https://www.scmp.com/rss/326907/feed en https://assets.i-scmp.com/static/img/icons/scmp-meta-1200x630.png https://www.scmp.com Wee Kek Koon Wee Kek Koon Last month, friends visiting from Hong Kong brought me two tins of cookies from Jenny Bakery – a popular local treat I had somehow never tried in two decades of living in the city. When I finally opened one, the aroma caught me off guard: rich, buttery and instantly familiar. It smelled exactly like the coffee buns from the Malaysian bakery chain Rotiboy, which I used to eat far more often than I should admit. I paused for a moment, tin in hand, trying to place that recognition. Maybe it was a... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/chinese-culture/article/3348537/history-chinese-flatbreads-reflects-how-food-has-echoes-faraway-places?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/chinese-culture/article/3348537/history-chinese-flatbreads-reflects-how-food-has-echoes-faraway-places?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 04 Apr 2026 00:15:07 +0000 Yating Yang Yating Yang In ancient China, a highly lucrative and fiercely competitive profession known as the “dung collector” brought its exponents significant profits. These people were responsible for gathering human waste, otherwise known as night soil, from residents’ chamber pots. Due to a lack of modern toilets and flush systems, people stored human waste in chamber pots and were not allowed to dispose of it freely. Waste from each household was collected by specialised workers known as “dung collectors”. At... https://www.scmp.com/news/people-culture/article/3348540/why-dung-collector-was-highly-lucrative-profession-ancient-china?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/people-culture/article/3348540/why-dung-collector-was-highly-lucrative-profession-ancient-china?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 03 Apr 2026 10:00:08 +0000 Alex Lo Alex Lo Why didn’t China develop its own scientific and industrial revolutions when it made so many discoveries and advances over millennia? That is often called “Needham’s question”, named after the historian of Chinese science and tech Joseph Needham. Why didn’t China develop capitalism during the Song dynasty when it was so close to achieving a breakthrough with trade, commerce, currency and semi-industrialisation, and an emerging merchant class? The Hungarian-French sinologist Etienne Balazs, among... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/china-opinion/article/3348381/why-china-always-misunderstood-and-misrepresented?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/opinion/china-opinion/article/3348381/why-china-always-misunderstood-and-misrepresented?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 01 Apr 2026 01:30:08 +0000 Zoey Zhang Zoey Zhang Before electricity, central heating, and down quilts, winter in ancient China was not simply a season but a test of class. Cold was shared by everyone, but warmth was usually not. During the Han dynasty (206BC–AD220), emperors used specially designed “warm chambers” to protect themselves from the winter cold. The walls were plastered with a mixture of mud and Sichuan peppercorns, thought to preserve heat while resisting dampness and insects; curtains and screens helped keep out draughts. These... https://www.scmp.com/news/people-culture/article/3347718/how-emperors-and-nobles-kept-warm-without-down-quilts-during-winter-ancient-china?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/people-culture/article/3347718/how-emperors-and-nobles-kept-warm-without-down-quilts-during-winter-ancient-china?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 31 Mar 2026 10:00:10 +0000 Alex Lo Alex Lo The way Stephen Selby tells it, Guiguzi (鬼谷子) sounds like the ancient Chinese version of Dale Carnegie’s enduring self-help book, How to Win Friends and Influence People. Given its contents and message, it should have been a text for the ages. After all, whether ancient, modern, postmodern, Eastern or Western, many of us still need to kiss up to wayward bosses and stroke their egos if we want to advance our careers – not to mention ancient despots who could chop off your head for saying the... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/china-opinion/article/3347806/how-win-friends-and-influence-people-ancient-china?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/opinion/china-opinion/article/3347806/how-win-friends-and-influence-people-ancient-china?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 28 Mar 2026 01:30:08 +0000 Wee Kek Koon Wee Kek Koon I was watching a “C-drama”, or Chinese television drama, on Netflix and found myself silently questioning why I had to sit through a sluggish 20-minute set piece that could have been done and dusted in two. At that moment, the person who had persuaded me to watch the period potboiler asked, “What is a biaoju?”, referring to a key plot device in the show. China’s armed escort services, known as biaoju, grew out of a very practical problem: getting from point A to point B without being robbed or... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/chinese-culture/article/3347993/how-imperial-chinas-armed-escorts-became-stuff-legend?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/chinese-culture/article/3347993/how-imperial-chinas-armed-escorts-became-stuff-legend?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 28 Mar 2026 00:15:07 +0000 Wei Wei Wei Wei Amid uncertainty over the timing of a summit between Chinese President Xi Jinping and US President Donald Trump, the world is watching closely to see where the two largest economies are leading us. At a time of cascading crises like wars, regional tensions and economic uncertainty, the relationship between Washington and Beijing has become one of the most important variables for global stability. And yet, for all the analysis of military budgets, trade deficits and geopolitical competition, one... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/china-opinion/article/3347621/what-ancient-chinese-wisdom-can-offer-divided-world-and-us?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/opinion/china-opinion/article/3347621/what-ancient-chinese-wisdom-can-offer-divided-world-and-us?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 27 Mar 2026 01:30:08 +0000 Kevin Kwong Kevin Kwong The Fujian Province Liyuan Opera Inheritance Centre production of Red Wedding Bed is based on Chen San and Wu Niang, a love story that originated during the Southern Song dynasty (1127-1279). The production is based on one of the oldest surviving vernacular (Teochew) opera scripts, dating back to the Ming dynasty (1368-1644). Chen San, a scholar from Quanzhou in Fujian province, travels to Chaozhou in Guangdong and meets the beautiful Huang Wu Niang at a Lantern Festival fair, and it is love at... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/arts/article/3347698/brilliant-chinese-opera-troupes-retelling-ancient-love-story-has-surprise-ending?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/arts/article/3347698/brilliant-chinese-opera-troupes-retelling-ancient-love-story-has-surprise-ending?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 24 Mar 2026 11:15:08 +0000 Wee Kek Koon Wee Kek Koon I recently enjoyed a delicious dinner at a restaurant in Kuala Lumpur that specialised in Hakka cuisine. Hakka restaurants have long existed in the city and elsewhere in Malaysia, but anecdotal evidence suggests their numbers have been growing rapidly in recent years. Less widely known than Cantonese and several other Chinese regional cuisines, Hakka food may be enjoying its moment in the sun, at least in Malaysia, where the Hakka population numbers around 1.25 million. They form the largest... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/chinese-culture/article/3347186/how-hakka-spread-china-and-beyond-their-cuisine-reflecting-hard-lives?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/chinese-culture/article/3347186/how-hakka-spread-china-and-beyond-their-cuisine-reflecting-hard-lives?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 21 Mar 2026 00:15:09 +0000 Yating Yang Yating Yang In ancient China there was a unique and quirky profession: if someone committed a crime and was sentenced to flogging, they could hire another person to take the punishment on their behalf. During the Ming dynasty (1368–1644), flogging was a form of punishment in which court officials were publicly beaten with heavy rods. The striking end of the rod was carved into a hammer-like shape and wrapped in iron and sometimes even fitted with barbs, making the punishment extremely brutal. There were... https://www.scmp.com/news/people-culture/article/3346861/ancient-chinese-people-sentenced-flogging-could-hire-substitutes-endure-punishment-fee?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/people-culture/article/3346861/ancient-chinese-people-sentenced-flogging-could-hire-substitutes-endure-punishment-fee?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 18 Mar 2026 10:00:12 +0000 Kevin McSpadden Kevin McSpadden One of the profound tragedies in life is the burial of the youngest among us. In Neolithic China (9,000–1,500 BC), urn burials were often designated for the deceased children and infants. While urn burials for older babies have been extensively studied, there remains little understanding of burial customs surrounding stillbirths, miscarriages, or newborns who passed shortly after birth. A new 2026 study in China revealed that by examining 16 urn burials associated with perinatal deaths from over... https://www.scmp.com/news/people-culture/trending-china/article/3346843/jar-burials-glimpse-ancient-chinas-compassion-funeral-practices-infant-deaths?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/people-culture/trending-china/article/3346843/jar-burials-glimpse-ancient-chinas-compassion-funeral-practices-infant-deaths?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 18 Mar 2026 06:00:20 +0000 Alex Lo Alex Lo From around the turn of the century, a revived Confucianism was all the rage. Mainland Chinese academia heavily promoted it. Beijing politicised it as compatible with communist ideology. For state propaganda departments, Confucianism was repackaged as a cultural product for foreign consumption. That wave of interest subsequently died down, along with the closure of many Confucian Institutes around the world. So why study Confucius today? Well, why read any great philosopher? But there is a more... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/china-opinion/article/3346837/rescuing-key-confucian-text-centuries-ignominy?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/opinion/china-opinion/article/3346837/rescuing-key-confucian-text-centuries-ignominy?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 18 Mar 2026 01:30:07 +0000 Wee Kek Koon Wee Kek Koon In a recent interview, Reza Pahlavi, the former crown prince of Iran who is living in exile in the United States, described the death of the country’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, as a moment that could mark the end of what he calls a monstrous era of repression. Many Iranians, he said, greeted the news of Khamenei’s assassination with elation, sensing a rare chance to reclaim their country. Pahlavi is careful to insist that he does not seek to be king or president, but a transitional... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/chinese-culture/article/3346223/what-irans-former-crown-prince-can-learn-exiled-royals-plea-chinese-emperor?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/chinese-culture/article/3346223/what-irans-former-crown-prince-can-learn-exiled-royals-plea-chinese-emperor?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 14 Mar 2026 00:15:09 +0000 SCMP Editorial SCMP Editorial The “two sessions” of China’s top legislative and political advisory bodies have concluded with the passage of major resolutions. A number of things set it apart. One is the endorsement by lawmakers of the nation’s 15th five-year plan – a road map with which Hong Kong is aligning its development. The other is that despite the distractions of war in the Middle East between rival power the United States and economic partner Iran, and the roller-coaster impact on the price of oil, China’s... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/comment/article/3346385/chinas-two-sessions-passes-smoothly-despite-global-turmoil?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/opinion/comment/article/3346385/chinas-two-sessions-passes-smoothly-despite-global-turmoil?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 12 Mar 2026 23:15:10 +0000 Wee Kek Koon Wee Kek Koon I have always been a worrier. For as long as I can remember, I have fretted over every conceivable disaster. Will that approaching car run me down because its driver neglected to fix its brakes? Will my apartment block collapse while I sleep? Will the latest war bring about the end of the world as we know it? It is not debilitating – these thoughts come and go in brief, sporadic flashes – but more than one therapist has suggested that I have a tendency to catastrophise. Their advice is familiar:... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/chinese-culture/article/3345516/modern-singapore-knows-vigilance-key-so-did-ancient-chinese-minister?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/chinese-culture/article/3345516/modern-singapore-knows-vigilance-key-so-did-ancient-chinese-minister?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 07 Mar 2026 00:15:08 +0000 Chow Chung-yan Chow Chung-yan As the world watches in horror at death raining from the skies in the Middle East, millions of Chinese are glued to the television watching a turbulent drama that unfolded in their own country, albeit some eleven centuries ago. Swords into Ploughshares, a historical TV drama set during the chaotic Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period, has emerged as an unexpected smash hit coming into China’s festive season. Yet it is more than just a television phenomenon. In some ways, it sheds light on the... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/china-opinion/article/3345366/what-historical-smash-hit-tells-us-about-chinas-strategic-focus?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/opinion/china-opinion/article/3345366/what-historical-smash-hit-tells-us-about-chinas-strategic-focus?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 04 Mar 2026 10:41:52 +0000 Wee Kek Koon Wee Kek Koon You must have seen that photograph of Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, brother of the British king, attempting to hide in the back seat of a car, eyes reddened by the camera flash, looking like a pathetic rodent moments before it is turned into roadkill. In response to the former prince’s arrest, King Charles said in a statement: “The law must take its course.” British law enforcement is finally initiating formal legal proceedings against Andrew for alleged wrongdoing. It may have taken far too long,... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/chinese-culture/article/3344712/after-andrews-arrest-how-high-born-criminals-were-treated-ancient-china?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/chinese-culture/article/3344712/after-andrews-arrest-how-high-born-criminals-were-treated-ancient-china?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 28 Feb 2026 00:15:08 +0000 Christopher St. Cavish Christopher St. Cavish The records are clear and complete: about 300 years ago, a Huang clan from just across the Tan River got the idea to start their own village here, tucked into one of the river’s curves with Baizu mountain at its back. Hiring a feng shui master from Jiangxi province to lay it out, they built grey brick houses in a tight grid, with dragon-back or phoenix-crest ridges, surrounded by dense bamboo groves. Acres of fruit orchards were planted outside the village and a fish pond dug in front. A few... https://www.scmp.com/postmag/travel/article/3342496/how-taishan-learned-absorb-world?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/postmag/travel/article/3342496/how-taishan-learned-absorb-world?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 21 Feb 2026 03:00:09 +0000 Wee Kek Koon Wee Kek Koon South Korea’s intelligence agency has signalled what could be a historic turn in North Korea’s dynastic politics. Lawmakers were recently told that supreme leader Kim Jong-un’s teenage daughter, whose name is widely believed to be Kim Ju-ae, is being positioned as his likely successor. If confirmed, the move would extend the Kim family’s rule into a fourth generation and, more strikingly, elevate a girl within a rigidly patriarchal society and political system. Her public profile has risen... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/chinese-culture/article/3344084/kim-jong-un-grooms-daughter-rule-chinese-princess-whose-ambition-backfired?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/chinese-culture/article/3344084/kim-jong-un-grooms-daughter-rule-chinese-princess-whose-ambition-backfired?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 21 Feb 2026 00:15:08 +0000 Zoey Zhang Zoey Zhang In quiet corners of China, a growing community is forging a deep, almost personal connection with history. Known as “history fangirls”, they visit the museums and mausoleums, write books about them and are keen on related merchandise. One such devotee, a woman known online as @bufashi, spent the past year visiting 52 gravesites, travelling through remote mountains and forests in search of the resting places of ancient Chinese figures. Each solo trip is more than an act of remembrance; it is a... https://www.scmp.com/news/people-culture/trending-china/article/3342507/china-history-fangirls-visit-mausoleums-write-books-marking-rapid-growth-heritage-tourism?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/people-culture/trending-china/article/3342507/china-history-fangirls-visit-mausoleums-write-books-marking-rapid-growth-heritage-tourism?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 20 Feb 2026 01:00:07 +0000 Lucy Quaggin Lucy Quaggin Lunar New Year wasn’t always on LuLu Grant’s radar. Adopted at two from Fuzhou, China and raised in the US state of Washington, Grant decided to cut her birth country out of her life at a young age. Decades later, she would celebrate Spring Festival alongside her birth family with a complex array of feelings about her two worlds. “People think that finding your birth family is so joyous, and part of it is, but it’s also very sad and very difficult,” she said, adding that “it’s not how I wish it... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/3344038/born-china-raised-us-adoptees-explore-meaning-identity-lunar-new-year?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/3344038/born-china-raised-us-adoptees-explore-meaning-identity-lunar-new-year?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 19 Feb 2026 14:03:35 +0000 Wee Kek Koon Wee Kek Koon My niece’s parents-in-law recently flew in for the Singapore leg of her wedding – eight months after the main celebration in London. Keen to return the generosity they had shown me during my stay in the UK, I took the Lingalas on a day out in Singapore’s Little India and Chinatown. We began at the Indian Heritage Centre, an excellent museum that traces the layered history of the Indian diaspora in Singapore. After lunch and some shopping in Little India, we went to the 200-year-old Sri Mariamman... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/chinese-culture/article/3343146/how-singapores-chinatown-reveals-surprising-roots-buddhist-deities-ne-zha?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/chinese-culture/article/3343146/how-singapores-chinatown-reveals-surprising-roots-buddhist-deities-ne-zha?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 14 Feb 2026 00:15:08 +0000 Shi Huang Shi Huang In the highest-ranking sacrificial pit at Sanxingdui, 11 crimson beads remained undisturbed for 3,000 years among bronze vessels, ivory tusks and fragments of gold. They are carnelian – a red gemstone prized across the ancient world, from the Indus Valley to the Middle East and the Mediterranean. In China, however, carnelian was not commonly found in elite burials until the late Western Zhou dynasty (c1046-771BC), with red tones traditionally represented by other minerals, such as ochre and... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/3343451/how-did-prized-red-gemstone-reach-ancient-mysterious-shu-kingdom?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/3343451/how-did-prized-red-gemstone-reach-ancient-mysterious-shu-kingdom?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 13 Feb 2026 08:00:20 +0000 Xinlu Liang Xinlu Liang Chinese authorities say their investigation of a high-profile scandal at one of the country’s leading state-run museums has revealed systemic mismanagement and alleged corruption over decades that allowed national treasures to be funnelled into the private art market. The scandal broke in late December when reports alleged that Nanjing Museum in eastern Jiangsu province had secretly sold donated paintings, prompting an investigation that focused on a former director accused of mishandling the... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/politics/article/3343035/chinese-probe-nanjing-museum-scandal-alleges-historic-mismanagement-and-corruption?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/politics/article/3343035/chinese-probe-nanjing-museum-scandal-alleges-historic-mismanagement-and-corruption?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 10 Feb 2026 08:00:12 +0000 Dannie Peng Dannie Peng A noted archaeologist is challenging conventional wisdom on one of the world’s oldest cultures, arguing that Chinese civilisation has a recorded history stretching back 8,000 years – three millennia beyond the widely accepted benchmark. An article published late last year on the official portal Chinese Social Sciences Net made the bold new claim that the emergence of astronomy should be seen as the starting point of Chinese civilisation. The author was Feng Shi, a member of the Chinese Academy... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/3342760/how-old-chinese-civilisation-archaeologist-argues-it-really-dates-back-8000-years?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/3342760/how-old-chinese-civilisation-archaeologist-argues-it-really-dates-back-8000-years?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 07 Feb 2026 22:00:11 +0000 Wee Kek Koon Wee Kek Koon Are your loved ones in luck this year? See our predictions for all the zodiac signs in the Year of the Horse. My favourite part of the Lunar New Year, the first day of which falls on February 17 this year, is the festive sweets and snacks. When I was a child and compelled to visit relatives in my large extended family – most of whom I did not even like (and still don’t) – my only real solace was the smorgasbord of titbits laid out in their homes. I ate as many of their snacks as I could, perhaps... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/chinese-culture/article/3342500/what-common-lunar-new-year-snacks-china-singapore-and-malaysia-symbolise?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/chinese-culture/article/3342500/what-common-lunar-new-year-snacks-china-singapore-and-malaysia-symbolise?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 07 Feb 2026 00:15:07 +0000 dpa dpa Are your loved ones in luck this year? See our predictions for all the zodiac signs in the Year of the Horse. From key rings and clothing to rainbow-coloured sweets, unicorns seem to pop up everywhere in daily life. The mythical creature has been part of the human imagination for thousands of years, and its appeal shows no sign of fading. But why does the unicorn continue to enchant people across generations? “The desire for something that embodies hope, purity or magic is simply there. And the... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/arts/article/3342199/magic-unicorns-why-mythical-horned-horse-still-has-us-under-its-spell?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/arts/article/3342199/magic-unicorns-why-mythical-horned-horse-still-has-us-under-its-spell?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 03 Feb 2026 23:16:38 +0000 Jeffrey Wu Jeffrey Wu As global trade fragments and tariffs return, economic power is increasingly defined not by financial scale alone, but by productive strength. At the World Economic Forum in Davos last month, leaders spoke openly about a harsher world order. Chinese Vice-Premier He Lifeng warned that trade wars have no winners. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen called for a new security architecture amid rising protectionism. French President Emmanuel Macron described a world becoming more... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/world-opinion/article/3341850/us-china-rivalry-great-powers-dont-make-things-wont-be-great-long?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/opinion/world-opinion/article/3341850/us-china-rivalry-great-powers-dont-make-things-wont-be-great-long?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 01 Feb 2026 21:30:08 +0000 Wee Kek Koon Wee Kek Koon Are your loved ones in luck this year? See our predictions for all the zodiac signs in the Year of the Horse. I have just sent off a tranche of Lunar New Year cards to friends and family, especially those living overseas. I almost never send festive greetings at this time of year, probably because for a long time I was a Lunar New Year Ebenezer Scrooge for whom “Lunar New Year”, “Chinese New Year”, “Spring Festival”, or whatever one chooses to call it felt like a dreadful obligation best... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/chinese-culture/article/3341675/how-ancient-chinese-new-year-cards-went-elites-greetings-bribery-instruments?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/chinese-culture/article/3341675/how-ancient-chinese-new-year-cards-went-elites-greetings-bribery-instruments?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 31 Jan 2026 00:15:08 +0000 Holly Chik Holly Chik China may have led a Stone Age technological race as early as 160,000 years ago, by crafting sophisticated stone tools for cutting, piercing and sawing, according to a new study. An international team of scientists said the discovery of hafted tools – the earliest evidence for composite tools in eastern Asia – had reshaped the understanding of human evolution in the region. They said the find showed that hominins in China were much more inventive and adaptable than previously thought,... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/3341421/composite-tool-find-puts-china-centre-tech-revolution-160000-years-ago-paper?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/3341421/composite-tool-find-puts-china-centre-tech-revolution-160000-years-ago-paper?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 27 Jan 2026 16:01:08 +0000 James Marsh James Marsh 3.5/5 stars In the wartime action drama Gezhi Town, set in a remote mountainous region of China, a group of desperate commoners and untrained soldiers band together to fend off a platoon of heavily armed Japanese forces . By championing the heroism and sacrifices of ordinary civilians, and shifting focus away from patriotic rhetoric to intimate character dynamics, the film proves surprisingly entertaining. The increasingly ubiquitous Peng Yuchang, who can also be seen on Hong Kong screens right... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3341252/gezhi-town-movie-review-chinese-war-drama-xiao-zhan-dares-entertain?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3341252/gezhi-town-movie-review-chinese-war-drama-xiao-zhan-dares-entertain?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 26 Jan 2026 11:15:09 +0000 Wee Kek Koon Wee Kek Koon The New Year began on a convivial note for me, with friends visiting from afar. The Witzke family flew into Kuala Lumpur from Sydney for a week-long holiday, and our itinerary included sights in and around the Malaysian capital, as well as in Malacca, a Unesco World Heritage site known in Malaysia as Melaka. Before becoming one of Malaysia’s 13 states, Malacca had been a British possession that, together with Singapore, Penang and other territories, formed the Straits Settlements. Prior to... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/chinese-culture/article/3340824/was-chinese-princess-hang-li-po-sent-marry-malaysian-sultan-real-person?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/chinese-culture/article/3340824/was-chinese-princess-hang-li-po-sent-marry-malaysian-sultan-real-person?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 24 Jan 2026 00:15:10 +0000 Chloe Loung Chloe Loung Are your loved ones in luck this year? See our predictions for all the zodiac signs in the Year of the Horse. For centuries, the most important luxury good exchanged on the Silk Road was not silk, spices or ceramics, but made of flesh, bone and thunder: horses. History’s most famous trade network should really have been called the “Horse Road”, argues David Chaffetz, an independent researcher and member of the London-based Royal Society for Asian Affairs. Contrary to common belief, he says, the... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/chinese-culture/article/3340530/why-asias-historic-silk-road-should-have-been-called-horse-road?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/chinese-culture/article/3340530/why-asias-historic-silk-road-should-have-been-called-horse-road?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 21 Jan 2026 11:15:08 +0000 Francesca Specter Francesca Specter When Hong Kong-based designer Yu-chang Chen was asked to breathe new life into a 30-year-old, 1,200 sq ft apartment in Shanghai, the challenge was personal. The unit had belonged to his late aunt and, for 30 years, had been the site of many family gatherings. His cousin, Lu Yi, who inherited the flat, asked Chen to design the space in tribute to his mother, Chen’s aunt, in the style popular when she was born. Chen, who was otherwise given creative freedom, says that his main task was to do “old... https://www.scmp.com/postmag/design-interiors/article/3339545/wong-kar-wai-film-set-no-its-old-shanghai-style-family-home-jing?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/postmag/design-interiors/article/3339545/wong-kar-wai-film-set-no-its-old-shanghai-style-family-home-jing?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 21 Jan 2026 05:00:09 +0000 Chloe Loung Chloe Loung Huanghuali, or Chinese rosewood, is one of the most valuable natural materials. Literally meaning “yellow flowering pear”, huanghuali has been prized since the Ming and Qing dynasties for its beautiful honey-gold and reddish-brown colour, distinctive grain patterns and gentle sweet fragrance. The wood, which is used in high-end furniture and traditional Chinese medicine, has long been the gold standard for luxury in East Asia, historically featuring in the homes of emperors, scholars and wealthy... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/arts/article/3340485/worlds-first-chinese-rosewood-cello-stars-hong-kong-exhibition-how-does-it-sound?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/arts/article/3340485/worlds-first-chinese-rosewood-cello-stars-hong-kong-exhibition-how-does-it-sound?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 20 Jan 2026 11:15:07 +0000 Charmaine Yu Charmaine Yu From auspicious horse-themed phrases and couplets to whether your luck is in, check out our Year of the Horse 2026 series to discover all you need to know about the coming Lunar New Year. Past its decorative surface, embroidery serves as a universal language – an art form that allows disparate cultures to express shared values of identity, resilience and storytelling. While the specific stitches vary by geography, the impulses of the craft – from Japanese Sashiko to Palestinian Tatreez to Indian... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/chinese-culture/article/3340377/chinese-minoritys-beautiful-embroidery-uses-horsetail-hair-intricate-designs?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/chinese-culture/article/3340377/chinese-minoritys-beautiful-embroidery-uses-horsetail-hair-intricate-designs?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 19 Jan 2026 11:15:08 +0000 Shi Huang Shi Huang “We will not leave the desert till we beat the foe, although in war our golden armour be outworn 100 times.” In this celebrated poem from China’s Tang dynasty, Wang Changling captured the unyielding spirit of soldiers in golden armour battling on the desert frontiers. But for centuries, the splendour of the Tang gold-plated armour lived only in poetry and imagination, as none had ever been unearthed. But that changed last week, when the Key Laboratory of Archaeological Sciences and Cultural... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/3340394/chinese-team-restores-legendary-tang-dynasty-golden-armour-found-tibetan-tomb?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/3340394/chinese-team-restores-legendary-tang-dynasty-golden-armour-found-tibetan-tomb?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 19 Jan 2026 06:52:53 +0000 Wee Kek Koon Wee Kek Koon Tokyo’s famed New Year fish auction has smashed its own headline record, with a giant bluefin tuna fetching an eye-watering price. At the Toyosu fish market’s first auction of 2026, a 243kg (535lb) bluefin tuna was snapped up for 510 million yen (US$3.2 million), making it the most expensive tuna ever sold at this annual ritual. The winning bid came from Kiyomura, the company behind the popular Sushi Zanmai chain. The purchase eclipsed the company’s own record-setting bid from 2019. The fish... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/chinese-culture/article/3339964/what-ancient-chinese-heros-fatal-love-raw-fish-warns-us-about-uncooked-food?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/chinese-culture/article/3339964/what-ancient-chinese-heros-fatal-love-raw-fish-warns-us-about-uncooked-food?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 17 Jan 2026 00:15:07 +0000 Ashlyn Chak Ashlyn Chak Horses played crucial roles in ancient China – in the military, transport and agriculture. People of different social classes interacted with and observed the animals, drawing inspiration for the arts, literature and mythology. Over time, the horse became the subject of many idioms. Here are seven of the most popular horse-related expressions in Chinese, how to pronounce them in Cantonese and the stories behind them. 龍馬精神 Lung ma jing sun Meaning “the spirit of dragons and horses”, this idiom is... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/chinese-culture/article/3339975/7-popular-chinese-horse-idioms-you-trot-out-year-horse?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/chinese-culture/article/3339975/7-popular-chinese-horse-idioms-you-trot-out-year-horse?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 15 Jan 2026 10:15:07 +0000 Charmaine Yu Charmaine Yu From auspicious horse-themed phrases and couplets to whether your luck is in, check out our Year of the Horse 2026 series to discover all you need to know about the coming Lunar New Year. There have been many influential figures with the surname Ma throughout history, from the Han dynasty army general Ma Yuan and American-born cellist prodigy Yo-Yo Ma to Alibaba founder Jack Ma Yun and Tencent chief executive Pony Ma. Ranking as the 13th most common surname in mainland China, Ma carries... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/chinese-culture/article/3339661/what-chinese-surname-ma-meaning-horse-symbolises-and-its-path-through-history?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/chinese-culture/article/3339661/what-chinese-surname-ma-meaning-horse-symbolises-and-its-path-through-history?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 13 Jan 2026 09:15:09 +0000 Wee Kek Koon Wee Kek Koon I welcomed the new year with a new crown – a dental one, that is. A routine check-up in late 2025 revealed fine cracks in one of my molars, which called for prompt intervention. First came the filing and reshaping of the damaged tooth, accomplished with a tool that produces my least favourite sound, but amplified and reverberating quite literally inside my head. A digital scan was then taken and sent to a laboratory, where the permanent crown would be fabricated. In the interim, a temporary... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/chinese-culture/article/3339020/how-ancient-chinese-dental-practices-were-often-similar-those-used-today?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/chinese-culture/article/3339020/how-ancient-chinese-dental-practices-were-often-similar-those-used-today?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 10 Jan 2026 00:15:07 +0000 Bernard Chan Bernard Chan I attended a memorial service last month for victims of the Nanking massacre, held at the Hong Kong government offices in Admiralty. Such occasions are solemn reminders of history’s darkest moments, forcing us to pause and reflect on the scale of the tragedy that unfolded after the city was seized on December 13, 1937, and the broader suffering inflicted on China during World War II. Government figures estimate that military and civilian casualties exceeded 35 million, with 21 million lives... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/hong-kong-opinion/article/3339076/amid-historical-tensions-japan-hong-kong-must-engage-future?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/opinion/hong-kong-opinion/article/3339076/amid-historical-tensions-japan-hong-kong-must-engage-future?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 09 Jan 2026 01:30:11 +0000 Chloe Loung Chloe Loung From auspicious horse-themed phrases and couplets to whether your luck is in, check out our Year of the Horse 2026 series to discover all you need to know about the coming Lunar New Year. During Shanghai Fashion Week in October 2025, sports brand Adidas unveiled a limited-edition “Tang-style” jacket that combined streetwear cool with Chinese aesthetics. It has since become a huge hit on social media and is expected to be a sought-after item for the coming Lunar New Year. The tracksuit-like... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/chinese-culture/article/3338928/history-chinese-style-frog-buttons-seen-viral-tang-style-adidas-jacket?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/chinese-culture/article/3338928/history-chinese-style-frog-buttons-seen-viral-tang-style-adidas-jacket?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 07 Jan 2026 10:17:10 +0000 Bochen Han Bochen Han When Arthur Sze translates classical Tang dynasty poetry into English, he writes Chinese characters by hand, slowing himself to the pace of brush strokes and gaps. This deliberate resistance to speed is central to the craft of the US’ 25th poet laureate, and reflective of his belief that poetry must be treated with care if it is to cross borders with depth intact. Sze only translates poems he loves; by his count, he’s done just 75 translations over a five-decade-long career. “I don’t work on... https://www.scmp.com/news/us/article/3338219/us-poet-laureate-arthur-sze-slowing-down-translate-poetry-across-cultures?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/us/article/3338219/us-poet-laureate-arthur-sze-slowing-down-translate-poetry-across-cultures?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 02 Jan 2026 15:00:12 +0000 Shi Huang Shi Huang The computer, at its core, is an input-output device: it receives instructions, executes programmes, performs calculations automatically and produces results. By this fundamental definition, China’s ancient ti hua ji, or figured loom – dating back more than two millennia to the Western Han dynasty – may well be recognised as the world’s earliest computer, according to the China Association for Science and Technology (CAST). Unearthed in 2012 from a tomb dated to around 150BC in Chengdu,... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/3338360/2000-year-old-machine-found-western-china-tomb-could-be-binary-computer-authorities?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/3338360/2000-year-old-machine-found-western-china-tomb-could-be-binary-computer-authorities?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 02 Jan 2026 06:00:16 +0000 Xiang Bing Xiang Bing Beneath the “China threat” thesis, often heard in Western policy circles, is the assumption that China will become expansionist as it grows more powerful. But history gives us little reason to treat that as inevitable. At moments of peak strength, China has not consistently converted power into the kind of overseas colonialism, expansionism or conquest that marked the ascent of Western great powers. There are three often-cited reasons to suggest China’s rise might lead to expansionism. First,... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/china-opinion/article/3338323/history-makes-clear-powerful-china-not-expansionist?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/opinion/china-opinion/article/3338323/history-makes-clear-powerful-china-not-expansionist?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 01 Jan 2026 12:30:09 +0000 Charmaine Yu Charmaine Yu From auspicious horse-themed phrases and couplets to whether your luck is in, check out our Year of the Horse 2026 series to discover all you need to know about the coming Lunar New Year. In the American imagination, the cowboy is a lone, stoic sentinel, silhouetted against a burning horizon as he guides his horse through the dust of the Western frontier. He is the mythic hero of a thousand sun-drenched films defined by his wide-brimmed hat, silver-spurred boots and leather chaps, and who... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/arts/article/3338014/chinese-cowboys-challenging-american-old-west-narratives-through-art-and-self-discovery?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/arts/article/3338014/chinese-cowboys-challenging-american-old-west-narratives-through-art-and-self-discovery?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 30 Dec 2025 23:15:08 +0000 Jill Lander Jill Lander If the Wood Snake year of 2025 invited strategy and subtlety, the Fire Horse year of 2026 demands action – but action without mindfulness becomes chaos. While the energy of 2026 will be powerful, it must be channelled correctly, not merely obeyed. The fiery energy of the year can help you take leaps forward, but only if you know where you are going! 2026 arrives with hooves pounding and hearts racing. It doesn’t enter gently; it will burst into our lives demanding you to move quickly, not away... https://www.scmp.com/magazines/style/article/3338099/whats-your-luck-2026-fire-horse-year-horoscopes-every-chinese-zodiac-sign?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/magazines/style/article/3338099/whats-your-luck-2026-fire-horse-year-horoscopes-every-chinese-zodiac-sign?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 30 Dec 2025 06:00:14 +0000 Andrea Lo Andrea Lo I’M A TRUE HONG KONG BOY. I was born and raised here. I’m 73. MY FAMILY BUSINESS has a 183-year history. I’m the fifth generation to run it. It started in Guangzhou around the time the Treaty of Nanking was signed (in 1842). My ancestor (who started the business) was stupider than a pig; starting a shop during a war – how would anyone make money that way? He wrote a couplet that reads, “New additions bring prosperity and style; determined colours reveal elegance and grace.” The couplet talks... https://www.scmp.com/postmag/passions/article/3337576/yau-yiu-wai-fifth-gen-owner-hong-kong-umbrella-store-shutting-shop-despite-his-lifelong-obsession?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/postmag/passions/article/3337576/yau-yiu-wai-fifth-gen-owner-hong-kong-umbrella-store-shutting-shop-despite-his-lifelong-obsession?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 27 Dec 2025 07:15:07 +0000 Wee Kek Koon Wee Kek Koon Last week, I noted that the contents of the Albatross file cast doubts on the popular narrative that Singapore was abruptly “kicked out” of Malaysia on August 9, 1965. The documents show that separation was not a unilateral expulsion but the outcome of months of secret, bilateral planning by senior leaders on both sides. The idea originated within Singapore’s own leadership in 1964, when figures such as then Minister of Finance Goh Keng Swee (who opened the file) judged that it was politically... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/chinese-culture/article/3337481/chinese-historical-myths-are-accepted-fact-and-why-they-have-endured?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/chinese-culture/article/3337481/chinese-historical-myths-are-accepted-fact-and-why-they-have-endured?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 27 Dec 2025 00:15:08 +0000