SuaveG – The Gentle Path

Chinese mythology, folktales, and literature

illusion

  • Taoist Priest

    •

    Ana

    Scholar Han, descendant of a well-known aristocratic family, was very fond of guests. A man named Xu in the same village often went to his place to drink.

  • Did the mural truly change?

    •

    Ana

    After reading Strange Tales from Liaozhai Studio: The Painted Wall (The Mural), many may wonder: did the temple mural physically change? Zhu Juren (Zhu Xiaolian) insists the celestial maiden’s hairstyle transformed–from a maiden’s coiffure to a matron’s bun–after his journey into the painting.

  • The nameless protagonist in The Mural

    •

    Ana

    As we all know, names are very important. But why the protagonist of the story The Mural(The Painted Wall) from the Strange Tales from Liaozhai Studio does not have a name?

  • The Mural

    •

    Ana

    Meng Longtan, a native of Jiangxi Province, and a Juren by the name of Zhu (Note: a Juren was one who pasted the imperial examination at the provincial level) were visiting the capital together.

  • The Chu hunter’s bamboo flute

    •

    Ana

    The deer is afraid of the wolf; the wolf of the tiger; and the tiger of the wild bear, the most ferocious and powerful of all animals, walking erect, with long hair hanging from its head.

  • The snake or shadow in the cup

    •

    Ana

    My grandfather, who was magistrate of the district of Chen, once invited his secretary, Du Xuan, to drink with him during the midsummer festival.

  • Deny the real too!

    •

    Ana

    Chan Master Dazhu Huihai, a prominent Tang Dynasty monk, was ordained under Master Daozhi at Dayun Temple in Yuezhou. After reading Huihai’s writing (The Essential Gateway to Truth by Sudden Awakening), Master Mazu Daoyi praised him as “Great Pearl” — a Buddhist symbol of awakening and wisdom — hence later generations also referred to…

  • A Buddha’s Unheeded Rescue

    •

    Ana

    A man journeyed through mountains and rivers, enduring great hardship. While crossing a steep cliff, he slipped and fell into a deep ravine. As he plummeted, he desperately grabbed an old branch growing from the cliffside — saving himself but left dangling mid-air.

  • The Foolish Question

    •

    Ana

    A man sought to attain the “Dao”, so he went to visit a Zen(Chan) master, asking to become his disciple. To test the man’s insight, the master asked: “Right now, I have something and yet have nothing. How do you explain this?”