Old Wisdom, New Insights

In the traditional Chinese philosophy of governance, the people are considered the foundation of the country. Only when the people prosper can the country prosper. This is classic Chinese wisdom and has become part of the governance philosophy of the Chinese government in modern times. Miyun, a northeastern suburb of Beijing, has over 300 years of beekeeping history, and modern techniques are taking the industry to new heights. Along with CGTN host Liu Xin and Canadian Majid Ghorbani, an associate professor at China Europe International Business School, let's explore the modern implications of this ancient wisdom for Miyun's beekeepers, as they embark on a journey to common prosperity.

This saying captures the logic behind China's political system today and explains why the country can accomplish megaprojects like the South-to-North Water Diversion Project. In this bonus episode, CGTN host Liu Xin and former Belgian Ambassador to China Patrick Nijs visit the middle route of the project and meet Liang Yu, secretary of the Party committee, Qushou Branch Company, China South-to-North Water Diversion Middle Route Corporation Limited. Together they explore the essential meaning of this classic quote.

Surprise! One more episode! In this show, Niuniu talks with Professor Steve Roddy from University of San Francisco about all of the five historical figures of this season. Join the conversation now!

What do you think are the most important qualities of a good government official? Competence? Foresight? Integrity? As for the star of this show, he has the title of being "the most incorruptible official" in Qing Dynasty! Check out Zhang Boxing's stories now!

In this episode, Niuniu continues her conversation with Professor Steve Roddy from University of San Francisco about Feng Menglong. Did you know that besides being an accomplished novelist, he was also a historian? As if that was not enough, he also collected folk songs. He even had a lot of loyal readers overseas! Listen to the conversation for more interesting details!

What do you consider as the most decisive factor for success? Ability? Timing? Resources? Or outside support? All of the above are certainly important, but in Chinese, there's a saying that "事在人为," which means "human effort is the decisive factor." Listen to the show to find out a cool story about Feng Menglong that can be used to interpret "事在人为."

Feng Menglong from the late Ming Dynasty was all of the following: a famous historian, an exceptional novelist and poet. His Sanyan trilogy of vernacular Chinese short story collections have been compared to Italian writer Boccaccio's Decameron and the stories of A Thousand and One Nights. So what to make of it when this successful 61-year-old novelist "abandoned" his comfortable life to take up a post of the county head in a faraway place? Let's check out his story now.

How would you define success? Become rich? Famous? Or powerful? For our ancient friend Wang Anshi, none of these counted. How did he define success? Listen to the show to find out why so many Chinese young people still remember him and celebrate his birthday online a thousand years later!

We all know there are different facets to everyone's personality. Someone could be extremely intelligent, funny, ambitious and totally warmhearted and upright, but at the same time, stubborn, arrogant, sarcastic and socially awkward! The man all these words can be used to describe is Wang Anshi. Let's meet this controversial ancient Chinese now!

A special episode just for you! In this show, Niuniu talks to Professor Steve Roddy from University of San Francisco. As someone who has been studying Chinese culture since the 1970s, he has a lot to share about the brilliant and eccentric Chinese artist - Zheng Banqiao!