There is an ancient tale–more like a myth really–that has to do with two non-human entities called Sơn Tinh (the mountain god) and Thủy Tinh (the water god). My family told me of this tale (and other) myths and legends when I was a kid, so I knew the gist of this story which was quite interesting. You have to admit. Gods fighting each other made … Continue reading Mountain God vs Water God
(Continued from Following the Ancient Scent of Trầm Hương 1) In one of my previous posts, Following the Ancient Scent of Trầm Hương 1, I touched upon the agarwood tree and how oud was processed. This post digs deeper into the dendrology (study of trees) of agarwood and the various types of agar resins. Ancient Origins of Dó trầm (Agarwood) Around 570 million years ago, when … Continue reading Following the Ancient Scent of Trầm Hương 2
Tea has been a part of ancient Asia for a very long time. We know this because back in ancient times, Gramps (aka Shennong) had taken a trip to the Southern region where his mother lived. Along the way, it is said that some sort of leaves fell into a pot of water his people were using to make tea for him and he accidentally … Continue reading The Tao of Tea
Lì Xì Cats Every year, right around this time, I buy red lì xì money envelopes that have the corresponding animal to the year I’m in and give them out to all the little kids I know. Before you think that is extremely wasteful, I will hasten to assure you that the envelopes only contain a few lucky dollars. I also have no children and personally only … Continue reading Year of the Cat 2023
I have a very ancient multi-millennial ancestral grandpa. His name is Khương Thạch Niên (姜石年). Most folks know him as the farmer god. Yes. THAT farmer god known as Thần Nông (aka Shennong), the same one who gave us tea (among other things). Now, I don’t like people who falsely claim famous relatives just to bolster up their sense of importance, and I would never … Continue reading Ancient Việt 13: My Ancient Ancestral Grandpa
(Continued from Au Revoir, Kitchen God) So, it’s after midnight and my work with the Kitchen god is done, even though the rain never let up. I was going to edit the previous post to show photos of the preparations that I made, but I decided to create a second post because there was so much I needed to add to clarify the customs. 1. … Continue reading Au Revoir, Kitchen God 2
Welp. It’s that time of the year again, when I send off ye merry gentle kitchen gods to the sky so they can pay homage to the Sky Lord. This is not a roaming date. It is fixed in stone (or at least renewable bamboo alternative). On the 23rd day of the 12th lunar month of the Lunar year 4720 (which is TODAY, January 14, … Continue reading Au Revoir, Kitchen God
I love perfumes. I have a small collection that I have carefully curated through the years, picking and choosing until I have the perfect scents for all seasons and reasons. There are the scents that are just heavenly, like Chanel Coco Mademoiselle and Guerlaine La Petite Robe Noire. I wear them when I leave my house to do my chores, as well as to meet-ups, … Continue reading Following the Ancient Scent of Trầm Hương 1
(Continued from Ten Conditions for Beauty in Ancient Times 1) As promised, here are the remaining Requirements of an Ancient Beauty, as written by an ancient scholar of anonymity. 5. The Three Arts So far, the first four requirements are something that is beyond the scope and ability of any young beauty of the day to be able to set up for herself. This is because … Continue reading Ten Conditions for Beauty in Ancient Vietnam 2
We all know what constitutes Beauty in our present-day world. The artificially constructed image created by the trillion-dollar beauty industry informs us in no uncertain terms, what is necessary to have in order to be considered Beautiful. The images show up everywhere we look to influence our lifestyle and to sell us things that we don’t really need. But what about ancient times? What would … Continue reading Ten Conditions for Beauty in Ancient Vietnam 1
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