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Treasures from 800-year-old sunken vessel exhibited in Hong Kong

Troves of invaluable relics and artefacts discovered from famous Song dynasty’s sunken vessel, Nanhai No.1 (南海一號), are on display in Hong Kong. Traceable back to the period of Southern Song dynasty (AD1127-1279) about 800 years ago, the Nanhai No.1, which literally means South China Sea No.1, is one of the world's oldest ocean-going merchant vessels.…

November 13, 20240Comments ByH.C. Lu

Chinese history Culture

How rock, paper, scissors started in ancient China

THE GAME OF rock, paper, scissors started in China, historians believe. The Ming Dynasty writer Xie Zhaozhe wrote in the 1600s that it date back to the Han Dynasty (206 BCE – 220 CE). But the three elements weren’t rock, paper and scissors. The game was called shoushiling (手勢令), or hand gesture command. The original elements…

March 4, 20240Comments ByNury Vittachi

Culture

Treasures of China’s ‘lost civilisation’ on show in Hong Kong

THE UNEARTHING OF STRANGE and sometimes grotesque bronze artefacts at the Sanxingdui (三星堆) site in Sichuan has been regarded as one of the most astounding archaeological discoveries in China, shedding light on the mysterious ancient Shu civilization that flourished about several thousands of years ago. A golden mask unearthed in Sanxingdui is displayed in the…

October 27, 20230Comments ByH.C. Lu

Features News

How the Chinese diaspora paved the way for BRI

The biggest international trading venture in world history is 10 years old. But there's an extraordinary tale behind the Belt and Road Initiative, or BRI. And that's the story of the exceptional Chinese Diaspora experience, which laid the foundations for the infrastructure project's success. This Chinese macro-migration endeavor, individual by individual, long…

October 18, 20230Comments ByRichard Cullen

Chinese history

Soong Ching Ling: a survivor of momentous times

MADAM SOONG CHING LING, the wife of modern China’s founder Dr Sun Yat Sen, was a woman of charisma who served the underprivileged women and children of the country. Her life spanned many momentous events in modern China’s development. As the daughter of a missionary Charlie Soong, Madam Soong was in the first batch of…

October 11, 20230Comments ByH.C. Lu

Chinese history Culture

Goujian: Defeated soldier waited years for revenge

IN EARLY APRIL this year, I went on a trip to Wuhan in Hubei Province (湖北武漢). At the Hubei Provincial Museum, I found a long queue in front of a collection. Out of curiosity, I approached the attractive treasure, and found long tin-bronze sword in front of me. It was the “Sword of Goujian” (越王勾踐劍),…

June 14, 20230Comments 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