The History of Silk in Ancient China

Of all Chinese inventions, the history of silk (絲 sī) is perhaps the oldest. Traces of silk fabric have been found among remains from around 1300 B.C. The use of silk in China possibly goes back even much earlier. It’s said that until the second century B.C., silk remained an article known only to the ...

Raven Montmorency

Old-time Chinese silk weaving workshop.

Young Man in China Tried to Patent the Drug ‘Ice’

In Dezhou City of Shandong Province, China, a young man studied the synthesis of the drug known as”Ice” (methamphetamine hydrochloride) after his failures in trying to set up several businesses. Drawing on his junior high school chemistry education and after countless trials and errors, he finally succeeded in synthesizing the desired drug. He planned to apply for a patent ...

Nspirement Staff

China’s Real Friends WeChat Post Goes Viral

Mainland China’s social media platform WeChat recently circulated a post entitled “Who is China’s real friend and who is the real enemy?” China’s real friends Wechat post consisted of questions and answers to actual historical events. The answers are contrary to how the Chinese state news media portrays China’s relationship to Russia and the United ...

David Jirard

Jiangsu Musician Yearns for Shen Yun

Pan Xiang and his daughter are well-known musicians from Jiangsu Province, China. They yearned for the chance to see a Shen Yun performance. He suffered years of persecution under the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). His so-called “crime”? Asking the local authorities to return a letter written to him by Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao. His family ...

Max Lu

A group of musical instruments.

The Legendary Silk Road

The legendary Silk Road connected the famous big cities of China with those of India, and reached all the way to the Mediterranean Sea from the period 100 B.C. until the year A.D. 1500. It was a route that opened up many countries for trade. Chinese tradesmen exchanged mainly Chinese silk in return for Roman ...

Nspirement Staff

Legend of the Spiritual Lingzhi Mushroom of Immortality

The Lingzhi mushroom is a famous Chinese herb. It is said that a wild Lingzhi mushroom (also known as the reishi mushroom) can benefit your spirituality more than any other herb or substance known. Here is the legend of the Lingzhi mushroom. From the legend, you can imagine the great benefit of the Lingzhi mushroom. ...

Emma Lu

Fresh lingzhi mushrooms.

How a Lowly Servant in Ancient China Won the Respect of an Empire

There is a story from ancient China about Emperor Tang Wenzong, the 15th emperor of the Tang Dynasty, who had an exquisite pillow carved of precious white jade that he hid among his draperies. However, one day it disappeared. Emperor Tang was shocked, as his inner palace was very secure. Only his concubines could gain ...

Jack Roberts

Black and white photo of three men dressed in ancient Chinese clothing.

Famous People From Ancient China: Mencius and His Mother

In 375 B.C., a boy was born in Zou County, Shandong Province, to one of the many famous people from ancient China. The boy’s birth name was Meng Ke, but he later became known as Mencius, one of the most well-known philosophers in Chinese history. When Mencius was 3 years old, his father passed away. ...

Emma Lu

Portrait of Mencius from the Yuan Dynasty.

The Meaning Behind the Nine-Dragon Wall in Beijing’s Forbidden City

The two most popular tourist attractions in Beijing are the Great Wall and the Forbidden City. The Forbidden City is a masterpiece of ancient Chinese architecture, and there are countless places worth visiting there. If you happen to be at the Huangji Door, you can see the Nine-Dragon Wall. In traditional Chinese architecture, what separates ...

Troy Oakes

A yellow dragon from the Nine-Dragon Wall in the Forbidden City, Beijing, China.

Daughter Wishes to See Her Mother Released From Prison

Iris Lu’s parents lived in the rural province of Yunnan. In the 1990s, her mother, Deng Cuiping, started practicing Falun Gong to help relieve stress and insomnia. This was at a time before the persecution began in China, and the parks were packed with people doing the exercises. Falun Gong, (also known as Falun Dafa) ...

Jessica Kneipp