Quick Takeaways: Fenghuang is not simply the Chinese version of the phoenix. Unlike the Western phoenix, it does not die and rise from ashes. Instead, it symbolizes cosmic harmony, virtuous rule, and the proper balance between heaven and earth. For years after I first encountered the Fenghuang in Chinese mythology and in my novel readings, […]
Quick Takeaways: Here’s the assumption I want to challenge right at the start. Most people, if you ask them why Daoist masters pursued immortality, will give you some version of it. They didn’t want to die. They were afraid. They wanted more time. And while that’s not entirely wrong, it’s about as accurate as saying […]
This article explores Daoist immortality as mythology and religious scholarship, not medical advice. Some historical practices were harmful. Consult qualified professionals before trying any new practice. Quick Takeaways: I’ll be honest about what drew me to this topic. I have been a fan of the fantasy and sci-fi genre, being a curious person myself, I […]
Quick Takeaways: If you’ve read more than one wuxia novel, you’ve encountered the word Jianghu. Characters enter it, are exiled from it, are bound by its rules, betray its codes, and spend entire novels navigating its politics. It’s as constant a presence in wuxia fiction as the cultivation system is in xianxia. But Jianghu is […]
Quick Takeaways: I have already explained in my previous post how the five elements and yin-yang are connected and why the four holy beasts cannot exist without the Yin-Yang, and how the four symbols interact with the Five Elements. It’s been a journey, and if you are still with me from my first post, then […]
Quick Takeaways: Here are a few titbits I have noticed in my journey. People learn yin yang first, then they learn the Five Elements, and they hold both as interesting but separate things. Related, obviously, yin yang qualities are assigned to each element, but fundamentally distinct topics you can understand independently. I held that view […]
Quick Takeaways: One aspect of Chinese cosmology that continues to fascinate me is how elegantly the Four Symbols emerge from yin and yang. At first glance they look like separate traditions. The classical texts suggest otherwise. Most people who are interested in Chinese mythology and cosmology encounter yin yang and the Four Symbols as separate […]
Quick Takeaways: If you are like me, who grew up reading Western fantasy and mythology, you might have heard about the Four Elements of Nature and how they are the building blocks of all things. But this is a Western concept originating from the Greek philosopher Empedocles. The Chinese take this a step further by […]
Quick Takeaways: When I started reading cultivation fiction seriously, isekai was just beginning its rise to global popularity as a recognizable category. For the first few years of following both traditions, I treated them as parallel tracks in East Asian web fiction Chinese cultivation novels over here, Japanese reincarnation fantasy over there, occasionally overlapping. 10 […]
Quick Takeaways: I’d been exploring Chinese mythology for about seven or eight years after I developed an interest in it because of my reading of cultivation novels. I came across a casual reference in my exploration of the Four Symbols about the fifth central guardian. I remember, I was surprised because during my xianxia reading, […]