Illuminating Chinese Classics
Channel Details
Illuminating Chinese Classics
“Illuminating Chinese Classics” shares with you some of the stories behind Chinese history and culture, and the Chinese language. In each short episode, we unpack the meaning of a piece of classic Chinese text, and talk about how it relates to life in China today.
Recent Episodes
33 episodes
ep 30 More great learning
In this episode on the Three Character Classic (三字经), we talk about the Great Learning (大学), a wide-ranging text that talks about everything from...
ep 32 So many books
The Three Character Classic (三字经) continues to pile on reading for its young readers, this time turning to what are called the six classics (六经),...
ep 26 The Four Books
The four core texts (四书) on Confucianism is the topic of our next few episodes on the Three Character Classic (三字经). We get started by talking ab...
ep 24 Defining relations
Before we come to the end of chapter two of the Three Character Classic (三字经), we have a chunky summary of all the lessons we’ve learned about the...
ep 14 Servitiude and patriarchy
In this episode on the Three Character Classic (三字经), the book takes a step back to a topic touched upon earlier, namely, how people should approac...
EP 33 Looking to the past to predict the future
The first of the six classics (六经) that the Three Character Classic (三字经) recommends readers turn to is the Book of Changes (易经), which is actu...
ep 31 First the four, then the six
In this episode we give you a brief introduction to the six books that the Three Character Classic (三字经) recommends you tackle when you’re done wit...
ep 29 The benefits of being boring
Your hosts had very different takes on the topic of this episode: the Doctrine of the Mean (中庸). An idea first put forward by the writer Zisi (孔伋)...
ep 28 The Second Sage
We’re continuing our discussion about the four core texts (四书) about Confucianism in this episode on the Three Character Classic (三字经). The works...
ep 27 The Analects
In this episode, we introduce what is perhaps the most influential ancient Chinese text: The Analects of Confucius (论语者). In 20 articles (二十篇),...
ep 25 I like your old stuff better than your new stuff
This episode on the Three Character Classic (三字经) is reminiscent of our earliest episodes about study. We talk about the importance of all kids hav...
ep 23 Nine generations
In this episode on the Three Character Classic (三字经), we talk about the nine generations of relations that make up one’s family, in the traditional...
ep 22 High mountains and running waters
“High mountains and running waters” (高山流水) is one of the most iconic pieces of classical Chinese music. Its creator played it so beautifully, it w...
ep 21 Mixed emotions
In a previous episode, we talked about the importance of the mean (中庸) in Chinese thought, which means in essence to keep things in balance. This is...
ep 20 We're back on the farm
Horses (马), cattle (牛), sheep (羊), fowl (鸡), dogs (犬), and pigs (豕): These are the six domesticated animals, and the topic of this episode on th...
ep 19 Grains
In this episode on the Three Character Classic (三字经) we cover the six main cereals in traditional Chinese agriculture, and tell the story of a myth...
ep 18 The five virtues
A few episodes ago (#14: Servitiude and patriarchy) the Three Character Classic (三字经) took what seemed like a detour from the natural world to disc...
EP 17 The five building blocks of everything
In Chinese philosophy, water (水), fire (火), wood (木), metal (金), and earth (土) are five elements that make up the properties of everything in the...
ep 16 It's all about the zhong
In this episode on the Three Character Classic (三字经), we continue exploring the traits of the natural world by taking a look at the four cardinal d...
ep 15 The four seasons
After the slight detour in the last episode, our discussion on the Three Character Classic (三字经) returns to the main theme of the second part of th...
ep 13 Heaven, earth, and man
In this episode on the Three Character Classic (三字经), we turn to the stars, as our story takes its first look at the natural world. We’ll talk abou...
ep 12 Our one and only maths lesson
In this episode on the Three Character Classic (三字经), it’s time to talk about maths. But don’t worry: Because this is a children’s book it’s easy t...
ep 11 Learn the right things at the right time
The first part of the Three Character Classic (三字经) talked about the value of devoting your time to learning to valuable things (贵以专). It’s at t...
ep 10 Share your pears
In this episode of the Three Character Classic (三字经) we follow on from our previous two episodes, about the importance of listening to teachers and...
ep 09 Keeping the bed warm
As Beijing pluges into winter and temperatures plumet, your hosts for the Three Character Classic (三字经) huddle together in their chilly studio to r...
ep 08 Learn from teachers, learn from friends
One of the main takeaway messages from the teachings of Confucius (孔子) is that it’s important to respect your elders. This is a theme that’s touched...
ep 07 You have to carve the jade to make it beautiful
In this episode on the Three Character Classic (三字经) we continue on the theme of the importance of education. And we illustrate the book’s message...
ep 06 Don’t peak too early
In our previous episodes about the Three Character Classic (三字经) we’ve talked about the importance of getting a good education. In this episode, we...
ep 05 Blame the teachers, blame the parents
In this episode, the author of the Three Character Classic (三字经) points a finger of blame at parents and teachers when a child doesn’t get a good e...
ep 04 Learning begins at home
Dou Yanshan (窦燕山) was a figure from the Five Dynasties Period (五代时期) in around the 10th century. He was a father to five sons, who all grew up...
ep 03 Mourners, merchants, and mothers
In episode three of the Three Character Classic (三字经) we look at the role a good environment can have on a child’s early development. You’ll hear h...
ep 02 Using education to stop the rot
In our first episode of the Three Character Classic (三字经) we explored the belief that people are fundamentally good when they’re born, and how that...
ep 01 In the beginning
In our first episode of the Three Character Classic（三字经）we begin at birth. According to Chinese thought, when we come into the world, we are fund...