This great Chinese myth is like two fables in one. It tells the story of how the king of heaven created the Chinese zodiac, and it also tells the story about why cats hate mice.
Category: Beginner (77)
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Short story: 幸运的抢劫犯 – The Lucky Robber
Li Ming spent ages plotting the perfect bank robbery, but on the big day, fate had a different plan in store.
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Idioms: 对牛弹琴 – Playing the Lute to a Cow
Ever tried explaining something brilliant to someone who just didn’t get it? This classic Chinese story proves that knowing your audience matters more than knowing your art.
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Essay: 学切菜 – Learning to Cut Vegetables
In this wax-on, wax-off lesson, our narrator picks up the most important basic skill in Chinese cooking.
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Short story: 姑姑的马拉松 – Auntie’s Marathon
Think you’re too old to start something new? This fifty-year-old auntie would like a word.
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Jokes: 两个坏消息 – Two Pieces of Bad News
These two jokes prove that bad news has a way of getting worse.
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Fable: 叶公好龙 – Lord Ye Loves Dragons
In this classic short story, it turns out Lord Ye (叶公) doesn’t like dragons as much as he thinks he does.
Ever cleaned your whole house before the cleaner shows up? Yeah, that’s a thing. This post has every word you ever wanted to know about doing chores.
In this dialogue, two soldiers from warring countries discover they have more in common than they thought.
What treasures could possibly be hiding in a box Grandma never opens? Turns out it’s a whole lifetime of adventures—from Egyptian pyramids to Icelandic green lights. But Grandma’s favorite place might surprise you.
What can a barber learn from fifty years of cutting hair? Turns out, quite a lot about human nature.
In this relatable dialogue, a convenience store clerk chats a bit with his customer, since both of them are awake in the middle of the night.
Ever walked into someone’s house uninvited and helped yourself to their food? Yeah, probably not a great idea. Join Goldilocks as she learns this lesson the hard way.
One little pig learned the hard way that laziness doesn’t pay off when a hungry wolf comes knocking.
Everyone knows the story of the poor little bird that didn’t quite fit in – now you can read the classic tale in Chinese.
Ever catch yourself daydreaming about where you’d live if you could choose anywhere? City lights, countryside quiet, or somewhere in between? This text walks you through the classic dilemma of picking your perfect home – and spoiler alert, there’s no perfect answer.
In this non-fiction essay, we learn why dinosaurs disappeared from the earth.
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Essay: 素食者的朋友 – The vegetarian friend
In this story, Wang Ming (王明) keeps forgetting that his friend Li Hong (李红) is a vegetarian.
This childhood story – which needs no introduction, and which you no doubt heard growing up – is famous all over the world, including in China.
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Dialogue: 我想要一只宠物 – I want a pet!
Xiao Ming is about to learn that persistence (and maybe some puppy-dog eyes) might just be the secret weapon to getting what you want.