This painting is in remembrance of some of the more than 1200 Falun Gong practitioners who are known to have died under the brutal and illegal repression taking place in China. The artist said, “I painted the faces of 280 practitioners to let more people see these good people and to help stop this persecution. Look at how happy they were! They were all very good people in the society. Whenever I think of them, I cannot hold back my tears…"

Not seeing him for three days, his countrymen thought Zhou Chu was dead. They started a celebration to cheer for the elimination of the three hazards. Right then Zhou Chu returned and saw the festivities. He realised just how much people hated him and felt ashamed. This incident made him even more determined to reform himself and to live a new life.

Wang Fuzhi taught his children not to be affected by vulgar influences. He said that such influences could easily change people just like drinking alcohol would make people drunk He told them, "When people are vulgar, they punch people suddenly without giving people the chance to defend themselves or stab people in the back, and they fight vigorously for minor gains in profit. A real gentleman is neither like that nor enjoys the company of such people. Endless fortune is not something we should pursue..."

豬, the Chinese character for pig, was originally written as "豕". "豚" is piglet. "豨" is also piglet. "豪" is a type of boar that always charges straight ahead. In oracle-bone scriptures, the character for "pig" shows a fat belly, and a tail that hangs straight down. One variation shows needle-like hair on its back. The character is a complete and realistic-looking portrait of a pig.

In life, one will experience loss and gain, favour and humiliation. If one can treat all these with the attitude of following the course of nature, seeking neither fame nor profit, with a heart of peace and tranquillity, like what the ancient people said, "Remain indifferent whether granted favour or subjected to humiliation, just watch the flowers open and fall in the front courtyard; Not paying attention to whether to stay or to leave, but only watch the clouds folding and unfolding in the sky," then one has reached a high realm of "going beyond the ordinary."

Not long after that, Empress Xianren lost the sight in both of her eyes, and she searched everywhere for a cure, but in vain. Later a Taoist (someone who follows the 'Way') came to the royal court and restored sight to her left eye with a golden needle, greatly pleasing Empress Xianren. She asked the Taoist to cure her other eye, but the Taoist said: "You can only use one eye to see. Let the other eye remain as evidence and a manifestation of your promise and oath!"

Life is precious, yet our ancestors said, "Upon hearing the Tao in the morning, one can pass away in the evening without regret." Why would people be so eager to obtain the Tao, steadfastly cultivate the Tao, and treasure it? What is the Tao that people have been seeking for thousands of years?

In many major cities around the world, people who practise Falun Gong participate in parades to celebrate traditional Chinese culture. The artist has drawn celestial beings playing amidst the clouds, echoing the unified beat from below.

Song said, "You violate the righteous rules of the world and don't listen to any advice. This has been going on for a long time. Real disaster is going to happen to your family. If you go through a blessing ritual, you may be spared the disaster." Wang said, "If disaster can be spared through a ritual, then so can good fortune can. Don't use your unfounded words to deceive me." Song sighed and Wang yelled at Song, driving him away.

He desperately crawled into the bottom of the sculpture, waiting for death. Soon afterwards, the Jin men came in and searched for him. They carefully searched through the dried well next to the temple, woods, even the beams of the temples and any places they could find. Unbelievably, they did not search the bottom of the sculpture.

The school officials summoned the roommate, searched the room, and found the gold. Zhang Zhichang realised that if he claimed the gold was his, his roommate would certainly be punished. In addition, in the eyes of the masses, his roommate would be terribly shamed. Accordingly, he said, "That is not my gold."

Emperor Xianwen was fond of the doctrine of Buddhism and lived in tranquillity, with little attachment to worldly affairs and wealth. He often thought of leaving the palace for cultivation. He thus gave an imperial decree: “I always yearn to live in antiquity and am indifferent to fame and wealth. I am commanding the crown prince to be the emperor. I only want to live in leisure without cares and to cultivate myself.”

There are practitioners of spiritual practice of Falun Gong in over 60 countries around the world. Its practitioners represent every ethnic group and every walk of life. Although Falun Gong originated in China, the search for truth and enlightenment is universal.

While it might be a challenge to paint a complete portrait of a human being, the ancient Chinese people used only two simple strokes in the Chinese character for “human being.” Human beings are the most complicated creatures on earth, but the character for “human being” is the easiest to write in Chinese. It is both pretty to look at and easy to write. The profound Chinese written language has never ceased to amaze me. This is an excellent illustration of an essential characteristic of the Chinese culture --- using the most simple, elegant solution to solve the most complicated problem.

Ma Zhiyuan’s songs were mostly about divine beings or Taoist cultivators. Hence, he was given a nickname, “Immortal Ma.” He had a very straightforward, carefree and laid-back style. His individual songs were better known than his song suite. Over 100 of his individual songs, as well as 22 song suites, were preserved. Among his song suites, “An Autumn Reflection” suite in the Song Format of “Night Boat” is revered as the best out of a million.

The Chinese character for rat in oracle-bone scriptures resembled the shape of a rat a lot. It included a pointed mouth and lowered head, which resembled a rat savouring stolen food. The character for rat in ancient Chinese inscriptions on bronze included a head in order to accentuate the four large incisors. Since the incisors are forever growing, rats have to gnaw for life.

Mr. Ouyang Xiu (1007-1072) was a famous scholar in the Bei Song Dynasty (960-1127). Although he was very outstanding in literature and had a high ranking position, he was very humble about learning from others. His famous article Zuiwongting (Toast Pavilion) is a very short and beautiful piece that people praise and read aloud to this day. That article was edited according to a logger's suggestion.

A daring lead in a grand play,
He walks the earth like you or me
Would on any regular day,
No miracles to plainly see.

There are many different species of birds. Hence, there are many variations of characters for bird in the ancient Chinese oracle-bone scriptures. One variation showed a bird looking down for food. Another variation showed a bird looking up to the sky. Yet another variation showed a bird standing quietly. Each variation had beautiful lines.

Wang Fanzhi’s poems were widely spread at the beginning of the Tang Dynasty. However, some old-school littérateurs scorned its simple, colloquial language and regarded him as a “country bumpkin.” As a result, his poems later became extinct. A good portion of his preserved poems preached morality and condemned viciousness. Some of them are valuable works of art for they read like satires mocking the lack of humanity in the society. This poem is one of them.

He could find neither the house nor the elderly lady who had given him half of the couplet. In fact, the elderly lady was transformed from Bodhisattva Avalokitesvara, the Goddess of Mercy. Bodhisattva Avalokitesvara saw Ping Chengxiu’s noble character the fact that he did not indulge in lust and thus helped him to place first at the imperial civil service examination.

He once shouted out loud in a busy market in Kuizhou, “Tonight eight men will come here. Watch out!” No one understood what he meant. That night a large fire burned down several hundred households. It was not until then that people realized “eight men” referred to the Chinese character “fire.” The Chinese character for fire, when taken apart, resembles two characters, eight and man.

"...The reason His Majesty hired virtuous court officials for Your Highness is to help Your Highness improve your morality and virtue. Lately, Your Highness refused to meet with court officials, but still meets with ladies in the East Palace. If Your Highness continues to do this, how will you ever enhance your wisdom and morality? Since the royal court historian is currently unavailable, I as manager of your diet, must reduce it as a warning. I am willing to risk my life, but I must follow the Dadai Book of Rites!"

Meanwhile, there was a rich man called Wang Zhong. He told Gongsun Mu, "You can achieve great things if you had money. I would like to give you a million coins to start a business. What do you think?" Gongsun Mu studied Hetu, Luoshu, and other books on cultivation. He understood the laws of heaven and predestination. He said, "Your kindness is deeply appreciated! Being rich or poor is for heaven to decide. I can have it only if it is in my life. I cannot take it from you!"

This soldier was also driven into the river. When he was about to drown, he felt that his feet had touched a giant rock. He looked down and saw that the giant rock under his feet was actually the white turtle that he had rescued and released years ago. The white turtle carried the soldier to the other side of the river. It then nodded repeatedly toward the solider to thank him and then returned to the river. This is the famous historical story of the white turtle repaying its rescuer.

He was given huge responsibilities, encountered unexpected disasters, and faced danger all the time, but no one ever saw him worried. He was always very peaceful and at ease, unmoved by any circumstances. Mr. Han Qi said, "I follow the principles of loyalty and self -restraint, therefore in difficult situations I have no fear of life or death. I am fortunate to be alive, and have accomplished my mission. My accomplishments are from the blessings of Heaven, not from my ability."

Han Qi served as the Prime Minister under three generations of Emperors at the Imperial Court during the Song Dynasty. He was a straightforward and upstanding person known for his generosity and great breadth of mind. People respectfully called him “Sir Han.” He once said, “In order to become a person with great integrity, one must be able to endure small things.”

He told Zeng Bu, “I was a government official. Something happened in my family, and I took taxpayers’ money for my personal use. The local government is investigating the case. I don’t have enough money to pay back the money I stole, so I have no choice but to sell my daughter to a merchant for 400,000 coins [note: 1000 coins was equivalent to 1 gram of silver]. I just brought my daughter over to the merchant’s house today. I was bidding farewell to my daughter in tears when you heard us.”

Chen Ziang used a lot of word plays in the poem. He wrote about the precious emerald bird in every line, but in fact he was talking about himself. Despite the fact he was filled with sorrow, he managed to express his feelings in a non-emotional tone, which manifested the generous, forgiving and virtuous demeanour of a gentleman. As a result, this poem makes one sad, but does not make one burst into tears with rage.

He would put a yellow soybean into one bottle whenever a kind intention arose in his mind or if he performed a good deed. He would put a black bean to the other bottle whenever there was an evil thought in his mind or if he performed a bad deed. At first, there were more black beans. Judging from this, we can see that everyone has shortcomings and makes mistakes. The key is how we deal with them.

From the perspective of ancient Chinese people, a goat is a symbol of luck and peace. Luck and peace is written as 吉祥 in modern times, but they were written as 吉羊 in ancient times. This is because peace (祥) and goat (羊) shared the same Chinese character in ancient times. The goat is a docile and peaceful animal. Goats do not bully the weak and rarely lose their temper. When they do fight occasionally, they simply bump against each other’s horns to test each other’s strength and never resort to sneaky attacks

Cangjie: Forget about convenience or speed. There is a Chinese saying, “Haste makes waste.” Every stroke in a Chinese character carries a special meaning. When you change a Chinese character’s form, you will alter its meaning. The consequences will be very severe. We absolutely must not modify or damage the Chinese characters’ forms at will only to make it easier to write them.