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Xu Xian
Xu Xian ( zh, t=許仙) is a mythological figure in Chinese folklore, best known for being one of the main characters of the Legend of the White Snake, one of China's four great folk tales. The story has been adapted many times, including into Chinese operas, films, television series and other media. In some versions of the legend he is a scholar, while in others he is a physician. In earlier works such as Feng Menglong's ''Stories to Caution the World'', he is known as Xu Xuan ( zh, t=許宣, links=no). Legend Some legends say that Xu Xian and Bai Suzhen were actually immortals who fell in love and were banished from Heaven because celestial laws forbade their romance. They are reincarnated as a male human and a white snake spirit who lived in the mountains and take a human form after a thousand years. Respectively, their story begins. During the Qingming Festival, he coincidentally met Bai Suzhen at the Broken Bridge, and he eventually gets married to her. They have a child t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Beijing Opera
Peking opera, or Beijing opera (), is the most dominant form of Chinese opera, which combines music, vocal performance, mime, dance and acrobatics. It arose in Beijing in the mid-Qing dynasty (1644–1912) and became fully developed and recognized by the mid-19th century. The form was extremely popular in the Qing court and has come to be regarded as one of the cultural treasures of China. Major performance troupes are based in Beijing, Tianjin and Shanghai. The art form is also preserved in Taiwan, where it is also known as (). It has also spread to other regions such as the United States and Japan. Peking opera features four main role types, '' sheng'' (gentlemen), ''dan'' (women), '' jing'' (rough men), and '' chou'' (clowns). Performing troupes often have several of each variety, as well as numerous secondary and tertiary performers. With their elaborate and colorful costumes, performers are the only focal points on Peking opera's characteristically sparse stage. They use the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Legend Of The White Snake
The Legend of the White Snake is a Chinese legend. It has since been presented in a number of major Chinese operas, films, and television series. The earliest attempt to fictionalize the story in printed form appears to be ''The White Maiden Locked for Eternity in the Leifeng Pagoda'' () in Feng Menglong's '' Stories to Caution the World'', which was written during the Ming dynasty. The legend is now counted as one of China's Four Great Folktales, the others being ''Lady Meng Jiang'', ''Butterfly Lovers'', and ''The Cowherd and the Weaver Girl''. Basic story Lü Dongbin, one of the Eight Immortals, disguises himself as a '' tangyuan'' vendor at the Broken Bridge near the West Lake in Hangzhou. A boy called Xu Xian () buys some ''tangyuan'' from Lü Dongbin without knowing that they are actually immortality pills. After eating them, he does not feel hungry for the next three days so he goes back to ask the vendor why. Lü Dongbin laughs and carries Xu Xian to the bridge, wher ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Xiaoqing (character)
Xiaoqing ( zh, c=小青, l=Little Qing) or Qingqing ( zh, c=青青, links=no) is a mythological figure in Chinese folk religion. She is one of the protagonists of the Legend of the White Snake, one of China's "four great folktales". Legends Xiaoqing is a green snake who transforms into a human being after five hundred years of disciplined training in Taoism. Xiaoqing is the close confidant or sworn sister of the protagonist Bai Suzhen, the white snake. Bai Suzhen often calls her Qing'er (, ) or Qingmei (, ). After Fahai pushed Bai Suzhen down under the Leifeng Pagoda, Xiaoqing was no match for Fahai, and had no choice but to retreat to Mount Emei, go back into the cave and return to practicing Daoist austerities. Twelve years later, she had finally completed the True Fire of Samadhi, and came to find Fahai for revenge. There was nowhere for Fahai to escape being burned by the True Fire of Samadhi, so in a great rush, he hid inside a crab shell. Leifang Pagoda collapsed, and ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bai Suzhen
Bai Suzhen ( zh, t=白素貞), also known as Lady Bai ( zh, c=白娘子, links=no), is a mythological figure in Chinese folk religion. She is a one-thousand-year-old white snake spirit and the title character of the Legend of the White Snake, one of China's "four great folktales". The legend has been adapted into several Chinese operas, films, television series and other media. In some versions of the legend, Bai Suzhen becomes a goddess; her worshippers refer to her as Madam White Snake ( zh, c=白蛇娘娘, links=no). Legend After one thousand years of disciplined training in Taoism on Mount Emei, the white snake, Bai Suzhen, is transformed into a woman by the essence of the Dragon King of the East China Sea. She decides to go out into the human world and do good deeds in order to become immortal. She is later accepted by the goddess Lishan Laomu as a disciple. On a visit to West Lake, she falls in love with a young man named Xu Xian and soon becomes his wife. Eventually ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hangzhou
Hangzhou ( or , ; , , Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ), also romanized as Hangchow, is the capital and most populous city of Zhejiang, China. It is located in the northwestern part of the province, sitting at the head of Hangzhou Bay, which separates Shanghai and Ningbo. Hangzhou grew to prominence as the southern terminus of the Grand Canal and has been one of China's most renowned and prosperous cities for much of the last millennium. It is a major economic and e-commerce hub within China, and the second biggest city in Yangtze Delta after Shanghai. Hangzhou is classified as a sub-provincial city and forms the core of the Hangzhou metropolitan area, the fourth-largest in China after Guangzhou-Shenzhen Pearl River agglomeration, Shanghai-Suzhou-Wuxi-Changzhou conurbation and Beijing. As of 2019, the Hangzhou metropolitan area was estimated to produce a gross metropolitan product (nominal) of 3.2 trillion yuan ($486.53 billion), making it larger than the economy of Nigeri ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Feng Menglong
Feng Menglong (1574–1646), courtesy names Youlong (), Gongyu (), Ziyou (), or Eryou (), was a Chinese historian, novelist, and poet of the late Ming Dynasty. He was born in Changzhou County, now part of Suzhou, in Jiangsu Province. Life Feng was born into a scholar-bureaucrat gentry household, where he and his brothers Feng Menggui () and Feng Mengxiong () were educated in the classics and the traditional gentlemanly arts. He and his brothers, all well-known as accomplished writers, artists, and poets, became known collectively as the "Three Fengs of the Wu Area" (). In spite of his literary talent and his zeal for scholarship from a young age, Feng sat the imperial civil service examinations many times without success, eventually giving up and making a living as a tutor and teacher. In 1626, he narrowly avoided punishment after being implicated as an associate of Zhou Shunchang (), who was purged by the eunuch Wei Zhongxian. He resolved to complete his trilogy of vernacular ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Stories To Caution The World
''Jingshi Tongyan'' (警世通言, ''Stories to Caution the World'') is the second of a trilogy of widely celebrated Ming dynasty (1368–1644) vernacular story collections, compiled and edited by Feng Menglong and published in 1624. The first compilation, called '' Gujin Xiaoshuo'' (古今小説) (''Stories Old and New''), which is sometimes also referred to as ''Yushi Mingyan'' (喻世明言) (''Stories to Enlighten the World'' or ''Illustrious Words to Instruct the World'') was published in Suzhou in 1620. The third publication was called ''Xingshi hengyan'' (醒世恒言) (''Stories to Awaken the World''), and was published in 1627. These three collections, often referred to as ''Sanyan'' (三言, "Three Words") because of the character ''yan'' (言) found at the end of each title, each contain 40 stories. Genre ''Jingshi Tongyan'' is considered to be a huaben (话本), that is, short novel or novella. The huaben genre has been around since the Song dynasty (960-1279). The hua ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Xian (Taoism)
''Xian'' () refers to a person or similar entity having a long life or being immortal. The concept of ''xian'' has different implications dependent upon the specific context: philosophical, religious, mythological, or other symbolic or cultural occurrence. The Chinese word ''xian'' is translatable into English as: * (''in Daoist philosophy and cosmology'') spiritually immortal; transcendent human; celestial being * (''in Daoist religion and pantheon'') physically immortal; immortal person; an immortal; saint * (''in Chinese alchemy'') alchemist; one who seeks the elixir of life; one who practices longevity techniques ** (''or by extension'') alchemical, dietary, or qigong methods for attaining immortality * (''in Chinese mythology'') wizard; magician; shaman; sorcerer * (''in popular Chinese literature'') genie; elf, fairy; nymph; (''xian jing'' is fairyland, faery) * (''based on the folk etymology for the character , a compound of the characters for ''person'' and ''mountain ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Qingming Festival
The Qingming festival or Ching Ming Festival, also known as Tomb-Sweeping Day in English (sometimes also called Chinese Memorial Day or Ancestors' Day), is a traditional Chinese festival observed by the Han Chinese of mainland China, Hong Kong, and Macau, and by the ethnic Chinese of Taiwan, Malaysia, Singapore, Cambodia, Indonesia, Philippines, Thailand, Vietnam and Panama. It falls on the first day of the fifth solar term of the traditional Chinese lunisolar calendar. This makes it the 15th day after the Spring Equinox, either 4, 5 or 6 April in a given year. During Qingming, Chinese families visit the tombs of their ancestors to clean the gravesites, pray to their ancestors and make ritual offerings. Offerings would typically include traditional food dishes and the burning of joss sticks and joss paper. The holiday recognizes the traditional reverence of one's ancestors in Chinese culture. The Qingming Festival has been observed by the Chinese for over 2500 years, althou ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Fahai
Fahai, born Pei Wende, was a monk who lived in Tang dynasty, and was identified as a compiler of Zen Buddhism according to the Dun-huang edition of the Platform Sutra. Fahai was a disciple of the Six Patriarch of Zen Buddhism, Hui-neng. Biography Fahai was the son of Tang chancellor Pei Xiu, and the secular name of Fahai was Pei Wende. The young Pei Wende was sent by his father to Laoshan (Hunan province) to practice Zen Buddhism. Fahai's father, the then court chancellor donated to build Miyin Temple (located in Ningxiang County, Hunan Province). The Miyin Temple host gave the Pei Wende a Buddhist name "Fahai". Fahai's master, Master Lingyou ordered ascetic practice every day. Fahai spent nearly three years cutting firewood, and delivered water for more than five hundred monks for nearly three years. Soon after, the ascetic life of Zen Master Fahai came to a successful end and he began a three-year meditation. Master Lingyou went to the door to call the name "Fahai". The Z ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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