About this site

Folklore of China grew out of a simple and sincere wish: to leave a record of folk cultures that are quietly slipping away in the rush of modern life.

China's long civilisation has seeded an extraordinary range of local custom. From yangge dancing in the north to the Water-Splashing Festival in the south, from fishing songs on the eastern coast to the Muqam suites of the western oases, every place has its own way of marking time. As urbanisation accelerates, much of this is being forgotten.

This site is one person's attempt to gather that material and to honour it — using contemporary web design to bring these cultural inheritances to a wider audience.

Every entry is checked against sources. The aim is to trace historical development and cultural meaning accurately, without speculation.

Classical Chinese aesthetics set the tone, tempered by modern design, so that reading is a pleasure as well as an education.

Festivals and ceremonies, handcrafts, vernacular architecture, performing arts — the aim is to show the breadth of China's folk traditions as fully as possible.

Explain the old clearly, and let more people see it in a contemporary way. That is all this site sets out to do.

“Whenever I work through this material I seem to travel back in time and catch a glimpse of how my ancestors lived. Behind these seemingly plain customs lie reverence for nature, a love of life and a pursuit of what is good. Such inheritances should not fade with the passing of the years; they deserve to be remembered and carried forward.”

— The editor, Folklore of China

If you study Chinese folk culture, or simply care about it, and you find anything here that is inaccurate, I would be glad to hear from you. Work of this kind depends on many hands: every suggestion and every shared correction helps keep this heritage alive.