In this episode, Niuniu continues her conversation with Professor Steve Roddy from University of San Francisco about Feng Menglong. Did you know that besides being an accomplished novelist, he was also a historian? As if that was not enough, he also collected folk songs. He even had a lot of loyal readers overseas! Listen to the conversation for more interesting details!

What do you consider as the most decisive factor for success? Ability? Timing? Resources? Or outside support? All of the above are certainly important, but in Chinese, there's a saying that "事在人为," which means "human effort is the decisive factor." Listen to the show to find out a cool story about Feng Menglong that can be used to interpret "事在人为."

Feng Menglong from the late Ming Dynasty was all of the following: a famous historian, an exceptional novelist and poet. His Sanyan trilogy of vernacular Chinese short story collections have been compared to Italian writer Boccaccio's Decameron and the stories of A Thousand and One Nights. So what to make of it when this successful 61-year-old novelist "abandoned" his comfortable life to take up a post of the county head in a faraway place? Let's check out his story now.

How would you define success? Become rich? Famous? Or powerful? For our ancient friend Wang Anshi, none of these counted. How did he define success? Listen to the show to find out why so many Chinese young people still remember him and celebrate his birthday online a thousand years later!

We all know there are different facets to everyone's personality. Someone could be extremely intelligent, funny, ambitious and totally warmhearted and upright, but at the same time, stubborn, arrogant, sarcastic and socially awkward! The man all these words can be used to describe is Wang Anshi. Let's meet this controversial ancient Chinese now!

A special episode just for you! In this show, Niuniu talks to Professor Steve Roddy from University of San Francisco. As someone who has been studying Chinese culture since the 1970s, he has a lot to share about the brilliant and eccentric Chinese artist - Zheng Banqiao!

In this episode, Zheng Banqiao's story continues. On top of being a great artist, the man was also a diligent official, the kind that would use his own money to help the people. Speaking of the people, why would the rustling sound of bamboo plants remind him of the wellbeing of the people? Listen to this episode to find out.

What would a rustling and beautiful bamboo forest remind you of? Adorable pandas? Or the Oscar-winning martial arts epic Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon? For many Chinese people, bamboo plants remind them of the perfect Confucian gentlemen and of course China's top bamboo painting artist - Zheng Banqiao. Discover this incredible soul with his stories now!

What is your understanding of inner peace? In Chinese, there is a saying "不以物喜, 不以己悲," which means "not to be affected emotionally by the material world, and not to be overly gladdened or saddened by personal gains or losses." Check out this episode to learn more about this ideal state of mind!

One of Fan Zhongyan's most famous sayings is "先天下之忧而忧，后天下之乐而乐, which means "to be the first to bear the world's hardship, and the last to enjoy its comforts." As someone who was not only able to write it but also live by it throughout his entire life, Fan Zhongyan was an exceptional person ever since he was young. Listen to the show for more fascinating stories of Fan Zhongyan.