forbidden-city-watchtower

ByAwen

May 3, 2020

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Peasants Painting

The dawn of the Chinese Year December 23 proclaims the food preparation for New Year’s Eve dinner has formally begun.

Traditionally from this day on, tuanzi (团子) clubs would begin to hold annual gatherings.

Tuanzi is a popular snack in southern China and is customarily consumed on reunion occasions, serving, typically, as New Year’s Day breakfast.

The core members of the tuanzi clubs were usually made by mature women who had years of working experience in tuanzi production, with unseasoned young girls as their disciples and assistants. In some close-knit communities, like small villages, on the days leading up to the New Year, the clubs would hold daily tuanzi workshops from one household to another, making this complicated annual household chore one of the most enjoyable and memorable affairs in the whole festival. FULL STORY

An Outlaw

Water Margin is one of the greatest classic Chinese novels, depicting a group of outlaws who fought against corrupted officials, exploitive businessmen and unjust laws.

“Enforcing Justice on Behalf of Heaven (替天行道)” is their proud motto.

One of the outlaws was Lu Zhishen. Lu initially came from elite class working as a police commissioner. But when he learned a butcher store businessman taking advantage of a family with a sick mother and drove them into poverty, while the system did nothing to help the victims, he decided to take the law into his own hands.

Lu went up to the butcher’s house and challenge the store chief. “You signed a contract with that poor family to purchase the girl as your lesser wife with 3,000 strings of coin. You got the girl but her family was denied the payment. Later you deposed her from your household and demand them to pay back 3,000 strings that they never received. How can you be such a heartless predator and shameless parasite!”

The businessman was defied and defended his position. “How I conduct my business is entirely my business. Since there is no law saying it’s unlawful, it’s none of your business.”