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Emily Zhou

71 articles published

Chinese had pet manicures a thousand years ago: historians

TEMPTED TO CHUCKLE at Hong Kong women who have pampered dogs which they hand-carry to expensive grooming and manicure services? Historians have discovered that such activities have a long history—and in ancient times there were even centers where Chinese noblewomen could get their pets’ fur trimmed and their claws dyed. How do we know this?…

April 28, 20220Comments ByEmily Zhou

Culture

A stodgy state-owned enterprise becomes an innovator

THE POSTMAN’S AT THE DOOR. Is he holding a bundle of letters? No. He hands you a week’s worth of choi sum, some gai laan and a bag of onions. During difficult periods of Covid-19, China Post started providing a hassle-free home delivery service of vegetables for local communities. But that’s not all. If you…

April 20, 20220Comments ByEmily Zhou

Culture

Bright lights and bars: the birth of Song Dynasty night life

Imagine a late-night scene: Restaurants, bars, revellers, and a lit-up sign advertising a hostelry. Is this modern Shanghai? Hong Kong? Vancouver? Las Vegas? Actually, such scenes were already taking place a thousand years earlier. Emily Zhou reports. AN ANCIENT PIECE OF ART shows a lightbox advertising a hotel: perhaps the earliest evidence of a light-powered…

April 14, 20220Comments ByEmily Zhou

Culture Features

Chinese had trendy chai-lattes 1000 years ago, historians find

ENJOYED A NICE trendy cup of foam-topped matcha-flavored lactose-free caffeine recently? Well, guess who invented that drink? Starbucks? Maybe a Japanese branch of Starbucks? No. The Chinese did, a thousand years ago. It has become almost a cliché for historians to search for things that we think are modern, and then locate ancient Chinese versions.…

April 11, 20220Comments ByEmily Zhou

Culture

Foodpanda-style service existed in China ten centuries ago

From a single ancient scroll painting, shown in part below, historians discovered three items of food history the Chinese may have pioneered: the three-meals-a-day tradition, the hot food delivery service, and the drive-in cafe. Emily Zhou reports. THE CHINESE HABIT of painting large, hyper-detailed landscapes on giant scrolls has been a boon for historians. And…

April 6, 20220Comments ByEmily Zhou

Culture

Taste slow-cooked lamb in the Altay Mountains to rise up to heaven

Image above shows Kazakh horse meat sausage. Image by Marco Verch/ ccnull YOU THINK YOU KNOW Chinese food? Adventurous young Chinese foodies are heading into the cold, remote highlands of the western region to find delicious new flavors. The bad news is that sometimes you have to decide which of your four-legged friends is…

March 24, 20220Comments ByEmily Zhou

Culture

Death-defying risks for a cup of tea

When the civil war of China ended in 1949, Tibetans carried bags of silver dollars on a long journey along a thousand-year old path through the mountains on an important mission: to ensure their tea supply. Emily Zhou reports THE PEOPLE OF TIBET and the surrounding high-plateau lands had a problem. They needed tea.…

March 21, 20220Comments ByEmily Zhou

Culture

Her message of love was received 40 years too late

A classic poem about of a couple destined for each other, but cruelly kept apart by time and circumstances, is still popular 1000 years after it was written AMONG THE FEW Chinese musical pieces well known on international stage is “Butterfly Lovers” (梁祝), composed by He Zhanhao (何占豪) in 1958. But the composer created many…

March 14, 20220Comments ByEmily Zhou

Culture

Mi Yue: The extraordinary life of a lowly concubine

It seemed unlikely that the teenage girl would achieve anything in her life: but fate would take her to the top of the ladder Yet even when she was the most powerful woman in the land, she faced an impossible decision, asked to prove her loyalty by killing the man she loved Two thousand years…

March 7, 20220Comments ByEmily Zhou

Culture

Art dance revives interest in tragic Song Dynasty painter

A teenage painter's extraordinary skill marked him out for a great career, but fate had other plans. The "Emperor of Art" who mentored him came to an even sadder end. That happened 900 years ago, yet the story of the boy and his royal teacher, and the one painting he created, has inspired…

February 28, 20220Comments ByEmily Zhou

Emily Zhou

Chinese had pet manicures a thousand years ago: historians

A stodgy state-owned enterprise becomes an innovator

Bright lights and bars: the birth of Song Dynasty night life

Chinese had trendy chai-lattes 1000 years ago, historians find

Foodpanda-style service existed in China ten centuries ago

Taste slow-cooked lamb in the Altay Mountains to rise up to heaven

Death-defying risks for a cup of tea

Her message of love was received 40 years too late

Mi Yue: The extraordinary life of a lowly concubine

Art dance revives interest in tragic Song Dynasty painter

Can Europe dare to do the smart thing, and partner with China in Africa?

Australia’s government lives in a Pentagon-penned fiction of US primacy

How the HK Bar Association lost its way – and was guided back on track