Culture

Plant-dyed fabrics in yellow, peach and gray hanging to dry under a wooden veranda.
What Is Plant Dyeing? From Plants to Fabric
From roots and flower buds to colored fabric, explore plant dyeing and its place in Chinese textile traditions. Read more...
Blue-and-white dyed fabric hangs overhead in a traditional Chinese courtyard under a blue sky.
What Is Indigo Dyeing? From Dye Plants to Blue Fabric
From dye plants to blue fabric, explore how indigo dyeing works and its history in China and Japan. Read more...
Blue-and-white tie-dyed cotton fabric with floral patterns draped in soft folds on an ivory surface.
What Is Tie-Dye? How Thread Creates Patterns on Fabric
Explore how tie-dye patterns are made, from Chinese jiaoxie to Japanese shibori and the Bai traditions of Dali. Read more...
A mother and her young son in hanfu smiling at each other beneath glowing fish lanterns at a Chinese New Year market.
Chinese New Year or Lunar New Year? The Renaming Campaign
Chinese New Year or Lunar New Year? We examine organized renaming campaigns, the festival’s lunisolar calendar and cultural origins, noting that names can shape beliefs and actions. Read more...
Diagram showing Earth orbiting the Sun and the Moon orbiting Earth, with lunar phases from new moon to full moon and back.
Chinese Calendar Explained: Lunisolar, Not Just Lunar
The Chinese calendar follows both the Moon and the Sun. Explore how its months, solar terms and leap months shape festival dates—and why “lunisolar” is a more accurate description. Read more...