Beliefs
Culture
Teochew rice drawings: Capturing the divine in grains of rice
During religious rituals at Teochew charitable halls, intricate images of religious figures and symbols are created, not with ink, but with rice grains. Crafting these rice drawings requires skill, attention to detail, dexterity and artistic talent. Lianhe Zaobao lifestyle correspondent Tang Ai Wei speaks with several rice drawing artists and discusses the traditional art form.
Tang Ai Wei
29 Aug 2025
Cartoon
[Comic] The rock that remains
This is real life — suspended between East and West, between home and foreign land, between language and voicelessness. It is not a simple crossing of borders, but a constant being — summoned and repelled by structural boundaries. In the West, labelled “Asian”; in Asia, marked as a “returned foreigner”. This dual gaze fractures identity, raising the question: in the ongoing process of being named, framed, and defined — what truly endures? Rather than seeking assimilation or longing for a singular “true belonging”, this is a turn towards creating a new heterotopia — a space outside dominant narratives, shaped by marginalised voices and specific identities. To stay is not to be static, but to be fully present — a form of resistance within a global context that often erases history. It is a deliberate act: to inscribe suppressed experiences into material, image and language, and to give new meaning to the seemingly inert concrete (béton brut) where the rock rests.
Bai Yi
25 Jul 2025
Society
Controversial mind-body therapy attracts over 1 million Chinese seeking miraculous cures
Ajitai Health Group’s Mongolian mind-body interactive (MBI) therapy is captivating over a million Chinese with promises of miraculous cures. This controversial programme, blending modern psychology with traditional medicine, stirs debate between faith and science. While patients flock to its sessions for hope, critics warn of the dangers of its unverified claims.
Caixin Global
18 Jul 2025
History
[Photos] The Catholic church in China: A story of conflict and compassion
Whether in ideology or in political reality, the Catholic church and the Chinese Communist government have remained adversaries. Nevertheless, after the end of the Cold War and the decline of communist ideology, the Chinese government began to take a more positive view of the Catholic church’s historical contributions to China. Historical photo collector Hsu Chung-mao shares the history of Catholicism in China.
Hsu Chung-mao
25 Apr 2025
Culture
Are Chinese gods more human? How divine beliefs shape our world
Looking at paintings and talking with his daughters prompts economics professor Li Jingkui to reflect on how humans are programmed to think of the gods as all-powerful and needing to be pleased, whether in the East or West. And this mindset in turn has influenced our perception of various aspects of life, leading to our economic and political systems.
Caixin Global, Li Jingkui
08 Nov 2024
Culture
Questions concerning mortality in early China [2 of 3]: The netherworld is closer to us than you might think
What did the ancient Chinese think of the netherworld? Why did they take it for granted that there was an afterlife? In this three-part series, academic Poo Mu-chou takes a closer look at the myths and beliefs of death and after-death in Chinese culture. In this second article of the series, he describes how the ancients prepared the tombs of the deceased: the lavish chambers and paraphernalia thrown in suggest they wanted the dead to be comfortable in their afterlives. Or maybe it was for the living to assure themselves that unfulfilled aspirations in life could be achieved in death?
Poo Mu-chou
29 Oct 2021
Culture
Questions concerning mortality in early China [1 of 3]: The idea of the netherworld
What did the ancient Chinese think of the netherworld? Why did they take it for granted that there was an afterlife? In this three-part series, academic Poo Mu-chou takes a closer look at the myths and beliefs of death and after-death in Chinese culture. First, he explores the traditional conception of the netherworld. Was it a physical place, shaped in the earthly world's image and likeness?
Poo Mu-chou
22 Oct 2021
Culture
Ghost Festival: When the wall between the living and the dead crumbles
Many Chinese refer to ghosts and spirits as "good brothers". Now that the Gates of Hell are open during the Ghost Festival, art historian Chiang Hsun asks how one is to get along with the deceased who have come back? Would it be like strangers crossing paths, or would one recognise the other? And should we dismiss these folk beliefs as mere superstitions?
Chiang Hsun
13 Aug 2021
Cartoon
[Comic] A Chinese youth's meditation on life amidst the pandemic
The Covid-19 pandemic has shown us how unpredictable life can be. As the world struggles to find its feet in politics, economics and daily life, comic artist Bai Yi turns the conversation inward: when times are tough, where do we find the strength to carry on? If it is religion, why do we have blind faith? If it is not, what sustains the human spirit?
Bai Yi
04 Jun 2021
Society
Chinese economics professor: Why we exchange gifts, from ancient China to the present
Have you ever received a gift that you did not like? Economics professor Li Jingkui notes that when there is a mismatch between the gift and its recipient, the giver and receiver suffer a "deadweight loss". But still, many of us continue to exchange gifts. After much thought and research, Li found the answer for such persistent human behaviour in a Maori myth - you give a part of yourself along with your gift, which is something more valuable than the gift itself.
Caixin Global, Li Jingkui
28 May 2021
Politics
Is the US embassy in China recruiting 'traitors'?
The US embassy in China recently released an Public Annual Statement outlining the requirements for funding through its public diplomacy grants programme. As the activities it supports aim to spread American values and culture in China, Chinese commentators have aired criticisms that this is an insidious attempt to "recruit traitors" within China. Zaobao correspondent Yu Zeyuan considers the theories behind this idea.
Yu Zeyuan
17 May 2021