Many people in China consider the columns of Qufu’s Confucian temple’s main hall (the Palace of Great Establishment) to be the most beautiful in the
If you play a portable musical instrument, carry it as meticulously as your passport if you travel in China. Strangers often sat with me to listen.
People in ancient China typically thought of musical notes in more holistic ways than Westerners have. The five notes (C, D, E, G, and
Swahilis have an ancient heritage of blending East African Bantu cultures with Arabic and Persian influences. Their fascinating society has about two million members. It’s
Many fans of Indian spiritual traditions admire them for teaching that all is one. All beings are unified. We all came from the source and
Before postmodern literary criticism emerged, it was common for Westerners to think that a literary work is a distinct entity, with a beginning, climax, and
The Rigveda is one of the world’s most influential texts, since Indian culture has deep roots in it. It’s also one of the most dense
It’s easy to take the importance of agriculture for granted, but composers of the Rigveda didn’t emphasize farming. They inherited the traditions of their animal-herding
The Homeric poems are ravishingly visual; both are full of similes. The Iliad compares advancing troops to surging waves and a lion, and its