FLY WITH ME

In the previous episode, wediscussed how, in a time without written language, Cangjie, as a historian, notonly worked tirelessly but also struggled to pass on knowledge and experienceto others. Everything had to be figured out on one's own. One day, the patternson a turtle's shell unexpectedly inspired Cangjie to create written characters.

From that day onward, Cangjiebegan to carefully observe the world around him: the shapes of the sun andmoon, the appearance of birds, beasts, insects, and fish, human movements, theforms of objects, and the postures of plants and trees. It is said that Cangjiehad four eyes, making his observations more detailed than others'. Hediscovered that everything had its own unique features, which becameincreasingly fascinating to him.

 Next,Cangjie began using lines to create symbols representing each object. 

Legend has it that the Chinesescript was originally created by Cangjie. However, this beautifully patternedand intricate writing system was likely developed gradually by many people overa long period, with contributions from countless minds. Perhaps during thisextended process, Cangjie made a particularly significant contribution, andlater generations attributed the entire creation of writing to him. Now, let'sdive into the story of Cangjie and the creation of Chinese characters!

Hello, everyone! Welcome to a new episode of "Fly WithMe."

Chinese characters, also known as Hanzi, Chinese script, orsquare characters, are the written symbols used to record the Chinese language.As one of the oldest writing systems in the world, Chinese characters have ahistory of around 6,000 years. The earliest existing Chinese characters are theoracle bone script from the Shang Dynasty, around 1300 BCE, dating back overthree thousand years. Chinese characters have evolved from primitivepictographs to the modern form over a long period.

In the previous episode, Imentioned that on the night of the Lantern Festival, Ming Taizu discovered thatthe common people were mocking Empress Ma with their riddles. He decided topunish the two people who created the riddle and hosted the guessing game. Heordered his attendants to mark their doors with a large red "福" (fu) character, which means "blessing" or"good fortune," as a sign to identify them. He planned to arrest themthe day after the New Year celebrations.

Children, have you all seen Spring Festival couplets? Duringthe New Year, besides the door couplets your father puts up on both sides ofthe door, he also pastes a big "福" (fortune)character in the center of the door. If you see him paste it upside down, it'snot a mistake. "福" upside down signifies"fortune has arrived." People do this for good luck in the New Year.

There is a story related to this tradition of pasting the"福" character, involving Empress Ma, the wifeof Ming Taizu Zhu Yuanzhang of the Ming Dynasty. This story takes place duringthe Lantern Festival.

In this episode, I will delve into the Lantern Festival, atraditional and joyous Chinese holiday. Also known as the "YuanxiaoFestival," it is the grand finale of the Chinese New Year celebrations. Itmarks the end of the New Year festivities and symbolizes the arrival of spring.

Are you ready? Let's light up the lanterns in our hearts andstep into the world of the Lantern Festival!

In the previous episode, wetalked about how the rat pushed the cat into the river and then hid in the ox’sear, jumping out to reach the finish line first. The Jade Emperor, surprised tosee the rat arrive first, asked, "Rat, you can't swim and aren't fast, sohow did you get here first?"

Long ago, Chinese people used the twelve zodiac animals tocalculate the years. As everyone knows, the twelve zodiac animals are: Rat, Ox,Tiger, Rabbit, Dragon, Snake, Horse, Goat, Monkey, Rooster, Dog, and Pig. Kids,do you know which animal represents this year? Why are there twelve zodiacanimals? And why did the small rat rank first among them? In China, there is aninteresting legend associated with this, closely tied to the Jade Emperor'sbirthday.

Welcome to a new episode of "Fly with Me"! In thisepisode, we will explore the ancient and mysterious Chinese Zodiac, adistinctive cultural symbol of China. The Chinese Zodiac is not just a simplecombination of twelve animals; they represent unique characteristics anddestiny influences, with each Zodiac sign having its own story and meaning. Inthis episode, we will delve into the origins, characteristics, and significanceof each Zodiac sign in Chinese culture and history.

Hello everyone! In the last episode, we talked about Hou Yi,who became an emperor in the mortal world and wanted to achieve immortality. Heclimbed to the top of Mount Yanzi.

Hou Yi looked around, but the mountaintop was bare, withnothing in sight.

Suddenly, a terrifying howl came from behind. Hou Yi turnedaround and saw an old woman with a strange appearance sitting in a cave. Shehad sharp teeth and a leopard's tail dragging behind her. The howling, likethat of a wild beast, was actually the old woman laughing.