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The Heroic Lu Zhishen
The Heroic Lu Zhishen
One hundred and eight “heroes” form the main characters in the classic Chinese novel Outlaws of the Marsh. Unlucky number 13 is Lu Zhishen, a brash 8-foot-tall giant who loved... Read more...
Emperor Kangxi’s Filial Piety
Emperor Kangxi’s Filial Piety
At the age of eight, Emperor Kangxi (1654–1722) ascended the throne. He was Emperor of China for 61 years and laid a solid foundation for the prosperous Qianlong period of... Read more...
Outer Appearance Reflects Inner Beauty
Outer Appearance Reflects Inner Beauty
A wealthy landlord lived during the Ming Dynasty. Because he was very kind and often helped others, the local people called him Kind Lord Zhang. When he was 50 years... Read more...
The Six Arts of Confucian Scholars
The Six Arts of Confucian Scholars
If you attended a 2022 Shen Yun performance, you may well remember this scene from The Men’s Classical Chinese Dance—a group of well dressed young men appear, calm and intellectual,... Read more...
Nongyu and Xiao Shi: A Marriage of Immortals
Nongyu and Xiao Shi: A Marriage of Immortals
A mystical part of the 5,000-year-old civilization of China is the culture of seeking the Tao and cultivating into a divine being who has immortality and can travel to Heaven.... Read more...
Poets of the Orchid Pavilion Tea Set: Where Calligraphy, Poetry, and Tea Converge
Poets of the Orchid Pavilion Tea Set: Where Calligraphy, Poetry, and Tea Converge
In the ideal life envisioned by Chinese literati, books are companions, the Dao is one’s guiding principle, poetry is a solace, and tea is a constant presence. Together, these four... Read more...
Bone China Elegance: The East and West in Harmony
Bone China Elegance: The East and West in Harmony
Bone china, born in 18th-century England, is a hallmark of European porcelain craftsmanship. Created through a refined fusion of kaolin clay and bone ash, it is known for its warm,... Read more...
Three Residents of the Moon Palace You Should Meet
Three Residents of the Moon Palace You Should Meet
Every Mid-Autumn Festival, the moon glows at its fullest, casting a luminous veil over the earth. For thousands of years, poets and dreamers have looked beyond its radiant beauty, envisioning... Read more...
Shen Yun's 20th Anniversary Commemorative Music Box: A Finely Crafted Work of Art
Shen Yun's 20th Anniversary Commemorative Music Box: A Finely Crafted Work of Art
The Shen Yun Music Box is far more than a keepsake. It is a crystallization of twenty years of artistic spirit—honoring traditional culture, aspiring toward sacred beauty, and embodying an... Read more...
The Manchurian Princess
The Manchurian Princess
The princesses of the Manchurian court and maidens of noble families were a signature sight of China’s last dynasty, the Qing (1644-1911 C.E.). These ladies wore elaborate headdresses, elevated shoes,... Read more...
Virtue Is the Best Cure
Virtue Is the Best Cure
In ancient China, there was a cook for the royal court who went back to his hometown with a large sum of money after retirement. His hometown was in a... Read more...
The Birth of Chinese Music: The First Instrument
The Birth of Chinese Music: The First Instrument
If you’ve attended a Shen Yun performance, you would have heard a variety of Chinese instruments in our East-meets-West orchestra. Chinese music has a history of at least 5,000 years.... Read more...
The Phoenix: A Source of Divine Inspiration in Chinese Culture
The Phoenix: A Source of Divine Inspiration in Chinese Culture
Between the pencil and the paper. Between the real and the imagined. Between the human and the divine… In that misty and enchanting realm of the unknown, Shen Yun artists... Read more...
Two Master Calligraphers - Father and Son
Two Master Calligraphers - Father and Son
As Father’s Day approaches, we look back in wonder at some of the greatest fathers in China’s long history. They give us a new appreciation of fatherhood and its crucial... Read more...
China's Most Beautiful Calligraphy Honored in Shen Yun Collections Design
China's Most Beautiful Calligraphy Honored in Shen Yun Collections Design
Imagine Shen Yun dancers performing onstage while one of China's most beloved works of calligraphy appears stroke by stroke. Animated on the  backdrop behind the dancers, it's as if an... Read more...
Mulan: Legendary Warrior and Good Daughter
Mulan: Legendary Warrior and Good Daughter
One of the best known and loved female characters from ancient China, Hua Mulan was a dutiful young lady who took her father’s place in battle when he was conscripted... Read more...
Shen Yun Collections: Manchurian Elegance Crossbody Bag
Shen Yun Collections: Manchurian Elegance Crossbody Bag
The Shen Yun dance piece Manchurian Elegance captures the refined beauty and noble demeanor of Qing Dynasty princesses. Dressed in flowing gowns, known as cheongsams, and adorned with exquisite da... Read more...
Four Types of Ancient Chinese Architecture You Should Know
Four Types of Ancient Chinese Architecture You Should Know
The breathtaking depiction of ancient Chinese architecture in Shen Yun’s backdrops leaves audiences in awe. The majestic celestial palaces and grand temples are unforgettable highlights for many who experience Shen... Read more...
Rich Layers of Inspiring Meaning Behind The Tang Elegance Collection
Rich Layers of Inspiring Meaning Behind The Tang Elegance Collection
Layer after layer of rich meaning went into The Tang Elegance Collection created by jewelry designer Vivian Ni of the Shen Yun Shop. She began with the 2016 Shen Yun... Read more...
The Legend of How the Peony Became the Queen of Flowers
The Legend of How the Peony Became the Queen of Flowers
Did you know that the beautiful peony is the most celebrated flower in Eastern tradition? Her story of dignity has been cherished for thousands of years. Let's find out why.... Read more...
Divine Origin of Tang Court Ladies Fashion
Divine Origin of Tang Court Ladies Fashion
One night in the eighth century, in the grand royal palace of the Tang Dynasty, the Emperor is drinking under the full moon. Chang’an, the world’s first true metropolis and... Read more...
Silk: A Gift from Heaven
Silk: A Gift from Heaven
So smooth and exquisite, yet completely natural and useful—even today silk seems to be a material not of our ordinary rocky world, but from the treasure-filled vault of Heaven. That... Read more...
Silkworm: A Gift from the Stars
Silkworm: A Gift from the Stars
The belief in the unity of Heaven and humans is at the heart of China’s ancient civilization. Ancient Chinese believed that their culture was bestowed by Heaven, and that every... Read more...
Spiritual Guidance within a Gourd
Spiritual Guidance within a Gourd
The gourd is intimately linked to the culture of Daoist spiritual cultivation. Legends of the Daoist immortal and sage Hu Weng (壺翁) saving people during plagues and the origin of... Read more...
The History and Legends of the Gourd
The History and Legends of the Gourd
In ancient China, where the belief in the unity of heaven and humanity was deeply ingrained, the gourd held a special significance for the people who respected heaven and revered... Read more...
The Ruyi: More Than Just a Pattern
The Ruyi: More Than Just a Pattern
Perhaps you’ve noticed a recurring pattern in many classical Chinese designs. It’s also found on some of Shen Yun’s intricately patterned costumes and in our Shen Yun Collections product designs.... Read more...
The Peony: An Embodiment of Grace and Majesty
The Peony: An Embodiment of Grace and Majesty
In the Shen Yun 2011 female dance Ladies of the Tang Palace, palace maidens of the great Tang Dynasty elegantly danced in wide-sleeved robes—as if celestial maidens descended to the... Read more...
The Unwavering Spirit of Plum Blossoms
The Unwavering Spirit of Plum Blossoms
  Plum blossoms show their beauty amid the snow and cold rains of winter. They have thus come to symbolize resilience, nobility, and an unwavering spirit in traditional Chinese culture.... Read more...
Finding the Peach Blossom Beauty
Finding the Peach Blossom Beauty
Ancient stories recorded in Chinese history tell of a scholar, Cui Hu, who had failed in the all-important Imperial Examination in the Capital. In the days that followed the exam,... Read more...
The Beauty of Spring in Tang Poetry
The Beauty of Spring in Tang Poetry
Spring is a season full of hope and vitality. It’s a dramatically beautiful season that has inspired poets around the world for as long as there has been poetry. In... Read more...
The Legendary Fiber that Still Unites the East and West
The Legendary Fiber that Still Unites the East and West
James White & Evan Mantyk, Contributing Writer There is a natural fiber so strong and with such a rich legacy that it seems to connect 5,000 years of human culture... Read more...
Zhen Shan Ren Collections
Zhen Shan Ren Collections
The Essence of Inner and Outer Beauty Ancient wisdom teaches that true beauty radiates from within—only through cultivating virtuous character can one fully manifest beauty. In traditional Chinese culture, artists... Read more...
Wondrous Compassion Jewelry Collection Design Inspirations
Wondrous Compassion Jewelry Collection Design Inspirations
Compassion is one of the noblest and purest of virtues. Life is a long journey marked by thorny situations and unforeseen trials. Yet no matter the circumstances, when one holds... Read more...
Sage of the Orchid Pavilion
Sage of the Orchid Pavilion
by Shen Yun Performing Arts Of all those who strive to leave their mark on history, perhaps writers are some of our clearest messengers. Their thoughts and dreams are indelibly... Read more...
Amethyst: The Calming and Majestic Birthstone of February
Amethyst: The Calming and Majestic Birthstone of February
Since the dawn of civilization, amethyst has played a unique role in human culture. From the temples of ancient Greece to the Egyptian vision of the afterlife, from the prayer... Read more...
Behind the Iconic Wide Sleeves that Help Create Tang Elegance
Behind the Iconic Wide Sleeves that Help Create Tang Elegance
As the curtain of a Shen Yun performance slowly rises, a procession of Tang Dynasty court ladies emerges from clouds of mist—wide sleeves drifting like clouds, skirts flowing softly, silk... Read more...
Hanfu: Divinely Inspired Beauty You Can Wear
Hanfu: Divinely Inspired Beauty You Can Wear
Through its world tours, Shen Yun Performing Arts is reviving and celebrating not only classical Chinese dance, but also authentic Hanfu culture. The costumes featured on stage draw from the... Read more...
Water Sleeves: Beauty That Has Flowed Through the Ages
Water Sleeves: Beauty That Has Flowed Through the Ages
The curtain slowly rises. A long silk sleeve is cast into the air, unfurling like rolling clouds, flowing like rippling water, tracing a graceful arc across the stage before drifting... Read more...
Shen Yun Collections‘ Latest Giclée Print: A New Era Begins
Shen Yun Collections‘ Latest Giclée Print: A New Era Begins
In Shen Yun's performances, the Creator leading the divine beings down to the human world is typically the opening piece of the entire program. That stirring scene depicts the Creator... Read more...
Shen Yun Collections’ New Giclée Print: Visiting the Moon Palace II
Shen Yun Collections’ New Giclée Print: Visiting the Moon Palace II
On the ideal night of the Mid-Autumn Festival, the air is crisp and the moon shines bright. For thousands of years, the moon has been more than a luminous presence... Read more...
Shen Yun Collections‘ Latest Giclée Print: Song of Purity and Peace
Shen Yun Collections‘ Latest Giclée Print: Song of Purity and Peace
"Even a small town held ten thousand households."  In his poem “Remembering the Past,” Du Fu looks back on the prosperity of Emperor Xuanzong's reign during the Tang Dynasty. This... Read more...
Shen Yun Collections‘ Latest Giclée Print: The Moon Palace Graces the Earth
Shen Yun Collections‘ Latest Giclée Print: The Moon Palace Graces the Earth
Mid-Autumn has come again. As the full moon rises, we find ourselves gazing a little longer than usual, wondering what lies deep within that silver light—perhaps the tiered halls of... Read more...
Shen Yun Collections Museum-quality Giclée Art Prints
Shen Yun Collections Museum-quality Giclée Art Prints
Five thousand years of Chinese civilization have never been regarded as merely the creation of human beings. The ancients believed that words possessed spirit, musical harmonies could reach the heavens,... Read more...
From the Heavens Came Silk
From the Heavens Came Silk
There is a fabric unlike any other—natural, luminous, and deeply sacred. For over five thousand years, it has connected humanity to a civilization believed to have been bestowed by the... Read more...
Rich and Thunderous: The Culture of Drums in Chinese Civilization
Rich and Thunderous: The Culture of Drums in Chinese Civilization
When a chorus of drums resounds across the Shen Yun stage, each thunderous beat seems to vibrate straight to the heart. The drum is one of the oldest sounds of... Read more...
The Filial Piety of Emperor Wen of Han
The Filial Piety of Emperor Wen of Han
Emperor Wen, who was also known as Liu Heng, was the fourth son of the first Han Emperor. He was very bright when he was a child and showed filial... Read more...
Lunar or Solar—Why the Chinese and Western Calendars Differ So Greatly
Lunar or Solar—Why the Chinese and Western Calendars Differ So Greatly
As we've just celebrated the Moon Festival (also known as Mid-Autumn Festival), you probably want to know how to calculate the day it falls on as it appears on a... Read more...
Virtue Is the Best Cure
Virtue Is the Best Cure
In ancient China, there was a cook for the royal court who went back to his hometown with a large sum of money after retirement. His hometown was in a... Read more...
A Mountain Deer’s Gratitude
A Mountain Deer’s Gratitude
Two hundred years ago, there were about 20 households living on Chopsticks Bamboo Slope. Among them, there lived an old man named Shu Laowang. He had a newborn grandson, and... Read more...
Disaster Never Befalls a Kind Heart
Disaster Never Befalls a Kind Heart
A long time ago, there was a man who lived in poverty but had very high morality and never did anything against others or against the law. Because he could... Read more...