The Round Door

This episode is fully in mandarin (中文版). Also available as an English episode.

What if the old ox in your field could talk, and change your whole life?

Orphaned young and driven from home, the kindhearted Cowherd lives quietly with only a faithful old ox for company, until the ox astonishes him by speaking. It leads him to the Weaver Girl, granddaughter of the Queen Mother of Heaven, and a single conversation blossoms into a love that heaven may not allow.

A tender retelling of the beloved Chinese folktale 牛郎织女 | 牛郎織女 (The Cowherd and the Weaver Girl, Part One), about kindness, hard work, and a love that reaches from the fields all the way to the stars.

Read-alongs, vocabulary, discussion prompts, and family activities: visit our website.

Round Door Studio — Mandarin and English stories for bilingual families. rounddoorstudio.com

Love the show? Support us on Ko-fi to help us make more bilingual audio stories! https://ko-fi.com/therounddoorstudio

This episode is fully in English. Also available as a Mandarin episode.

What if the old ox in your field could talk, and change your whole life?

Orphaned young and driven from home, the kindhearted Cowherd lives quietly with only a faithful old ox for company, until the ox astonishes him by speaking. It leads him to the Weaver Girl, granddaughter of the Queen Mother of Heaven, and a single conversation blossoms into a love that heaven may not allow.

A tender retelling of the beloved Chinese folktale 牛郎织女 | 牛郎織女 (The Cowherd and the Weaver Girl, Part One), about kindness, hard work, and a love that reaches from the fields all the way to the stars.

Read-alongs, vocabulary, discussion prompts, and family activities: visit our website.

Round Door Studio — Mandarin and English stories for bilingual families. rounddoorstudio.com

Love the show? Support us on Ko-fi to help us make more bilingual audio stories! https://ko-fi.com/therounddoorstudio

This episode is fully in English. Also available as a Mandarin episode.

Three acorns in the morning and four at night, or four in the morning and three at night, which would you choose?

The Monkey Keeper loves his troop so dearly that he understands their every call. When a dry autumn leaves him short on acorns, he offers the monkeys a clever little choice about their morning and evening portions, and their reaction says a lot about all of us.

A lively retelling of the classic Chinese idiom 朝三暮四 (Three in the Morning, Four at Night), about clever thinking, looking past appearances, and seeing the whole picture instead of just one part of it.

Read-alongs, vocabulary, discussion prompts, and family activities: visit our website.

Round Door Studio — Mandarin and English stories for bilingual families. rounddoorstudio.com

Love the show? Support us on Ko-fi to help us make more bilingual audio stories! https://ko-fi.com/therounddoorstudio

This episode is fully in English. Also available as a Mandarin episode.

Three acorns in the morning and four at night, or four in the morning and three at night, which would you choose?

The Monkey Keeper loves his troop so dearly that he understands their every call. When a dry autumn leaves him short on acorns, he offers the monkeys a clever little choice about their morning and evening portions, and their reaction says a lot about all of us.

A lively retelling of the classic Chinese idiom 朝三暮四 (Three in the Morning, Four at Night), about clever thinking, looking past appearances, and seeing the whole picture instead of just one part of it.

Read-alongs, vocabulary, discussion prompts, and family activities: visit our website.

Round Door Studio — Mandarin and English stories for bilingual families. rounddoorstudio.com

Love the show? Support us on Ko-fi to help us make more bilingual audio stories! https://ko-fi.com/therounddoorstudio

This episode is fully in mandarin (中文版). Also available as an English episode.

What happens when ""good enough"" just is not good enough for you?

Six retainers are rewarded with a single jug of fine wine, and they agree that whoever draws a snake fastest may drink it all. Quick-handed A-Xiang finishes first with ease, then decides his snake would look even grander with a few extra feet.

A lively retelling of the classic Chinese idiom 画蛇添足 | 畫蛇添足 (Adding Feet on a Snake), about humility, self-control, and knowing when to stop while you are ahead.

Read-alongs, vocabulary, discussion prompts, and family activities: visit our website.

Round Door Studio — Mandarin and English stories for bilingual families. rounddoorstudio.com

Love the show? Support us on Ko-fi to help us make more bilingual audio stories! https://ko-fi.com/therounddoorstudio

This episode is fully in English. Also available as a Mandarin episode.

What happens when ""good enough"" just is not good enough for you?

Six retainers are rewarded with a single jug of fine wine, and they agree that whoever draws a snake fastest may drink it all. Quick-handed A-Xiang finishes first with ease, then decides his snake would look even grander with a few extra feet.

A lively retelling of the classic Chinese idiom 画蛇添足 | 畫蛇添足 (Adding Feet on a Snake), about humility, self-control, and knowing when to stop while you are ahead.

Read-alongs, vocabulary, discussion prompts, and family activities: visit our website.

Round Door Studio — Mandarin and English stories for bilingual families. rounddoorstudio.com

Love the show? Support us on Ko-fi to help us make more bilingual audio stories! https://ko-fi.com/therounddoorstudio

This episode is fully in mandarin (中文版). Also available as an English episode.

Can two dots of ink really bring a painting to life?

In the busy city of Jinling lived Zhang Sengyao, the most gifted painter of his age, whose birds looked ready to take flight. Asked to fill a temple wall, he paints four magnificent dragons but leaves every one of them without eyes, warning that the very last stroke is the one he does not dare to add.

A lively retelling of the classic Chinese idiom 画龙点睛 | 畫龍點睛 (When the Dragon Gets Its Eyes), about craftsmanship, patience, and the single perfect detail that brings the whole thing to life.

Read-alongs, vocabulary, discussion prompts, and family activities: visit our website.

Round Door Studio — Mandarin and English stories for bilingual families. rounddoorstudio.com

Love the show? Support us on Ko-fi to help us make more bilingual audio stories! https://ko-fi.com/therounddoorstudio

This episode is fully in English. Also available as a Mandarin episode.

Can two dots of ink really bring a painting to life?

In the busy city of Jinling lived Zhang Sengyao, the most gifted painter of his age, whose birds looked ready to take flight. Asked to fill a temple wall, he paints four magnificent dragons but leaves every one of them without eyes, warning that the very last stroke is the one he does not dare to add.

A lively retelling of the classic Chinese idiom 画龙点睛 | 畫龍點睛 (When the Dragon Gets Its Eyes), about craftsmanship, patience, and the single perfect detail that brings the whole thing to life.

Read-alongs, vocabulary, discussion prompts, and family activities: visit our website.

Round Door Studio — Mandarin and English stories for bilingual families. rounddoorstudio.com

Love the show? Support us on Ko-fi to help us make more bilingual audio stories! https://ko-fi.com/therounddoorstudio

This episode is fully in mandarin (中文版). Also available as an English episode.

This is Part 2 of Ma Liang and the Magic Brush, continuing last week's story. New here? Start with Part 1 first.

What do you do when the most powerful man in the land wants to take what is yours?

Word of Ma Liang's magic brush reaches a greedy emperor who already has piles of gold but always wants more. He sends his army to capture the boy and orders him to paint a money tree. Ma Liang knows the brush is meant to help the poor, not the rich, so he refuses, even when the emperor throws him in a cold dungeon. Then the clever boy comes up with a plan, one that begins with a tree of golden treasure on an island far out at sea.

A lively retelling of the classic Chinese folktale 神笔马良 | 神筆馬良 (Ma Liang and the Magic Brush), about greed, courage, and standing up for what is right.

Read-alongs, vocabulary, discussion prompts, and family activities: visit our website.

Round Door Studio: Mandarin and English stories for bilingual families. rounddoorstudio.com

Love the show? Support us on Ko-fi to help us make more bilingual audio stories! https://ko-fi.com/therounddoorstudio

This episode is fully in English. Also available as a Mandarin episode.

This is Part 2 of Ma Liang and the Magic Brush, continuing last week's story. New here? Start with Part 1 first.

What do you do when the most powerful man in the land wants to take what is yours?

Word of Ma Liang's magic brush reaches a greedy emperor who already has piles of gold but always wants more. He sends his army to capture the boy and orders him to paint a money tree. Ma Liang knows the brush is meant to help the poor, not the rich, so he refuses, even when the emperor throws him in a cold dungeon. Then the clever boy comes up with a plan, one that begins with a tree of golden treasure on an island far out at sea.

A lively retelling of the classic Chinese folktale 神笔马良 | 神筆馬良 (Ma Liang and the Magic Brush), about greed, courage, and standing up for what is right.

Read-alongs, vocabulary, discussion prompts, and family activities: visit our website.

Round Door Studio: Mandarin and English stories for bilingual families. rounddoorstudio.com

Love the show? Support us on Ko-fi to help us make more bilingual audio stories! https://ko-fi.com/therounddoorstudio