The Tale of Zhong Kui

Zhong Kui (鍾馗) is a Taoist deity in Chinese myth, traditionally regarded as a vanquisher of ghosts and Yaoguai. He is depicted as a large man with a big black beard, bulging eyes, and a wrathful expression. Zhong Kui is often accompanied by the five bats of fortune, the Wufu (五福), or the five blessings: “health” (康寧), “wealth” (富), “long life” (壽), “love …

Read more

Yōkai or Yāoguài

What Are They? The translation for the work Yōkai (妖怪) is something to the effect of “strange, supernatural creature or phenomena” in Japanese. The word is a combination of the characters 妖 (yō–attractive, bewitching, calamity) and 怪 (kai–mystery, wonder). Over the years, different English words have been used in translation. Yōkai can be translated to monster, demon, spirit, or goblin, but it encompasses …

Read more

The Lantern Festival

A Little Bit About 元宵節 Tomorrow the first full moon of the New Lunar Year arrives marking  the time of China’s Lantern Festival.  Falling near the 15th day of the first month of the new year, this is a holiday that is often observed as the culmination of the New Year celebrations. In the cosmology …

Read more