CHINESE PORCELAIN also called 'Fine China'


I have something very very similar to this!

Simply elegant, Ame...The British became so enamored by these blue and white porcelain-ware, that they eventually adapted the technique in making their tea sets ...

Yes....they are exquisite! I love them but don't have any really good pieces, just the ones given to me, and some I picked up from my old boss's shop.

The Terracotta Army or the "Terracotta Warriors and Horses" is a collection of terracotta sculptures depicting the armies of Qin Shi Huang, the first Emperor of China. It is a form of funerary art buried with the emperor in 210–209 BCE and whose purpose was to protect the emperor in his afterlife.

The figures, dating from approximately the late third century BCE,[1] were discovered in 1974 by local farmers in Lintong District, Xi'an, Shaanxi province. The figures vary in height according to their roles, with the tallest being the generals. The figures include warriors, chariots and horses. Estimates from 2007 were that the three pits containing the Terracotta Army held more than 8,000 soldiers, 130 chariots with 520 horses and 150 cavalry horses, the majority of which remained buried in the pits nearby Qin Shi Huang's mausoleum.[2] Other terracotta non-military figures were found in other pits, including officials, acrobats, strongmen and musicians.

i read somewhere that the Chinese government won't let people (or maybe foreigners)see them anymore for for some reason...

Haven't heard about this..... if it is, it should be in the travel guide or advisory.
Anyway, I'm not from China and don't live in China..... but my mum was. She was among the boat people who fled China with her mum to reunite with my grandfather in Malaysia sometime in 1930s. I am a Malaysian Chinese.

I think there was a time when visitors were limited from seeing this. Restoration or preservation issues, if im not mistaken..

This song...always a winner..lol..

The famous Teresa Teng...

http://youtu.be/-B5gAczFJps

ok, they have a museum thats houses some of the statues thats always open, but the chinese government has the actual dig site closed off to the public, which makes sense...

LOL...... you brought back all that nostalgic memories! I don't read or write chinese and memorize the lyrics and times when I get the lyrics wrong or mispronounced, it can be hilarious. I can even sing the hokkien songs.

I also particularly like the 'xiao chen gu shi' song (village story) my favorite..... because I can remember all the lyrics

WHAT?!?!?! A rude cab driver in NYC???


why never

That's funny............you don't look chinese......... old joke

I don't???
Now, tell me what do I look like than???

having traditional tea on my mind...







i've only experienced a proper tea serving once... in our ancestral home in Xiamen, China when i was still very young.

it was a clay tea set placed on top of a round wood and ceramic tray with slits. hot water is poured over the clay set, and the water drains into the slits. tea leaves were placed into the pot, then hot water poured into it. first serving of tea was thrown out, as this was to wash away the impurities of the leaves, and to heat the clay-ware.



water is poured into the teapot again and this second brew was the one given to us, as the real flavors of the leaves were already released from the first brew. this was poured into the cups with care, and served to each guest

clay tea-ware seem to have a way of bringing out the earthier flavors... and the ceremony itself was mesmerizing to observe..

"The Brick"


A young and successful executive was travelling down a neighborhood street, going a bit too fast in his new Jaguar. He was watching for kids darting out from between parked cars and slowed down when he thought he saw something.


As his car passed, no children appeared. Instead, a brick smashed into the Jag's side door! He slammed on the brakes and drove the Jag back to the spot where the brick had been thrown. The angry driver then jumped out of the car, grabbed the nearest kid and pushed him up against a parked car, shouting, 'What was that all about and who are you? Just what the heck are you doing? That's a new car and that brick you threw is going to cost a lot of money. Why did you do it?'


The young boy was apologetic, 'Please mister ... please, I'm sorry... I didn't know what else to do,' he pleaded. 'I threw the brick because no one else would stop...'


With tears dripping down his face and off his chin, the youth pointed to a spot just around a parked car. 'It's my brother,' he said. 'He rolled off the curb and fell out of his wheelchair and I can't lift him up.' Now sobbing, the boy asked the stunned executive, 'Would you please help me get him back into his wheelchair? He's hurt and he's too heavy for me.'


Moved beyond words, the driver tried to swallow the rapidly swelling lump in his throat. He hurriedly lifted the handicapped boy back into the wheelchair, then took out his fancy handkerchief and dabbed at the fresh scrapes and cuts. A quick look told him everything was going to be okay.


'Thank you and may God bless you,' the grateful child told the stranger.


Too shaken up for words, the man simply watched the little boy push his wheelchair-bound brother down the sidewalk toward their home. It was a long, slow walk back to the Jaguar. The damage was very noticeable, but the driver never bothered to repair the dented side door. He kept the dent there to remind him of this message: Don't go through life so fast that someone has to throw a brick at you to get your attention!



God whispers in our souls and speaks to our hearts. Sometimes when we don't have time to listen, He has to throw a brick at us.



[Source: 'Unknown']

"Transcript of A Chinese Proverb About Money"


With money you can buy a 'house' but not a 'home'.

With money you can buy a 'clock' but not 'time'.

With money you can buy a 'bed' but not 'sleep'.

With money you can buy a 'book', but not 'knowledge'.

With money you can consult a 'doctor', but not buy 'good health'.

With money you can buy a 'position' but not 'respect'.

With money you can buy 'blood' but not 'life'.

"Good Karma - Life Mantra"


This is a nice reading, but short. Enjoy! This is what The Dalai Lama has to say for 2007. All it takes is a few seconds to read and think over. Do not keep this message. The mantra must leave your hands within 96 hours. You will get a very pleasant surprise. This is true for all - even if you are not superstitious.... or of whatever religious belief....Faith....

Instructions for life Mantra

01. Take into account that great love and great achievements involve great risk.

02. When you lose, don't lose the lesson.

03. Follow the three R's of good karma:


Respect for self

Respect for others and

Responsibility for all your actions.

04. Remember that not getting what you want is sometimes a wonderful stroke of luck.

05. Learn the rules so you know how to break them properly.

06. Don't let a little dispute injure a great relationship.

07. When you realize you've made a mistake, take immediate steps to correct it.

08. Spend some time alone every day.

09. Open your arms to change, but don't let go of your values.

10. Remember that silence is sometimes the best answer.

11. Live a good, honorable life. Then when you get older and think back,
you'll be able to enjoy it a second time.

12. A loving atmosphere in your home is the foundation for your life.

13. In disagreements with loved ones, deal only with the current situation. Don't bring up the past.

14. Share your knowledge. It is a way to achieve immortality.

15. Be gentle with the earth.

16. Once a year, go someplace you've never been before.

17. Remember that the best relationship is one in which your love for each other exceeds your need for each other.

18. Judge your success by what you had to give up in order to get it.

19. Approach love and cooking with reckless abandon.



Forward this mantra to at least 5 people and your life will improve

0-4 people: Your life will improve slightly.

5-9 people: Your life will improve to your liking.

9-14 people: You will have at least 5 wonderful surprises in the next 3 weeks.

15 people & over: Your life will improve drastically and everything you ever dreamed of will begin to take shape.

Do not keep this message. The mantra must leave your hands within 96 hours.

You will get a very pleasant surprise......


N.B. Please send us your mantra or good karma.


Oh, what a tangled web we weave when first we practice to believe.

[Laurence J. Peter]

"Flattery for fools"


Zou Ji was an official in Qi, and a handsome man. One morning he looked at himself in the mirror and asked his wife "Who is more handsome, I or Xu in the North City?"

His wife replied without hesitation, "Of course you, my dear. No man can compare with you!"

Hearing this, Zou could not help feeling a little complacent. Yet to prove what his wife had said, he asked his concubine the same question. "Oh," answered the woman, "Beyond any doubt you are the number one in our country!" This sounded pleasant.

Next day a friend called on him in the hope of begging a favor of him. Business finished, Zou once more raised the same question. "Certainly Xu cannot compare with you in that," his friend answered. Now Zou really believed this was so, till Xu himself dropped in on him by chance. Looking Xu up and down, and then measuring himself carefully in the glass, Zou had to conclude that Xu was much more handsome than himself.

"Why, they all cheated me then!" he thought. All night he wrangled with the matter. At last it dawned on him. "I see now," he said to himself, "A man is liable to be flattered: my wife favored me because of her love; my concubine, of fear; my friend, to gain his own ends. How foolish I have been taken in by festering lies!"

As soon as the sun appeared in the east next day, he went to the king directly and told him the whole story and added, "For love, for fear, for benefit, truth can be twisted."

The king was impressed by Zou's story and at once gave orders: "Those who dare to point out my faults in my presence can be given the best rewards. And the timid ones who only talk about my errors in public and the talks reach my ear, rewards will also be given, though it may not be of great value."

This command issued, the palace became crowded with officials and common people coming to advise or criticize the king. As a result the king ruled the country very, very well.

"The Wild Goose and the Sparrow"


Confucius had a son-in-law, Kung Yeh Chang, who understood birds. He built a pavilion in his garden, which was rich in flowers, trees, shrubs, and ponds, so that the birds loved to gather there. Thus he was able to spend many delightful hours near them, watching.

One day while Kung Yeh Chang was resting in his pavilion, a small house-sparrow lit in a tree near-by and started to sing and chatter. A little later a wild goose dropped down by the pond for a drink. Hardly had he taken a sip when the little sparrow called out, "Who are you? Where are you going?"

To this the goose did not reply and the sparrow became angry and asked again, "Why do you consider me beneath your notice?" and still the goose did not answer. Then the little sparrow became furious and said in a loud, shrill voice, "Again I ask, who are you? Tell me or I will fly at you," and he put his head up, and spread his wings, and tried to look very large and fierce.
By this time the goose had finished drinking, and looking up he said, "Don't you know that in a big tree with many branches and large leaves the cicadas love to gather and make a noise? I could not hear you distinctly. You also know the saying of the ancients, 'If you stand on a mountain and talk to the people in the valley they cannot hear you,' "and the wild goose took another drink.
The little sparrow chattered and sputtered, shook his wings, and said, "What, for example, do you know of the great world? I for my part can go into people's houses, hide in the rafters under their windows, see their books and pictures, what they have to eat and what they do. I can hear all the family secrets. I know all that goes on in the family and state. I know who are happy and who are sad. I know all the quarrels and all the gossip, and I know just how to tell it to produce the best effect. So you see that I know much that you can never hope to know."

"It may be good to give others an equal chance with ourselves, or even to give them the first choice," said the goose. "We geese therefore fly in a flock in the shape of the letter V and take turns in flying first. No one takes advantage of the other. We have our unchanging customs of going north in the spring and south in the winter. People come to depend on us, and make ready for either their spring work or the cold of winter. Thus, we stay away from gossip and are a help to man.

"You sparrows, however, gossip and only thinking of your own good. Now, we are respected. Is there not a proverb that 'There are many people without the wisdom and virtues of the wild goose'? You sparrows, however, chatter about small affairs beneath my notice and I bid you good-day."

The sparrow now trembled with so much rage that she could not fly away nor keep her hold on the branch. She fell to the ground and soon died from the fall.
Kung Yeh Chang exclaimed after he had looked on it all, "Sad, sad, most of mankind are like the sparrow, but the truly superior man is somehow like the wild goose, and wiser still."

With money you can buy a 'clock' but not 'time'...... boy oh boy, do I need this! Time seems to fly, and it is another 24 hours. It is at times like this that I sometimes do wish a day was 36 hours or more, as I need more time...... the datelines are just too near for comfort.

Good posts, Kaustuv!