The Sleepy Immortal: Stories from Ancient China
By The Sleepy Immortal
Categories: History, Fiction
The Sleepy Immortal tells one story from ancient China every day: old legends, fortune poems, folktales and the guardian figure for your birth year, told slowly and warmly by a very laid-back immortal. Every episode starts with the story, then what it can still say to us today. Draw a fortune stick and read the full stories at https://sleepyimmortal.com/qian/draw/ Hey Sleepies, I'm the Sleepy Immortal. I'm not here to tell your fortune. I'm here to tell you the story behind it: who wrote the poem, what happened to the people in it, and why people still carry these stories around. No hype, no prediction, no pressure. Just good stories and good company for your commute, your kitchen, or your walk home. WHAT YOU'LL HEAR - Fortune Tales: the stories behind classic Chinese fortune poems. We go through the Sixty Jiazi poems, the Mazu poems, the Guanyin poems, the Yue Lao (matchmaker god) poems and the Thunder and Rain poems, one poem and one story at a time. - Moonlight Stories: Chinese myths, festivals and love stories. The Classic of Mountains and Seas, the Winter Solstice, the Water Festival, the Seven Lifetimes lovers, Chen San and Wuniang, and the real Judge Dee. - Sixty Tai Sui: in Chinese tradition every birth year has a guardian general, called Tai Sui. Each episode tells the story of one general, who he was, what the legends say, and who was born in his years (for example 1974, 1996, 1997, 2007 and 2016). NEW EPISODES A new episode comes out every day, with a Tai Sui story and a Fortune Tales or Moonlight Stories episode on many days. Each episode is about 8 to 15 minutes, so it fits a commute or a cup of tea. Subscribe, and the next story shows up on its own. FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS What is a Chinese fortune poem (qian shi)? It is a short poem on a bamboo stick that people draw at a temple. Each poem points to an old story. On this show we tell the story and talk about what it means for us today, without making predictions. What is Tai Sui? Tai Sui is the…
62 episodes indexed on PodSearch.
Recent episodes
- Tai Sui: 2002 Water Horse, General Lu Ming
Who is the Tai Sui for people born in 2002? It is General Lu Ming, the Renwu Tai Sui of the Water Horse year in the Chinese zodiac, number 19 of the Sixty Tai Sui. Legend says that this Song dynasty vanguard commander led a hundred riders, dropped all their baggage, and slipped between three enemy…
- Thunder and Rain Poem 29: Sima Guang Sighs in Hard Times
Thunder-and-Rain Fortune Poem No. 29, Bing-Ren, is a Great Fortune: what you lost can come back, and heaven returns your "old blue blanket." Its story is Sima Guang, the Song dynasty scholar who spent fifteen years in Luoyang finishing a history. When he returned, crowds blocked the streets so his…
- Tai Sui: 2006 Fire Dog, General Bai Min
Who is the Tai Sui for people born in 2006? It is General Bai Min, the Bingxu Tai Sui of the Fire Dog year in the Chinese zodiac, number 23 of the Sixty Tai Sui. Legend says that when this Embroidered Uniform Guard officer was banished from the capital for reporting seven colleagues who bullied…
- Mazu Fortune Poem 47: Thousand Mile Eye and Wind Following Ear
Mazu Fortune Poem No. 47 says everyone in one boat is tied together, but in the end the good and the false will part, and the full moon shows which is which. Its hexagram is Sun, "decrease." Its story: Mazu's two guards, Thousand-Mile Eye and Wind-Following Ear, started out as troublemakers she…
- Tai Sui: 2022 Water Tiger, General He E
Who is the Tai Sui for people born in 2022? It is General He E, the Renyin Tai Sui of the Water Tiger year in the Chinese zodiac, number 39 of the Sixty Tai Sui. Legend says that when the border commander fell ill and the enemy suddenly attacked, he jumped onto his warhorse, shouted "Follow me!"…
- Sixty Jiazi Fortune Poem 6: Lu Xun Lost in the Stone Maze
60 Jiazi Fortune Poem No. 6, the Jiaxu stick, warns about one thing: charging ahead right when everything is going your way. Its story is "Lu Xun Lost in the Stone Maze." The Wu general Lu Xun really beat Liu Bei at Yiling; in the novel he then rides into Zhuge Liang's stone maze and can't get…
- Tai Sui: 2021 Metal Ox, General Yang Xin
Who is the Tai Sui for people born in 2021? It is General Yang Xin, the Xinchou Tai Sui of the Metal Ox year in the Chinese zodiac, number 38 of the Sixty Tai Sui. Legend says that when a rainstorm ruined half his goods, this cloth and grain merchant still showed up exactly when he had promised…
- The Start of Winter: Why We Eat a Winter Tonic
Why do people eat a winter tonic on the Start of Winter (Lidong), the Chinese solar term around November 7 or 8? In the Book of Rites, the emperor dressed in black to welcome winter, then looked after families who had lost someone. In Taiwan today it's called bu dong, "topping up for winter," with…
- Tai Sui: 1971 Metal Pig, General Ye Jian
Who is the Tai Sui for people born in 1971? It is General Ye Jian, the Xinhai Tai Sui of the Metal Pig year in the Chinese zodiac, number 48 of the Sixty Tai Sui. Legend says that when a small city with no reinforcements was about to fall, he held it for forty-seven days so that tens of thousands…
- Chen San and Wu Niang 3: Sold into the Huang House
In Part 3 of Chen San and Wu Niang, Chen San has broken Wu Niang's mirror on purpose and sold himself into the Huang house to sweep floors. She scolds him, splashes him with water, and tells her maid, "He looks just like the man on the horse." This classic Minnan love story comes from the 1566…
- Tai Sui: 2014 Wood Horse, General Zhang Ci
Who is the Tai Sui for people born in 2014? It is General Zhang Ci, the Jiawu Tai Sui of the Wood Horse year in the Chinese zodiac, number 31 of the Sixty Tai Sui. Legend says that when an enemy raid burned the supply road, he took only thirty riders out after dark, swung around to the enemy's…
- Guanyin Fortune Poem 34: The Peach Garden Oath
Guanyin Fortune Poem No. 34 is a Fair Fortune (some versions say Good) that praises a clear heart: "bright as the sun, high in the noon sky." Its story is the Peach Garden Oath of Liu Bei, Guan Yu and Zhang Fei. But the official history never mentions a peach garden. It says the three shared one…
- Tai Sui: 1993 Water Rooster, General Kang Zhi
Who is the Tai Sui for people born in 1993? It is General Kang Zhi, the Guiyou Tai Sui of the Water Rooster year in the Chinese zodiac, number 10 of the Sixty Tai Sui. Legend says he began his term by setting one honest scale down in the middle of the market, and within six months business in his…
- Yue Lao Fortune Poem 33: Someone You Can Trust
Yue Lao Fortune Poem No. 33 is a Great Fortune for love that doesn't say one word about love. It quotes Zengzi in the Analects: "You may trust this one with a fatherless young prince." Smooth talk goes last; someone you can count on goes first. Stories: Zengzi's pig, Song Hong's loyal wife, and…
- Tai Sui: 1974 Wood Tiger, General Zhang Chao
Who is the Tai Sui for people born in 1974? It is General Zhang Chao, the Jiayin Tai Sui of the Wood Tiger year in the Chinese zodiac, number 51 of the Sixty Tai Sui. Legend says when his general fell ill, he stood up: "The general is sick. The danger isn't." History adds Ban Chao: "No tiger's…
- Chen San and Wu Niang 2: The Mirror Polisher
Chen San and Wu Niang, Part 2: The Mirror Polisher continues the Hokkien love story from the 1566 play The Lychee and the Mirror (Li Jing Ji). Chen San trades silk for rough cotton, learns to polish bronze mirrors, reaches Wu Niang's gate, then breaks her precious mirror on purpose to stay three…
- Tai Sui: 1983 Water Pig, General Yu Cheng
Who is the Tai Sui for people born in 1983? It is General Yu Cheng, the Guihai Tai Sui of the Water Pig year, number 60, the last year of the sixty-year cycle. Legend says this old teacher rebuilt his school three times. From real late Han history: the scholar Zheng Xuan, whom even rebels bowed…
- Guanyin Fortune Poem 45: Emperor Renzong Finds His Mother
Guanyin Fortune Poem 45 is a Good Fortune, like a cool drink handed to a thirsty traveler, with one condition in its first line: gentleness. Its story is "Emperor Renzong Finds His Mother," known from the novel as "The Cat Swapped for the Prince." I compare that version with what the History of…
- Tai Sui: 1989 Earth Snake, General Guo Can
Who is the Tai Sui for people born in 1989? It is General Guo Can, the Jisi Tai Sui of the Earth Snake year, number 6 of the Sixty Tai Sui. Legend says he spent three days and three nights alone on a mountain and came down with one sentence. Plus the Shi Gandang stones at the ends of alleys in…
- Yue Lao Fortune Poem 35: The Woman in the Valley
Yue Lao Fortune Poem 35 is a Bad Fortune with one line from the Book of Songs: "The one I met was not good." Before you match it to anyone in your life, here is what it meant two thousand years ago, and why the scholar Wang Guowei read it as bad luck, not a bad person. A reading for every red…
- Tai Sui: 1985 Wood Ox, General Chen Cai
Who is the Tai Sui for people born in 1985? It is General Chen Cai, the Yichou Tai Sui of the Wood Ox year, number 2 of the Sixty Tai Sui. His story comes from Ming dynasty folk legend: a tiger on the road, a burning exam hall, and the Slingshot Magistrate. The History of Ming does record a real…
- Thunder and Rain Poem 26: Shao Yaofu Prays to Heaven
Thunder and Rain Fortune Poem 26 (Bing-Ji) is a Good Fortune for dry days: success and money haven't shown up yet, but the poem promises rain "within three days." Its story, "Shao Yaofu Prays to Heaven," is about the Song dynasty scholar Shao Yong. I check what the History of Song really says.What…
- Thunder and Rain Poem 35: Wang Zhaojun Beyond the Border
Thunder-and-Rain Fortune Poem No. 35, Ding-Wu, is a Great Misfortune about parting halfway down the road. Its story is Wang Zhaojun, the Han dynasty palace lady who left for the Xiongnu over 2,000 years ago and never came home. At the very end of the old notes, though, the poem leaves a way out…
- Tai Sui: 1990 Metal Horse, General Wang Ji
Who is the Tai Sui for people born in 1990? It is General Wang Ji, the Gengwu Tai Sui of the Metal Horse year, number 7 of the Sixty Tai Sui. Unlike most, Wang Ji was a real man of the Jin dynasty, in the Book of Jin: a horse obsession, a horse that would not cross a river, and a friend's donkey…
- Mazu Fortune Poem 27: The Skinny Horse
Mazu Fortune Poem 27 is a stick with someone powerful on your side. Its hexagram is Kui, "looking apart." Halfway through, a skinny horse walks in: "An honest man's horse grows thin. Hold no grudge." The story is Yang Xu, the Han dynasty "Fish-Hanging Governor," for anyone whose money feels…
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