Boasting a long history, China is home to many famous paintings, which are now in the hearts of more than a billion people.

Nymph of the Luo River-Gu Kaizhi

The legend has it that Cao Zhi fell in love with the governor’s daughter. However, she married his brother and the prince became upset. Later, he composed an emotional poem about the love between the goddess and common people. In the 4th century, Gu Kaizhi, a Chinese artist, was moved by the story and illustrated the poem.

Court Ladies Adorning Their Hair with Flowers—Zhou Fang

During the Tang Dynasty, the genre of “beautiful women painting” enjoyed popularity. Coming from a noble background, Zhou Fang created artworks in this genre. In his painting, the ladies stand as though they are fashion models, but one of them is entertaining herself by teasing a cute dog.

Along the River During the Qingming Festival—Zhang Zeduan

Zhang Zeduan depicted (描绘) the landscape in his work. However, instead of concentrating on the vastness of nature, he captured the daily life of the people of Bianjing, present-day Kaifeng. His work shows much about life in the Northern Song Dynasty.

A Thousand Li of Rivers and Mountains—Wang Ximeng

Not only did officials and scholars enjoy listening to music, but they also found pleasure in depicting nature. One such painter was Wang Ximeng. He was a prodigy. Wang Ximeng painted A Thousand Li of Rivers and Mountains when he was only seventeen years old. He died several years later, but he left one of the largest and most beautiful paintings in Chinese history.

Standing on the shore of a lake, I can’t help but marvel at the tens or hundreds of thousands of small rocks that surround my boots. They were all created from hard surfaces, their edges softening over time. And I wonder, can we learn from a pile of rocks?

Much like a rock, I’ve found my attitude has softened and my desire to better understand others has expanded with each trip around the sun.

Once, I too was a sharp rock covered in pointy edges. Today, after decades of the waters of life coursing over me, my edges are softer and more understanding. I’m less likely to judge and more interested in learning how we can exist together.

Two years ago, while traveling in the Pacific Northwest, I watched a restaurant owner ask several people to leave for not wearing masks. Not forceful and not rude. On the door read a sign: “Please wear a mask before entering our restaurant. We don’t like it either, but let’s all do what we can to get through this together.” The group of young men wished to argue about the note.

I sat watching, understanding both sides. I’ve been those guys before, using my youthful edges to chip away at the world. What I lost, however, was the ability to grow from experiences by looking through the eyes of others. In learning to be more open, I’ve also found more happiness and success.

You can fit more rounded rocks in a jar than those with sharp edges. The former look for ways to adjust and make room for others; the latter never give an inch to accommodate others.

Time, like the waters rolling against once sharp stones, changes us. I placed a rounded stone into my jacket pocket. Mother Nature is holding class again.

A spoonful of pickles(榨菜) can sometimes make a meal taste way better. Recently, a new type of pickle is being discussed: “digital pickled vegetables”. It refers to the videos people watch while eating. Many people think that the videos can make their food more appetizing.

The topic received more than 16 million clicks on Sina Weibo and about 100,000 people participated in the discussion. Instead of having meals with friends and family members, many young people in China are kept company by TV shows or short videos. Many believe that their food is tastier with the “digital pickles”.

Can this habit affect your diet? According to a research paper published in 2019, you may eat more unconsciously. The international research team asked 62 volunteers to follow different eating patterns on four different days. The patterns included eating while looking at the mobile phone, reading magazines and without distraction. After analyzing their diets, the team discovered that eating with a distraction increased caloric ingestion(卡路里摄入) by about 15 percent.

To explore the reason, the team also invited two groups of people: one group ate while listening to an audio clip about another person eating and the other listened to a clip that helped them imagine themselves eating. The results showed that the second group ate less since they were more focused on their meals. When we eat with the “digital pickles”, our attention can be distracted, which leads to eating more than expected.

This works not only for eating meals but other demanding tasks as well. A research project led by the University of Sussex, UK, pointed out that activities which require lots of attention trick many participants into overeating. The team invited 120 participants to do various tasks while providing them with drinks and snacks. “Our study suggests that if you’re eating or drinking while your attention is distracted by a highly engaging task, you’re less likely to be able to tell how full you feel,” one of the authors Martin Yeomans explained.