–one is used to create the Chinese teas (such as White Tea, Oolong, Pu’er, Green Tea, etc.) and the other is used to create Indian Assam teas. The leaves of the tree have long been applied in Chinese traditional medications and as a caffeine provider. I’m guessing it was pretty easy to bring the emperor over as a tea supporter 🙂
The tomb was located in Xi’an, China. Xi’an is now world-famous due to the discovery of the Terra Cotta army buried under the local hills and is only about an 8 hour drive from where I live! I’m really excited; maybe I could see this tea pile 🙂 Emperor Jing’s tomb contained “50,000” terra cotta animals and statues, along with other great treasures.
The extra amazing thing about the tea beyond its age is the fact that it is some of the earliest proof that researchers have about the Silk Road. It is believed that the emperor may have traded his tea with Tibet where similar tea remains were found dating not long after. This shows the the Silk Road probably moved thorugh Tibet at the time.
Resources:
The Cultured Muse 