Literature

At the time of the Eastern Han Dynasty, there was a man called Zhong Mou. He became an orphan when he was young and worked very hard in the fields to support his brother. He liked to read when he had spare time. When he grew up, he received a commendation for being a person […]

Near the end of the Qing Dynasty, there was a village in Northeast China where a family surnamed Xing lived. The Xing family was famous for two reasons. The first was that they had a secret ancestral remedy for eye disease; whoever had eye disease went to the Xing household to receive the remedy and […]

The maxim that you shouldn’t judge a book by its cover applies to much more than just books, and I agree with it in most cases. But, ironically, I can’t apply it to books—at least not to “Creativity Takes Courage: Dare to Think Differently” by Irene Smit and Astrid van der Hulst. The design cover of a […]

Homer’s “Iliad” is usually thought of as the first work of European literature, and many would say, the greatest. It tells part of the saga of the city of Troy and the war that took place there. In fact, the “Iliad” takes its name from “Ilios,” an ancient Greek word for “Troy,” situated in what […]

How many of us long for an epiphany—some flash of insight to redeem the dull succession of identical hours. Time passes and nothing happens. No inspiration strikes, no light falls. And yet we still like to believe there could be, at any moment, some sign or wonder that could make all the difference between existing and truly living. In the meantime, we flicker between thought and action, hope and boredom, dream and reality.

If the very thought of seeing a Shakespeare play, reading one, or—dear, oh dear—memorizing a few of his lines makes you feel light-headed and in need of blotting your forehead, you might be surprised to learn that if you were raised with English as your first language, you’re likely quoting him all the time. Shakespeare’s […]

In this series, edited for style and length, we interview people about their most precious possessions. While the objects around us may seem inanimate, our connection to them and our stories about them often bring them to life. Here, Callie Di Nello from Wimbledon in London shares her story: The one thing I cherish is […]