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Just one of the stunning metal-crafted artifacts recently found in a small portion of the sacrificial pits area at the Sanxingdui site in southwestern China, which had been almost lost to time until the 1980s. Source: Xinhua / China Daily Post

Sanxingdui Excavation Pits Reveal Sophisticated Ancient Civilization

An advanced 3,000-year-old Chinese culture, whose existence was not known about until the 1980s, has been further revealed by recent excavations. Apparently, the existence of the highly developed...
Ancient amphorae, China. Source: lotusjeremy / Adobe stock

4,000 Years Ago, Chinese Advances Were Fueled By Mass Beer Production!

What were the important forces and factors that led to notable evolutionary leaps in Chinese culture more than 4,000 years ago? New research identifies one major cultural development that helped...
The oldest celestial aurora or Northern Lights sighting, in 10th-century-BC China, is 300 years older than the current Assyrian-Babylonian record. This image shows an aurora borealis event in Norway.					Source: Svein-Magne Tunli / CC BY-SA 4.0

Oldest Recorded Celestial Aurora Event Found in Ancient Chinese Text!

The oldest known evidence referring to a “celestial aurora event” from a section of the famous Bamboo Annals Chinese text dated to the 10th century BC has been researched by scientists from Nagoya...
The Ben Cao Gang Mu (Compendium of Material Medica) is a 16th-century collection of medical knowledge. Source: Public domain

The Ben Cao Gang Mu – The Bible of Traditional Chinese Medicine

The Ben Cao Gang Mu , or Compendium Materia Medica , is an encyclopedic compendium written by the 16th-century Chinese doctor Li Shizhen. This compilation is said to be the most complete and...
Sacrifice and care on Chinese Tomb Sweeping Day. Source: tuayai / Adobe Stock

The Myths, Legends and Traditions of Chinese Tomb Sweeping Day

Every year, the Chinese celebrate the historic Qingming Festival. Fondly known as Ancestors Day or Tomb Sweeping Day, it is a day that commemorates the onset spring and the occasion when families...
China’s world famous Terracotta Army, created over 2,000 years ago, was built  to protect the first Chinese emperor on a site near Xian that covered 98 square kilometers (38 square miles). 		Source: David Davis / Adobe Stock

Twenty-five “New” Chinese Terracotta Army Officers Unearthed Near Tomb!

Qin Shi Huang, the first Emperor of unified China, and the first Emperor of the Qin dynasty was buried with his now world-famous Terracotta Army, to protect him in the afterlife. For long, this has...
Fireworks are popular in New Year's traditions around the world

Amazing New Year’s Traditions Around the World

In many countries around the world, New Year’s Day is celebrated on January 1st with fireworks and festivities the evening before. But this is not the only type of New Year’s celebration and not...
The Nanzuo site in Qingyang, Northwest China's Gansu Province. (China's National Cultural Heritage Administration) Insert: A painted clay jar unearthed at the Nanzuo site this year. (CHINA DAILY)

5,000-Year-Old Palace Marks Birth of Chinese Civilization

Archaeologists have been excavating at the Nanzuo heritage site in Qingyang, on China’s Loess Plateau, in Gansu province. Dating back 4,600 to 5,200 years, according to China Daily , the Nanzuo site...
A Han-era bì , 16 centimetres (6.3 in) in diameter (CC by SA 3.0).

The Mysterious Dropa Stones – Fact or Fiction?

The Dropa stones are said to be a set of 716 circular stone discs dating back 12,000 years on which tiny hieroglyphic-like markings can be found. Each disc is said to measure up to 1 foot in diameter...
The Ru ware bowl in the Sir David Percival Collection at the British Museum that was long believed to be a Korean imitation but has proven to be authentic and worth a fortune as a result.		Source: Sir David Percival Collection / The Trustees of the British Museum

Museum’s “Korean” Ru Ware Bowl Is Chinese and Now Worth $21 Million!

It’s not unusual for people to have antique heirlooms or other rare items laying around that are far more valuable than they realize. Of course, no one would expect that to happen in a museum, where...
Navajo Yebichai (Yei Bi Chei) dancers. Edward S. Curtis. USA, 1900. The Welcome Collection, London

Can a Ghost Make You Ill? The Ghost Sickness Belief of the Native American Indians

Ghost sickness is the belief that ghosts are able to cause a living person to fall ill. This particular term is used by the Native Americans, especially amongst the Navajo people. Nevertheless, this...
A man contorting his face at the idea of some of the weirdest foods in history. Source: Kurhan / Adobe Stock

A Test for the Taste Buds: The 7 Weirdest Foods in History

In many ways, the culinary arts of preparing food are the oldest in the world. Ever since becoming sentient, humans had to experiment with cooking in order to sustain themselves. From the dawn of...
Can Ancient Chinese Gua Sha Really Scrape You Into Shape?

Can Ancient Chinese Gua Sha Really Scrape You Into Shape?

The ancient Chinese healing practice of Gua Sha (pronounced gwashah) requires scraping your face, scalp or body with a specially shaped flat piece of jade or rose quartz. Now, Gua Sha has swept...
Bronze Mirrors Unearthed in China Still Reflect After 2,000 Years

Bronze Mirrors Unearthed in China Still Reflect After 2,000 Years

More than 80 exquisite bronze mirrors in excellent condition have been discovered in a large Han Dynasty tomb in China, after being hidden underground for over two millennia. Not only do some of them...
Foot binding tradition

Last Traces of the Ancient Foot Binding Tradition Captured on Film

Throughout history, men and women alike have suffered pain and agony in the name of beauty - from the practices of body modification in indigenous tribes throughout the world, to suffocatingly tight...
An antique Ouija board

More Than A Game: The True History Of Ouija Boards

Ouija boards—also called spirit boards or talking boards—have been part of various cultures long before the introduction of the "game" in the 19th century. "Ouija", in fact, is the name of the game...
1,400-Year-Old Chinese Tomb Provides Clues to Sui Dynasty Culture

1,400-Year-Old Chinese Tomb Provides Clues to Sui Dynasty Culture

During excavations at Anyang, a city in central China’s Henan province , archaeologists from the Anyang Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology discovered a centuries-old tomb that dates back to...
Metal Detectorist Discovers Ultra-Rare Chinese Coin in England

Metal Detectorist Discovers Ultra-Rare Chinese Coin in England

An English metal detectorist hunting for treasure in Hampshire recently unearthed something rare and startling. While scouring a field near the bucolic village of Buriton, where medieval artifacts...
Builders of Teotihuacan Had Remarkable Knowledge of Science and Engineering

Builders of Teotihuacan Had Remarkable Knowledge of Science and Engineering

In the heart of central Mexico, surrounded by majestic mountains and volatile volcanoes, is the Valley of Mexico Basin. There, hidden in plain sight stands Teotihuacan, a vast vexing complex of...
The worn cast copper alloy Chinese coin, from the Northern Song dynasty (960 AD to 1127 AD), minted during the Xining reign between 1068 and 1077 AD, and found in Britain

Out of Place Chinese Coins Prompt Wonder: Did Medieval Asia and Britain Interact?

Britain’s antiquities experts have mostly written them off as a loss from a curated collection, but the presence of two Chinese Northern Song dynasty (960 - 1127 AD) coins unearthed at separate sites...
Surprise Discovery of a Headless Buddha Statue Beneath Chinese Apartments

Surprise Discovery of a Headless 'Buddha' Statue Beneath Chinese Apartments

A huge, headless religious statue has been discovered carved into the rock face under apartment buildings in China. It is of questionable age - some claim it’s from the Republican era and others...
Ching Shih – from Prostitute to Infamous Female Pirate Lord

Ching Shih – From Prostitute to Infamous Female Pirate

Ching Shih (or Zheng Shi) was a Chinese prostitute who became a powerful female pirate, controlling the infamous Red Flag Fleet. The fleet grew under her command, with expanding reserves of loot, and...
Oldest Japanese Manuscript on Confucius Teachings Confirmed

Oldest Japanese Manuscript on Confucius Teachings Confirmed

Experts believe that they have found the oldest work on Confucian teachings in Japan. The find dates back almost 1500 years when the Japanese nation was only just emerging. This collection of...
The Vinland Map: A Most Non-European Artifact

The Vinland Map: A Most Non-European Artifact

The Vinland Map carries with it the air of mystery and, some would say, the stench of deception. In the vaults of Yale University, and insured for $25 Million, it is either a colossal fraud or an...

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