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蘇大 《山房睡起》“Waking up in a Hillside Chamber” by Su Da (fl. 14th century)
On the Indian pokeweed: Shanglu 商陸
Rachelle
Jun 3, 20242 min read
馬戴《過野叟居》“Passing by an Old Rustic’s Place” by Ma Dai (d. 869)
To all happy rustics...
Rachelle
May 27, 20242 min read
A legendary louse
An anecdote about Wang Anshi from an eleventh-century biji collection.
Rachelle
May 20, 20243 min read
Xie Lingyun 謝靈運 (385-433) and his hiking clogs
An ancient Chinese hiker and his gear.
Rachelle
May 13, 20242 min read
孫元衡《菠蘿》“The Pineapple” by Sun Yuanheng
A seventeenth-century celebration of the pineapple.
Rachelle
May 6, 20242 min read
How to get your cat pregnant... without a male cat
An excerpt from the Bencao gangmu 本草綱目.
Rachelle
Apr 29, 20242 min read
A Joke About Speaking Mandarin
From the 19th-century collection Xiaolin guangji 笑林廣記.
Rachelle
Apr 22, 20243 min read
李穡《卽事》“On What Happened” by Yi Saek (1328-1396)
A friendly warning to those who are used to a sedentary lifestyle (like myself).
Rachelle
Apr 15, 20242 min read
豬蹄四法Four methods of cooking pig’s feet
Four 18th-century recipes for pig knuckles from the Suiyuan shida 隨園食單.
Rachelle
Apr 8, 20243 min read
貢性之《題畫蒲萄松鼠》 “Inscription on a Painting of a Squirrel and Grapes” by Gong Xingzhi (fl. 14th century)
Squirrel: a big fan of grapes?
Rachelle
Apr 1, 20242 min read
釋懷深《擬寒山詩（其一百三十二）》 “In Imitation of Hanshan’s Poems (No. 132)” by Buddhist Huaishen (1077-1132)
A reminder for mice/bats: never underestimate a cat's hunting skills!
Rachelle
Mar 25, 20241 min read
A joke for the planting season
A reminder for those who work with others in the field/garden.
Rachelle
Mar 18, 20242 min read
![劉秉忠《桃花曲》 [To the Tune] “Song of Peach Blossoms” by Liu Bingzhong (1216-1274)](https://static.wixstatic.com/media/044059_febd04f9197748fd86f5c4023488dae4~mv2.jpg/v1/fill/w_804,h_604,fp_0.50_0.50,q_30,blur_30,enc_avif,quality_auto/044059_febd04f9197748fd86f5c4023488dae4~mv2.jpg)
![劉秉忠《桃花曲》 [To the Tune] “Song of Peach Blossoms” by Liu Bingzhong (1216-1274)](https://static.wixstatic.com/media/044059_febd04f9197748fd86f5c4023488dae4~mv2.jpg/v1/fill/w_804,h_604,fp_0.50_0.50,q_90,enc_avif,quality_auto/044059_febd04f9197748fd86f5c4023488dae4~mv2.jpg)
劉秉忠《桃花曲》 [To the Tune] “Song of Peach Blossoms” by Liu Bingzhong (1216-1274)
As spring approaches...
Rachelle
Mar 11, 20242 min read
茅齋賞雨 Enjoying the Rain from a Thatched Studio
An album leaf for the season.
Rachelle
Feb 19, 20242 min read
黃庚《竹杖》 “Bamboo Staff” by Huang Geng (fl. 13th century)
A tip on how (not) to get a dragon.
Rachelle
Feb 12, 20243 min read
An Anecdote about Zhu Yuanzhang's 朱元璋 (1328-1398) Magic Power
相傳高皇帝時初起太學，上臨視之，顧學制宏麗，聖情甚悅。行至廣業堂前，偶發一言云：“天下有福兒郎，應得居此。”迄今百四十年來，學生居此堂者，往往占魁選，躋位通貴，他所不及也。又諸堂中都無蜘蛛云。上來時，見蛛布網屋隅，曰：“我纔建屋，爾輒據之耶？”顧叱之出，語訖而蛛遯，從茲遂絕...
Rachelle
Feb 5, 20242 min read
On frozen tofu
A tofu recipe from the Qing dynasty
Rachelle
Jan 29, 20242 min read
洪亮吉《臘八日破曉過錫山作》“At daybreak of the eighth day of the twelfth month, written when passing by Mount Xi” by Hong Liangji (1746-1809)
On the laba 臘八 festival.
Rachelle
Jan 22, 20242 min read
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