Culture guide · Mahjong
Your First Mahjong Night? Ask These Three Questions.
Before game night, three questions can help you find your seat at the table.
Follow a little curiosity.
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33 stories to explore
Culture story · Mahjong
How Mahjong Became Part of American Life
Follow regional roots, several routes, and the people who made room for the game.
Culture guide · Celebrations
Invited to Lunar New Year Dinner? Start Here.
Ask about the plan, check before bringing something, and let your hosts lead.
Culture story · Art & objects
A Dragon on a Vase? Look Closer.
A dragon is a starting point. The object around it gives you a better story.
Culture story · Language & stories
Who Is the Monkey King, Before the Video Games?
The Monkey King’s first leadership move? He found the group a home—and made sure they kept their promise.
Culture story · Celebrations
Why Do People Share Mooncakes?
A mooncake question that gets a better story: “Who do you usually share these with?”
Culture guide · Food & drink
Chinese Tea Without the Fancy Equipment
Your first Chinese tea tasting doesn’t need a gear haul. Start with one tea and one thing to notice.
Culture guide · Everyday culture
How to Give a Gift Without Overthinking It
The easiest gift rule to remember: ask the person you’re actually visiting.
Culture guide · Language & stories
What Does That Chinese Character Actually Show?
Before guessing a Chinese sign from its shape, save the whole phrase. Context gets the last word.
Culture guide · Celebrations
Chinese Zodiac: Culture, Not a Personality Test
A zodiac animal can start a conversation. It shouldn’t finish your judgment of someone.
Culture guide · Food & drink
Why Are There So Many Kinds of Dumplings?
Before ordering “dumplings,” ask three things: wrapper, filling, and how they’re cooked.
Culture story · Art & objects
A First Look at Chinese Calligraphy
Can’t read the calligraphy yet? Start with the label, then notice where a line changes weight.
Culture guide · Celebrations
Red Envelopes: What They Mean and What to Ask
Wondering about red envelopes? Ask about the occasion and the relationship before looking for a dollar amount.
Culture guide · Celebrations
Dragon Boat Festival: One Race, Several Stories
Dragon Boat Festival rewards a closer question: whose version are we hearing?
Culture guide · Celebrations
Qingming: The Small Work of Remembering
At Qingming, tending a place can open a conversation about a person.
Culture guide · Celebrations
Lantern Festival: Look Inside the Bowl
Lantern Festival brings lights, riddles, and reunion into focus without making every rice ball identical.
Culture guide · Celebrations
Double Ninth: Who Sets the Pace?
Double Ninth invites attention to place, remembrance, and the people walking beside us.
Culture guide · Everyday culture
The Chinese Calendar: Why Festival Dates Move
Festival dates shift on a US calendar because lunar months and the solar year do different jobs.
Culture guide · Art & objects
Chinese Paper-Cutting: Look at the Gaps
A cut-paper design invites you to notice what has been removed as well as what remains.
Culture guide · Art & objects
Chinese Shadow Puppetry: Behind the Screen
A moving silhouette is the visible end of a much larger performance.
Culture guide · Art & objects
Peking Opera: Watch a Hand
Start with a gesture, then make room for voice, rhythm, and theatrical convention.
Culture guide · Art & objects
Guqin: One String, Different Sounds
Seven strings open a conversation about touch, listening, and the limits of a quick introduction.
Culture guide · Everyday culture
Tai Chi (Taijiquan): Watch the Transition
Look at movement as learned cultural practice, without turning observation into an exercise prescription.
Culture guide · Art & objects
Blue-and-White Porcelain: A Flask Between Worlds
One porcelain flask makes cross-cultural design more concrete than a broad story about influence.
Culture guide · Art & objects
Chinese Silk: Before the Loom
A craft chain connects mulberry leaves, thread, fabric, and people learning together.
Culture guide · Art & objects
Chinese Woodblock Printing: Before the Page
Carving and printing are different jobs in a shared production process.
Culture guide · Art & objects
A Chinese Garden in New York: The Astor Court
The Astor Court is a specific collaboration, not a miniature of every Chinese garden.
Culture guide · Art & objects
Chinese Seals: Who Left That Red Mark?
Artist and collector seals ask different questions of the same artwork.
Culture guide · Food & drink
Chinese Chopsticks: Writing at the Table
A cataloged Chinese pair brings writing and a dining utensil together.
Culture guide · Language & stories
Chinese Names: Which Part Is Wu?
Wu Gongfu appears in Columbia University’s Chinese Names teaching page.
Culture guide · Everyday culture
Tangrams: Seven Pieces, Another Possibility
Seven loose pieces can look like the beginning of a picture you have not recognized yet.
Culture guide · Everyday culture
Go (Weiqi): The People Around the Board
Who gets remembered around a Go board? A 1609 manual opens a story about players, publishers, and people outside the spotlight.
Culture guide · Art & objects
Chinese Landscape Painting: A Copy That Changes
Wu Li’s Travelers among Streams and Mountains drew on an earlier painting. The story follows a composition from one artist to another.
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