Culture

21:24, 19 Mar 2019

In ancient times, the qualities that connected jade gemstones and gentlemen were used to discipline and inspire scholars and officials alike. The ancient Chinese used metaphors to refer to and muse about emotional or spiritual states. ...

22:52, 18 Mar 2019

“It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a wife.” In one immortally recognized line, Jane Austin opens her iconic masterpiece and ...

10:49, 18 Mar 2019

If somebody verbally attacks you, criticizes you or humiliates you, how do you choose to react? Are you likely to react with anger, become furious and perhaps scold them? Act with self-restraint and calmly accept ...

01:35, 17 Mar 2019

Sometimes the hardest lessons to learn are the ones that end up meaning the most to us. And sometimes the best way to learn is from somebody else’s example. Two fables passed down through generations ...

20:47, 15 Mar 2019

Where did Socrates, the foundational figure of Western philosophy, get the inspiration for his original ideas about truth, love, justice, courage and knowledge? New research I’ve conducted reveals that as a young man in 5th-century ...

20:45, 15 Mar 2019

It’s a commonly held belief that only children can learn from adults. Albeit that can be true, it is also true that if adults changed their perspective, they would discover that there is a lot ...

20:42, 15 Mar 2019

In the year 1900, the American scholar Albert Edward Winship conducted a study entitled “Jukes-Edwards: A Study in Education and Heredity,” involving two families. The family of Jonathan Edwards were staunch followers of Christianity; Jukes, ...

21:29, 14 Mar 2019

Western religions put a particular emphasis on the teachings of repentance, confession, and forgiveness. Christianity, for example, values these principles far more than it pays attention to the act of the sinner. All can be ...

21:23, 14 Mar 2019

Japan has endured a chequered history. Experiencing a devastating collapse after World War II, the country has gradually and painstakingly restored itself into the great nation and dignified culture that we know and love today. What ...

10:38, 13 Mar 2019

My happiest times in childhood were spent reading the books of E. Nesbit, C.S. Lewis and Joan Aiken. Preferring to read in hidden corners where nobody could find me, I immersed myself completely in these ...

09:57, 12 Mar 2019

Crabby crab is my four-year-old son Fisher’s imaginary friend. Crabby appeared on a holiday in Norway by scuttling out of his ear after a night of tears from an earache. Like other childhood imaginary friends, ...

09:47, 12 Mar 2019

A wealthy businessman was longing for the day that his frivolous son would be mature enough to succeed him. But the businessman’s aspiration was met with nothing besides indifference from his son. The young son ...

10:36, 11 Mar 2019

Ann Teurlings, from Belgium, is the mother of six children. Thirty years ago she sustained injuries from a severe car accident, which left her with chronic pain for decades. However, all of that changed after ...

11:19, 10 Mar 2019

A legend that dates back to the beginning of the Tang Dynasty narrates the story of a young scholar named Lu Sheng, who, by having a prophetic dream after falling asleep on the dining table, ...

03:58, 10 Mar 2019

Prime Minister Sir Winston Churchill was one of the greatest orators in England. It’s hard to believe that he used to be a slow and ill-mannered student. For many well-known figures, the experience of failure ...

03:47, 09 Mar 2019

Buried within Chinese culture and traditions, the ancient sages left examples of the underlying links that connect colors with their meanings in nature and their correspondence with the Celestial Kingdom. In this article, we will ...

04:15, 08 Mar 2019

As long as there are people who are better than others at doing a certain task there will exist a hierarchy. The radical call to eliminate hierarchies is then the call to extinguish the natural ...

10:48, 06 Mar 2019

Embracing and adapting to stress can provide important opportunities for personal growth. My life is messed up, why can’t I get my act together? Most of us have heard a variation of this talk track in our ...

10:34, 06 Mar 2019

During the Three Kingdoms Period (25 AD-220 AD) in China, Wang used to be the Prince's mentor and an excellent father figure to his children. These are some of the wise teachings he passed down to ...

10:16, 05 Mar 2019

Listen to ABBA’s worldwide pop music hit Dancing Queen. How does it make you feel? Likely you feel excitement, enjoyment, and a surge of youthful vitality. Perhaps it even makes you want to dance! But ...

06:20, 19 Mar 2019

The ancients knew him well. He was as powerful as a god, as dangerous as a demon. He generously gave life – and he ruthlessly took it away. He appeared to all, from the darkest and ...

03:42, 04 Feb 2019

Recently, an enigmatic flower has been spotted in different parts of the world, awakening everyone’s curiosity on what wonders it might be prophesizing. The flower that has been enchanting the world is the mystical Udumbara ...

09:19, 03 Feb 2019

In the Res Gestae Divi Augustus (‘The Deeds of the Divine Augustus’), Augustus demonstrates his piety by stating that he was a member of all four major priesthoods in Rome – the Pontifices, Augures, Quindecemviri and Septemviri. ...

05:29, 21 Jan 2019

Before the Battle of the Milvian Bridge, Roman Emperor Constantine had an incredibly vivid dream, leading to a decision that changed the course of history. Dreams have always been regarded as omens, or prophecies of the ...

02:33, 31 Dec 2018

On the 1 st January of every year, many countries around the world celebrate the beginning of a new year.  But there is nothing new about New Year’s.  In fact, festivals and celebrations marking the beginning of ...

22:37, 17 Dec 2018

In ancient myths and legends, there are numerous stories featuring seven wise men. Across the ancient mythologies of Babylonia, Sumeria, China, Ancient Greece, and India, there are tales featuring seven sages? Who were they and ...

04:52, 10 Dec 2018

Lake of the Pregnant Maiden is a beautiful, wild, and magnificent treasure that is part of the Malaysian landscape. The lake is not only beautiful but legend has it that the waters have a healing ...

03:31, 07 Dec 2018

The tale of how Sisyphus received his eternal punishment is one telling of the retribution facing man and his arrogance. The punishment of Sisyphus would hold some disturbing familiarities to our lives and society in ...

10:09, 19 Nov 2018

Translated by Chua BC, Vision Times Huiyun was a monk from a monastery in Luoyang during the Tang Dynasty. In the first year of the Linde era of Emperor Tang Gaozong’s reign (A.D. 664-665), Huiyun, at ...

12:29, 16 Nov 2018

The myths of severe floods, although originating from vastly differing civilizations, share unbelievable similarities. Suppose that these floods took place exactly as per the stories tell us, what warning should we heed from these catastrophes? ...

09:17, 07 Nov 2018

The cyclops and giants was cleaned out by gods as Zeus prepared Earth for a new age. Zeus told the wisest of the titans, Epimetheus and his brother Prometheus, to make lives that would inhabit ...

11:37, 05 Nov 2018

Wei Boyang was a renowned alchemist of the East Han Dynasty (25 A.D - 220 A.D), and was born of noble lineage. He was interested in the pursuit of Taoist magical arts and dedicated his ...

12:27, 15 Oct 2018

The Yellow Crane Tower (Huang He Lou) is located in the Yellow Crane Tower Subdistrict, Wuchang district, Wuhan, in central China. The current structure was built in 1981, but the tower has existed in various ...

08:05, 06 Oct 2018

Chinese myths and legends tell tales of gods and deities living in other dimensions, parallel to our own. People may only enter when the heavenly gates open and let us in. It has been said ...

08:05, 01 Oct 2018

It was believed that a long long time ago, there was a period when Human and Gods co-existed on the earth. Gods were said to be right by human’s side and provided them with guidance ...

05:24, 13 Sep 2018

Fan Yuanyan grew up in a poor family in the Northern and Southern Dynasties (420 AD - 589 AD). He made a living by growing vegetables. One day, when he was heading out the door, he ...

06:41, 12 Sep 2018

It was believed that a long long time ago, there was a period when Human and Gods co-existed on the earth. Gods were said to be right by human's side and provided them with guidance ...

11:59, 26 Aug 2018

Why the classics are important today is a radical question, according to John Henry Crosby, the founder and president of the nonprofit Hildebrand Project. “The sensibility that the classics are important, deserving of a place of recognition, ...

11:58, 26 Aug 2018

For fine arts painter George Ceffalio, the importance of classical realistic art is self-evident. “You see [realistic art] and can grasp it, unlike art that you need to study in order to understand, or art that ...

11:57, 26 Aug 2018

When Susan Woodard, professor emeritus of music, was just beginning her teaching career, she heard a colleague declare, “Students today come to college to learn how to make a living, not to learn how to ...