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XingWu🐉ChineseFolklore @xingwu.bsky.social · 6h

In Chinese #mythology, Luwu once thundered at the nine gates of Mount Kunlun: a nine-tailed tiger deity from the Shanhaijing, fierce guardian of sacred mountains and keeper of the heavenly seasons. But time softened even this wild god. By the Jin-era Zhu Shu Ji Nian, 1/2

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XingWu🐉ChineseFolklore @xingwu.bsky.social · 30/09/2026

Before the jiangshi became China’s hopping vampire of horror films, C-dramas, and TikTok, it was born from a stranger sorrow: the need to bring the dead home. Old tales speak of “corpse-walking,” when Daoist priests guided bodies back to their native villages #folklore 1/2

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XingWu🐉ChineseFolklore @xingwu.bsky.social · 29/09/2026

Centuries before Virginia Woolf imagined “a room of one’s own,” Li Qingzhao had already carved out hers in the Song Dynasty. Born in 1084, she lived in a world where women were expected to remain within the household, yet she built a library of thousands of volumes and 1/2

Here is her most famous poem(translated by Jiaosheng Wang): 《如夢令·昨夜雨疏風驟》昨夜雨疏風驟，濃睡不消殘酒。試問卷簾人，卻道海棠依舊。知否，知否？應是綠肥紅瘦。 Late night wind howled with light shower, Still hungover despite my heavy slumber. Ask for shades to be rolled from sill, Was told my HaiTang blossomed still. Oh honey! But don't you know? Tis the season reds ebb and greens flow.

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XingWu🐉ChineseFolklore @xingwu.bsky.social · 28/09/2026

Long before Chinese kites danced for joy in the sky, they served the art of war. Over 2,000 years ago, generals sent them above battlefields to measure distances, signal troops, and study enemy camps. The earliest were not paper, but wooden forms linked to 1/2 #history #art

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XingWu🐉ChineseFolklore @xingwu.bsky.social · 27/09/2026

In China’s oldest myths, Xihe, the sun goddess, mothers ten sons, three-legged crows who rest in the Fusang tree by the Eastern Sea. Each day, she sends one across the sky in her golden chariot, bringing light, warmth, and order to the world. But when all ten 1/2 #mythology

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XingWu🐉ChineseFolklore @xingwu.bsky.social · 26/09/2026

In ancient China, cats were not just companions curled by the hearth. They were quiet weather-watchers, their small habits read like signs from the sky. If a cat washed its face, rain might be coming; if it chewed grass, storms were near. For farmers and families, 1/2 #caturday

🎨 Cats Among Bamboo Shen Chenlin, in the Qing dynasty 明婁元禮撰《田家五行》（引自《說郛續》卷三十）：「狗咬青草吃，主晴。……貓兒吃青草，主雨。」孫德祖《寄龕丙誌》卷四雲：越俗患頑僮之好狎畜狗若貍奴而或為所爪嚙也曰：『騎貓狗者，娶婦日必雨。』患其好張蓋而敝之也，曰，非暑若雨及，屋下張蓋者軀體不復長。皆投其所忌，繆為之說以懼之，然尋常鞭撻所不能止者，無勿帖然不敢犯。」

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XingWu🐉ChineseFolklore @xingwu.bsky.social · 25/09/2026

In Chinese lore, peach blossoms bloom with love, longing, and what might have been. During the Tang Dynasty (618–907), poet Cui Hu met a maiden beneath flowering trees at Qingming. Too shy to confess his feelings, he left in silence. A year 1/2

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XingWu🐉ChineseFolklore @xingwu.bsky.social · 24/09/2026

In Chinese #folklore, to part beneath a willow was to leave with more than farewell. A host might break off a slender twig and give it to the traveler, as a token of memory, resilience, and the wish for return. Because willows can root from a single branch, they became 1/2

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XingWu🐉ChineseFolklore @xingwu.bsky.social · 23/09/2026

Cai Wenji (蔡文姬), one of imperial China’s Four Talented Women, carried brilliance through a life marked by exile and grief. A poet, musician, and calligrapher of the late Eastern Han (25–220 CE), she was swept into war, held among northern nomads for twelve years, #history

🎨 《文姬踏歌圖》清周慎堂 The story of "Wenji Returns to Han" is widely known. She was initially married to Wei Zhongdao but returned home after her husband's death. During the chaos of the late Eastern Han Dynasty with various warlords vying for power, the Southern Xiongnu, who had originally surrendered to the Han Dynasty, took the opportunity to rebel. Cai Wenji was captured by the Xiongnu's Left Worthy Prince during the chaos of war. She spent twelve years among the Xiongnu and bore two children for them. After Cao Cao unified the northern regions, he spent a considerable sum to ransom her. She then married Dong Si, and Cao Cao tasked her with organizing the more than four hundred writings left by her father, Cai Yong, making a significant contribution to the spread of Chinese culture.

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XingWu🐉ChineseFolklore @xingwu.bsky.social · 22/09/2026

Wu Zetian (624–705) was not a consort ruling from the shadows, but the only woman in Chinese history to sit on the imperial throne as emperor. Founder of her own Zhou dynasty (690–705), she strengthened merit-based appointments, restrained corruption, and helped 1/2

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XingWu🐉ChineseFolklore @xingwu.bsky.social · 21/09/2026

In this Chinese #painting, the Three Great Emperors: the Heavenly, Earthly, and Water Officials, move like living forces of the cosmos. Each rides in a qilin-drawn carriage, attended by a lion and a dragon, creatures that mirror their rule over heaven, earth, and water. 1/2

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XingWu🐉ChineseFolklore @xingwu.bsky.social · 20/09/2026

In Chinese #mythology, the Lotus Lamp burns with a son’s impossible devotion. Sanshengmu, a goddess, defied Heaven by marrying the mortal Liu Yanchang and giving birth to Chen Xiang. Her brother Erlang Shen punished her by imprisoning her beneath Mount Hua. 1/2

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XingWu🐉ChineseFolklore @xingwu.bsky.social · 19/09/2026

Changxi, Mother of the Moon, glows softly in Chinese #mythology. Wife of the celestial emperor Di Jun, she gave birth to twelve moons, each tied to the turning months of the year. While her sister Xihe, goddess of the suns, ruled the brilliance of day, Changxi held the 1/2

🎨 我是条人鱼 https://www.artstation.com/artwork/8wzwYn In the "Shan Hai Jing" (Classic of Mountains and Seas), Changxi is also referred to as "Nu He, the Mother of the Moon(女和月母)," because she bore twelve moons, earning her the title "Moon Mother." The term "Nu He" signifies her role in harmonizing the balance of yin and yang. She is described as being in the northeast corner, where she stops the sun and moon from appearing randomly, regulating their lengths. "In the northeast corner, she stops the sun and moon, ensuring they appear in an orderly manner, controlling their durations(有女和月母之國。……處東北隅以止日月，使無相間出沒，司其短長。)."

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XingWu🐉ChineseFolklore @xingwu.bsky.social · 18/09/2026

As the demon-slayer of Chinese #mythology, Zhong Kui is almost never painted as a family man. Yet in Gong Kai’s Yuan dynasty work, he appears with his sister and a ghostly procession, turning terror into wonder. The spirits carry symbols of luck and prosperity: 1/2

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XingWu🐉ChineseFolklore @xingwu.bsky.social · 17/09/2026

In Chinese #mythology, Sun Simiao, the Medicine King, was no ordinary healer. A Tang dynasty (618–907) physician, he stood where science met spirit, so skilled he was honored as the “Marvelous Responding Immortal.” Legend says he once saved a tiger by pulling a bone 1/2

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XingWu🐉ChineseFolklore @xingwu.bsky.social · 16/09/2026

In early Chinese belief, polycoria, eyes with multiple pupils, was read as destiny. A child born with such eyes seemed marked by Heaven, gifted with a gaze that could see beyond ordinary men. Cangjie, the legendary creator of Chinese writing, was said to 1/2

Cangjie, the man in Chinese mythology who created Chinese characters. There is also a saying that he has four eyes.

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XingWu🐉ChineseFolklore @xingwu.bsky.social · 15/09/2026

Panhu (盤瓠), the dragon dog in Chinese #mythology, was born from an old woman’s ear as a golden worm, an omen strange enough to unsettle a court. He grew into a five-colored guardian, fierce and loyal, and helped Emperor Ku defeat the rebel General Wu. For this victory, 1/2

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XingWu🐉ChineseFolklore @xingwu.bsky.social · 14/09/2026

On temple eaves, the wind bell is more than ornament. Once called the Startling Bird Bell or Flower-Protecting Bell, it began as a voice of omen and protection. Its clear ringing kept birds from nesting in beams or troubling blossoms, while its older names, "duo" and 1/2

ref: https://www.thepaper.cn/newsDetail_forward_15478704. The bell hanging at the corners of temples and halls is called "wind bell," also known as Startling Bird Bell or Flower-protecting Bell. When the wind blows, the wind bell jingles to scare away birds, preventing them from building nests under the eaves and protecting the flowers and plants in the corridors. The wind bell also has another name, "iron horse," formerly known as "duo," originating from ancient Chinese divination, and some people use it to determine the wind direction. After Buddhism was introduced to China from India, the duo was hung on the eaves of temple buildings and pagodas, becoming the wind bell. In the Buddhist context, the interpretation of the bell is awakening, joy, and preaching. People hung wind bells to achieve the purpose of warning, calming the mind, or praying, with the sound of "wind blowing and jade vibrating."

ref: https://kknews.cc/zh-cn/culture/2mem5ly.html

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XingWu🐉ChineseFolklore @xingwu.bsky.social · 13/09/2026

Nüwa, the primordial mother of Chinese #mythology, shaped humanity from yellow clay: Some figures carefully formed by hand, others scattered into being from the swing of her rope. When the heavens split after a battle of gods, she did not answer with wrath, but with devotion. 1/2

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XingWu🐉ChineseFolklore @xingwu.bsky.social · 12/09/2026

In the late Tang dynasty, Youyang Zazu turned cat lore into something strange and sacred. By day, a cat’s pupils narrow to slits; by night, they bloom round as moons. Its nose stays cool as river stone, warming only at the summer solstice. Fleas avoid its fur, and 1/2 #caturday

🎨 劉奎齡猫目睛，旦暮圆，及午。竖敛如綖。其鼻端常冷，唯夏至一日暖。其毛不容蚤虱。黑者暗中逆循其毛，即若火星。俗言猫洗面过耳。则客至。

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XingWu🐉ChineseFolklore @xingwu.bsky.social · 11/09/2026

In folk tradition, “monkey” (猴) and “bee” (蜂) echo the sounds in “侯封,” noble rank and official honor. Fur, wings, danger, and desire come together as a wish for bold success: risk fate, seize opportunity, and rise in status. In this Chinese #painting, a monkey 1/2

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XingWu🐉ChineseFolklore @xingwu.bsky.social · 10/09/2026

The phrase 吹簫引鳳, “playing the flute to summon the phoenix,” rises from Han dynasty legend as a vision of love made audible. Xiao Shi’s flute, pure and yearning, called a celestial phoenix down from the heavens. Moved by that same music, Princess Nong Yu 1/2 #mythology

Qin Mugong's daughter, Nong Yu, was not only beautiful but also skilled in playing the flute, creating melodies resembling the cry of a phoenix. One night, while playing the flute on the Phoenix Tower, her enchanting music echoed in the distance, and a lingering, harmonious sound reached far and wide, causing silk threads to never break. Subsequently, Nong Yu fell ill, losing interest in daily activities. Upon learning of her condition, someone brought a young man named Xiao Shi. Nong Yu's illness miraculously recovered in his presence. From that moment on, Nong Yu and Xiao Shi played the flute together on the Phoenix Tower every day, harmonizing as a couple for several years. One night, while they were playing together, a pair of phoenixes responded to their music and flew to them. Seizing the opportunity, Xiao Shi and Nong Yu both rode the phoenixes and flew away together.

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XingWu🐉ChineseFolklore @xingwu.bsky.social · 09/09/2026

Lord Yun (雲中君), the Cloud Sovereign, moves through Qu Yuan’s Nine Songs like mist given divinity. Born in the Warring States era, this Chinese spirit gathers and dissolves, veils and reveals, embodying the cloud’s strange power: beauty without possession, 1/2 #mythology

🎨 《雲中君》現代華三川 , transforming this form into the personified figure of the cloud deity.

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XingWu🐉ChineseFolklore @xingwu.bsky.social · 08/09/2026

In this Edo-era painting, the Eight Daoist Immortals glide between worlds, their Chinese mythology reimagined on Japanese silk. Lu Dongbin’s sword flashes with wisdom. He Xiangu raises a sacred mushroom. Zhang Guolao summons his tiny donkey from a bamboo tube. 1/2 #mythology

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XingWu🐉ChineseFolklore @xingwu.bsky.social · 07/09/2026

High Mountains Flowing Water (高山流水) is the ache of being truly heard. When Bo Ya touched the qin, others heard music; only Zhong Ziqi heard mountains rising and rivers rushing through his soul. After Ziqi died, Bo Ya shattered his qin and never played again, not 1/2 #folklore

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XingWu🐉ChineseFolklore @xingwu.bsky.social · 06/09/2026

In ancient China, a shop did not need neon to call your name. It had zhaohuang (招幌) early advertising that mixed the zhaopai (招牌), the signboard bearing a business name, with the huangzi (幌子), the hanging banner or canopy meant to catch the eye. A gourd might 1/2

🎨《清明上河圖》明仇英 It reads 'Serves seasonal delicious wine'.

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XingWu🐉ChineseFolklore @xingwu.bsky.social · 05/09/2026

In 514 BCE, Wu Zixu helped build a city for the King of Wu, but he also prepared for the day it might starve. Sensing betrayal and disaster ahead, he hid bricks made of glutinous rice beneath the city gates. Years later, when famine came, the buried rice was found 1/2 #folklore

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XingWu🐉ChineseFolklore @xingwu.bsky.social · 04/09/2026

In early European versions of Aladdin, the story does not unfold in the Arab world, but in a fantastical “China”, a place imagined as Muslim, Eastern, and mysterious all at once. This was not China as geography, but China as fantasy: a stage where #folklore #Aladdin 1/2

🎨 Aladdin finds the wonderful lamp inside the cave. A c. 1898 illustration by Rene Bull.

🎨 "Aladdin in the Magic Garden," a work by Max Liebert, is inspired by Ludwig Fulda's "Aladin und die Wunderlampe" (Aladdin and the Wonderful Lamp).

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XingWu🐉ChineseFolklore @xingwu.bsky.social · 03/09/2026

Diao Chan was not just a legendary beauty. She was the center of one of China’s most famous political traps. In the chaos before the Three Kingdoms, minister Wang Yun used her to divide Dong Zhuo, a brutal warlord who controlled the Han court, and Lü Bu, Dong Zhuo’s 1/2 #folklore

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XingWu🐉ChineseFolklore @xingwu.bsky.social · 02/09/2026

In Qing China, male friendship could be held in the hand. In Yu Zhiding’s 1682 scroll Gathering of Elegance South of the City (《城南雅集圖卷》), scholar-officials Xu Qianxue and Wang Maolin walk hand in hand among poetry, plum blossoms, and cultivated ease. 1/2 #painting

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XingWu🐉ChineseFolklore @xingwu.bsky.social · 01/09/2026

Wang Zhaojun, one of China’s legendary Four Beauties, crossed the frontier not in pursuit of love, but in service of peace. Sent from the Han court to marry the Xiongnu chanyu, she rode north into the vast steppe, carrying only her courage, her pipa, and 1/2 #folklore

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XingWu🐉ChineseFolklore @xingwu.bsky.social · 31/08/2026

Dangkang, the “tooth pig” of Chinese myth, is a white-furred omen of overflowing fields. When the harvest is rich, this joyful beast is said to dance, chant its own name, and stride through the world with tusks like plows. Its arrival means abundance, luck, and 1/2 #mythology

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XingWu🐉ChineseFolklore @xingwu.bsky.social · 30/08/2026

In Chinese #folklore, Xi Shi was more than a legendary beauty. She was a quiet weapon of statecraft. After Yue’s defeat by Wu, she was sent to King Fuchai, whose obsession with her drew him away from rule and into ruin. As Wu weakened, Yue rose again. Yet Xi Shi’s own ending 1/2

🎨 Classical depiction of Xi Shi in the Chinese art collection, Gathering Gems of Beauty.

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XingWu🐉ChineseFolklore @xingwu.bsky.social · 29/08/2026

In Jiangnan’s silk valleys, the “silkworm cat” (蚕猫) guards more than cocoons. It protects a family’s livelihood. By keeping rodents away from precious silkworm eggs, these quiet feline guardians helped preserve the fragile rhythm of sericulture across generations. 1/2 #caturday

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XingWu🐉ChineseFolklore @xingwu.bsky.social · 28/08/2026

On a snowy Eastern Jin day, Xie An gathered his family for poetry and conversation. As flakes drifted outside, he asked what they resembled. His nephew answered, “salt scattered in the air.” But his niece Xie Daoyun, already known for her brilliance, said they were 1/2

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XingWu🐉ChineseFolklore @xingwu.bsky.social · 27/08/2026

In the Shanhaijing, Kua Fu chases the sun with a giant’s hunger for light. He strides across the world, drinks rivers dry, and still reaches for the burning horizon, until thirst and ambition bring him down. 1/2 #mythology 🎨 Kua Fu Chasing the Sun, by Snow Fish

🎨 Kua Fu Chasing the Sun, by Snow Fish. In ancient times, Kua Fu, leader of the powerful giants known as the Kua Fu tribe, observed his people suffering due to the scorching sun. Determined to catch it and bring prosperity, Kua Fu embarked on a relentless pursuit. Chasing the sun for nine days, Kua Fu covered vast landscapes, overcoming mountains and rivers. Despite his immense strength, he succumbed to thirst just before reaching a life-sustaining marsh. In his final act, he threw his staff, creating a lush peach forest that provided shade and nourishment for travelers, symbolizing his sacrifice for the well-being of his people.

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XingWu🐉ChineseFolklore @xingwu.bsky.social · 26/08/2026

In imperial China, beauty could begin with a single brow. From the Tang dynasty (618–907) onward, women painted eyebrows into soft crescents, sharp wings, willow-leaf curves, or bold dark strokes... More than makeup, eyebrow painting became a quiet art of identity.

🎨 https://finance.sina.cn/2021-08-31/detail-iktzqtyt3240339.d.html

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XingWu🐉ChineseFolklore @xingwu.bsky.social · 25/08/2026

In Qiu Ying’s Ming painting, Li Bai gathers his kin on a spring night in the Peach and Plum Garden. Blossoms glow, wine cups pass, and poetry rises like fragrance in the air. At the center stands the famed Tang poet: 1/2 #painting #art 🎨 《春夜宴桃李園圖》明仇英

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XingWu🐉ChineseFolklore @xingwu.bsky.social · 24/08/2026

In “Tian nü san hua” (天女散花), celestial maidens scatter blossoms from the heavens. In the Buddhist tale, the flowers cling only to the truly devoted, revealing purity beyond rank or learning. Those falling petals later drifted through Chinese art, Peking opera, 1/2

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XingWu🐉ChineseFolklore @xingwu.bsky.social · 23/08/2026

The Legend of the White Snake is one of Chinese folklore’s most tender tragedies. Bai Suzhen, a serpent spirit who takes human form, falls in love with the scholar Xu Xian, turning fate into devotion. But their union unsettles the mortal and spiritual worlds. 1/2 #folklore #art

🎨 《白蛇傳》戴敦邦 In the city of Zhenjiang during the Song Dynasty, Bai Suzhen was a thousand-year-old snake demon. In order to repay the life-saving grace bestowed by the scholar Xu Xian in a past life, she transformed into human form to repay the kindness. Later, she encountered the green snake spirit, Xiaoqing, and the two became companions. Bai Suzhen used her magical powers and clever tactics to get acquainted with Xu Xian and eventually married him. After their marriage, the monk Fahai from the Jinshan Temple warned Xu Xian that Bai Suzhen was a snake demon, causing Xu Xian to have doubts. Later, following Fahai's advice, Xu Xian made Bai Suzhen drink wine laced with Realgar on the Dragon Boat Festival, forcing her to reveal her true form, which frightened Xu Xian to death. 1/2

🎨 《白蛇傳》戴敦邦 Bai Suzhen ascended to the Heavenly Court, stole the herbs of immortality, and revived Xu Xian. Fahai deceived Xu Xian to Jinshan Temple and detained him. Bai Suzhen, along with Xiaoqing, confronted Fahai, causing floods in the temple, inadvertently harming other living beings. Bai Suzhen, for violating heavenly laws, was imprisoned in a bowl and suppressed beneath the Leifeng Pagoda after giving birth to her child. Later, Bai Suzhen's son grew up and became the top scholar. He worshipped his mother at the pagoda, rescuing her, and the family reunited. Even the lovable Xiaoqing found her significant other. 2/2

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XingWu🐉ChineseFolklore @xingwu.bsky.social · 22/08/2026

Yue Lao, the Old Man Under the Moon, threads love through the unseen machinery of fate. In Daoist lore, he carries the marriage book, where destined unions are quietly recorded, and ties lovers together with a red string invisible to mortal eyes. 1/2 #mythology #marriage

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XingWu🐉ChineseFolklore @xingwu.bsky.social · 21/08/2026

Jingwei’s story is one of Chinese mythology’s most haunting acts of defiance. Once the daughter of the Yellow Emperor, she drowned in the East Sea and returned as a small bird with an impossible vow. Day after day, she carries twigs and stones in her beak, 1/2 #mythology

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XingWu🐉ChineseFolklore @xingwu.bsky.social · 20/08/2026

In Searching the Mountains (《搜山圖》), Erlang Shen becomes the relentless hunter of Chinese mythology. Marked by his piercing third eye and followed by his celestial hound, this divine warrior sweeps through jagged peaks and shadowed forests, seeking demons 1/2 #mythology #art

🎨 《二郎搜山圖》佚名明 The painting depicts divine soldiers and generals searching for various monsters in the mountains with great fanfare. These monsters, whether in their original form or transformed into women, flee in fear or hide in caves when pursued by the divine soldiers.

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XingWu🐉ChineseFolklore @xingwu.bsky.social · 19/08/2026

Nezha, the flame-bright son of General Li Jing, is one of Chinese mythology’s fiercest rebels. After slaying Ao Bing, son of the East Sea Dragon King, his defiance nearly tore heaven and earth into war. To spare his family, 1/2 #folklore

🎨 Nezha, Huang Guangjian. This story has various details. According to "Journey to the West," Nezha's actions were discovered by his father. Fearing trouble, Li Jing decided to kill his own son. Enraged, Nezha took a knife, cut off his own flesh to repay his mother, and removed his bones to repay his father before choosing to end his own life. In addition, in "Investiture of the Gods", the one who helps Nezha reincarnate as a lotus is Taiyi Zhenren, while in "Journey to the West," it is the Buddha.

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XingWu🐉ChineseFolklore @xingwu.bsky.social · 18/08/2026

Guanpu (關撲) turned ordinary goods into objects of chance. In this lively gambling custom, people threw in daily possessions, curiosities, and market wares, letting luck decide who walked away richer. Rules varied by region, 1/2 #tradition #game

🎨 《秋庭戲嬰圖》蘇漢臣 Guanpu comes in various forms, one of which is similar to spinning wheel lotteries. Customers interested in Guanpu only need to pay a coin to get a chance to shoot an arrow towards a spinning disc. When shooting the arrow, the vendor rotates the disc to increase the difficulty of hitting the target. If the customer can hit the pattern drawn on the disc, they can receive a prize. If they miss, they need to pay another coin to have another chance at spinning and shooting.

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XingWu🐉ChineseFolklore @xingwu.bsky.social · 17/08/2026

Dianmu, the Lightning Lady of Chinese mythology and Daoist lore, opens the sky. As consort of Leigong, the Thunder God, she sends white-hot flashes racing across the heavens before his drum-like roar follows. In folktales, their quarrels shake the clouds, turning 1/2 #mythology

After the Song Dynasty, Dianmu acquired a name. In the ancient text 'Zhu Ding Yu Wen(鑄鼎餘聞),' there is information suggesting that Dianmu's name is Wenying(文英). In the 'History of the Yuan Dynasty(《元史》),' it records Dianmu's attire and appearance while at work: 'Wearing a crimson robe, vermilion skirt, and white trousers, with both hands manipulating light(纁衣朱裳白褲，兩手運光).'

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XingWu🐉ChineseFolklore @xingwu.bsky.social · 16/08/2026

This #painting recalls the moment in the Three Kingdoms, where Liu Bei humbled himself three times before a thatched cottage, seeking the hidden wisdom of Zhuge Liang. Beside him, Zhang Fei stands watchful, his martial force sharpening the contrast with Liu Bei’s patience1/2 #art

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XingWu🐉ChineseFolklore @xingwu.bsky.social · 15/08/2026

In Chinese history, Emperor Huizong of the Song (1082–1135) may have failed as a ruler, but as an artist, his grace was unforgettable. In his delicate paintings, cats stalk butterflies with quiet mischief, yet the scene carries a hidden blessing. 1/2 #caturday #art

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XingWu🐉ChineseFolklore @xingwu.bsky.social · 14/08/2026

In Chinese #folklore, The Butterfly Lovers is more than romance. It is a rebellion against fate, gender roles, and social chains. Zhu Yingtai disguises herself as a man to seek education, only to find a kindred soul in Liang Shanbo. Bound by shared ideals yet broken by 1/2

🎨 A stamp of the Butterfly Lovers Subsequently, Liang Shanbo became the magistrate of Muxian County. He fell into melancholy and illness, eventually passing away. Before his death, he requested to be buried in Jiulongxu in Muxian County. When Zhu Yingtai was being taken to her wedding, they passed by Liang Shanbo's grave. Suddenly, a strong wind arose, obstructing the progress of the wedding procession. Zhu Yingtai got off her sedan chair and paid her respects at Liang Shanbo's grave. The grave collapsed, and she threw herself into it. Soon after, a pair of colorful butterflies emerged from the grave and flew away together, leaving the mortal world. 2/2

🎨 《贈別》蕭玉田 During the Eastern Jin Dynasty, in Shangyu County of Kuaiji Commandery, there was a girl named Zhu Yingtai who loved reading poetry and books, longing to pursue studies outside her home. However, women were not allowed to study publicly at that time. She disguised herself as a man and went to the city of Kuaiji in Kuaiji Commandery to study. On her way, she met Liang Shanbo, a scholar from Muxian County of Kuaiji Commandery. They instantly became close friends and traveled together. For three years, Liang and Zhu studied together, but Liang Shanbo never knew that Zhu Yingtai was actually a woman. Later, Zhu Yingtai had to interrupt her studies and return to her hometown. When Liang Shanbo visited Shangyu to propose marriage to Zhu Yingtai, he discovered that his close friend from the past three years was a woman. Unfortunately, by this time, Zhu Yingtai had been promised in marriage to Ma Wencai, the son of the magistrate of Muxian County. 1/2

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XingWu🐉ChineseFolklore @xingwu.bsky.social · 13/08/2026

In Chinese #folklore, Lady Meng Jiang wept before the Great Wall until grief became force. Stone by stone, the Wall collapsed, revealing the body of her husband buried within. Yet she is more than a grieving widow. She is the voice of countless lives consumed by 1/2

Lady Meng Jiang was a beauty during the time of Qin Shi Huang, the first emperor of the Qin Dynasty. Shortly after their marriage, her husband Wan Qiuliang (aka Wan Qiliang, Fan Xiliang, etc) was taken away by government officials to labor on the construction of the Great Wall and Shanhaiguan. Lady Meng Jiang, concerned about the cold northern weather, traveled a long distance to bring warm clothes to her husband. Finally arriving at the Great Wall on the first day of October, she was informed that Quliang had died from illness due to unsuitability to the local environment and had been buried along with many other laborers who died from plague and overwork in a mass grave. 1/2

Due to official relocation of the wall, their graves ended up beneath the Great Wall. Lady Meng Jiang cried out in sorrow, causing an 800-mile stretch of the Great Wall to collapse. Finding only whitened bones of the laborers beneath the wall, she prayed to the heavens, hoping to find her husband's remains. She then pricked her finger with a hairpin, letting blood drip among a pile of dry bones. Her blood stuck to a particular set of bones. Overwhelmed with grief, she covered the bones with her clothing and buried them. 2/2

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