Most Popular Books by Li Jian

Part of the first exchange agreement between China''s Palace Museum and an American museum, Forbidden City: Imperial Treasures from Palace Museum, Beijing accompanies an exhibition of the same name at the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts in Richmond. More than 200 works of art drawn from the collection of the Palace Museum--court paintings, furniture, costumes, sculpture, decorative objects, arms, and armor--highlight the artistic accomplishments of the Ming (1368-1644) and Qing (1644-1911) dynasties, with a focus on the mid-Qing dynasty of the 18th century. In addition, the book features a number of works selected from VMFA''s collection. These magnificent artworks, all reproduced in full color, illustrate the splendor of the Forbidden City and offer an intimate look at its rituals, religion, and daily life.

The legend of Mulan and her bravery is captured in this beautifully illustrated Chinese children''s book. Mulan is a folk story from China''s Northern Dynasty (439-589) about the unusual tale of an ordinary girl named Fa Mulan. This book is illustrated based on the original ballad, which depicts her bravery through Chinese ink paintings. A long time ago in China, there lived a young girl named Mulan. Her father was a retired general who taught her many skills girls weren''t normally allowed to learn, like martial arts, archery, sword play and how to ride a horse. One day, soldiers came to Mulan''s village. They told everyone China was in danger, and that a man from each family must join the army and fight. Mulan was terribly upset. Her father was too old, but was honor-bound to fight. If only she had been born a boy! That night, Mulan came up with a plan to save the honor of her family and her father''s life. Early the next morning, disguised as a boy, Mulan took a horse and her father''s armor before leaving to join the army. No one recognized her, and Mulan was very careful to never let anyone know she was really a girl. Mulan''s bravery, courage and the skills she learned from her father helped her to succeed. Over twelve years, Mulan fought against the threat to China before finally helping to win the war. When she was offered a reward from the emperor for her incredible courage, Mulan instead asked for a horse so she could return home to her family. Mulan''s family was so happy to see her! And there, for the first time in twelve years, Mulan exchanged her armor for a dress, fixed her hair into an elegant girl''s hairstyle and joined her family, a beautiful young woman once again.

In this colorfully illustrated multicultural children''s book a boy of today and a Little Emperor from the past find adventure and fun in the Forbidden City! On a visit to the Forbidden City, Xiao Ming somehow manages to lose his father. During his search, Ming finds a strange set of stairs. Perhaps his father went down them? Off he goes—down the stairs, across a strange pathway and through a hall where, rather than finding his father, Ming finds himself in the midst of the Qing Dynasty! The awed little boy is discovered by Imperial Bodyguards who take him to meet the Little Emperor. Ming described the airplanes and cars of the future and the Little Emperor shows Ming his treasures. The new friends are admiring a bronze dragon when suddenly the dragon comes to life and carries the Little Emperor and Ming up into the sky! The two boys and the dragon fly over the whole city, until Ming slips and falls from the dragon''s tail into the city moat, bringing him back to the present—and his anxious father. A delightful tale of past meets present, Ming''s Adventures in the Forbidden City will surely capture the imagination of children and parents alike.

Once upon a time, the city of Beijing was experiencing a pandemic. All the doctors there did not know how to end the pandemic. When the White Rabbit who was busy preparing medicine for immortals in the Moon Palace heard about the pandemic, she felt so worried that she flew to Beijing, as she wanted to help patients. The White Rabbit knocked on the door of an old grandpa''s house and tried to offer treatment, but the old grandpa believed that only the human doctor could cure him. In order to convince the old grandpa, the White Rabbit disguised herself as a human being with the clothes that she took from a statue in a nearby temple. After the White Rabbit made several visits to the grandpa''s house, the grandpa was touched by her persistence, and finally became willing to receive her treatment. After taking the pills made by the White Rabbit, the old grandpa recovered quickly. As the good news traveled around the city, all the neighbors came to seek the medicine from the White Rabbit. However, unexpectedly, some people became even sicker after taking the pills. What should the White Rabbit do to resolve the crisis brought by the pandemic? Read the story to find out!

In ancient times under the reign of Yellow Emperor (about 2500 B.C.), people kept records by piling stones and tying knots. One day, Cang Jie, a historical official who tied knots to keep records under Yellow Emperor, unexpectedly made a big mistake. Feeling very guilty, he was determined to find out a better way for keeping records. He went back to his hometown to think it over for many days and nights. Inspired by the footprints of animals, he began to carefully observe the sun, moon, stars, mountains, rivers, lakes, seas, as well as birds and animals. At the same time, he traveled around collecting signs created by fishermen, farmers, hunters and soldiers. In the end, he succeeded in creating Chinese characters, which are still widely used today. In this multicultural children''s story, kids will find out that there is a story behind every Chinese character. Children will also learn about basic Chinese characters and how to make them.

Changsheng''s father brings home a homeless tabby kitten. However, as the kitten grows older, they realize that it''s actually a little tiger. Soon Changsheng and the little tiger become so attached to each other. Wearing a tiger-head hat made by his mother, Changsheng and the little tiger become best brothers. However, the villagers are scared of the tiger. Changsheng has no choice but to send the little tiger back to the mountains. The little tiger promises that it will return in times of need. All Changsheng has to do is to put on his tiger-head hat and yell "Tiger Brother" from the top of the mountain. One day a gang of robbers appear in the village. Since the villagers are unable to resist the robbers, Changsheng runs up to the top of the mountain, yelling for his tiger brother. The tiger brother and his brave tiger friends arrive to their rescue, driving away all the robbers out of the village. The tiger brother returns to the mountains, but it keeps its promise to Changsheng forever. A story about bravery, love, and promise, it also introduces the characteristics of people born in the Year of the Tiger, the origin of the Siberian tiger, and the history of the tiger-head hat.

The kindness and generosity of those born under the sign of the sheep in the Chinese zodiac is brought to life in this heartwarming multicultural fairy tale. Long, long ago, there lived a kind physician. He lived on a mountain in a small Chinese village where he practiced traditional Chinese medicine for all the villagers. On his way home one day, he found an injured sheep, rescued it and brought it home where he nursed the sheep back to life. One evening, after the sheep had been living with the physician for some time, a beast barged into the village, demanding payment of each household in the form of one child. If the villagers refused to hand over their children, the beast would eat everyone! In the blink of an eye, the rescued sheep transforms into a lovely girl, who, with a clever plan, manages to frighten the beast away and keep everyone in the village safe from harm. And so, with one simple act of kindness, an entire village is saved, reminding us that every action, no matter how small, has consequences.

In this colorfully illustrated multicultural children''s book a little boy and his father get lost on a visit to the Great Wall! After Ming''s exciting adventures in the Forbidden City, Ming and his father travel to the Great Wall to learn more about the creation of the longest structure ever build by humans. On their way, they take a wrong turn, leading to a great adventure as Ming and his father get to tour the wall and encounter all sorts of important figures from history and literature! The patron saint of the Great Wall shows Ming all the important passes and Ming even gets to meet the very emperor who had the Great Wall built! But when the emperor runs into a tricky situation at the beacon tower, it''s up to Ming and some important information to save the day. Children will love to travel the wall with Ming as this delightful adventure brings to life the Great Wall and how it has influenced China over its 2000-year life span.

This beautifully illustrated multicultural children''s book tells the story of a young boy and his magical rooster in both English and Chinese—a great story for Chinese New Year! Long long ago, there lived a boy named Tang Yun. He studied very hard and was ready to take the imperial exam in the Capital City thousands of miles away. Yun''s mother was worried about him traveling alone. After working day and night, she finished hand embroidering a rooster on Yun''s outfit, hoping the magical rooster would be her son''s guardian angel. During his trip, magic happened whenever Yun was in danger. With a crowing of "cock-a doodle-doo," the embroidered rooster jumped out of Yun''s outfit. He was alive! He was brave, timely and kind. He helped Yun overcome many obstacles during his trip. Yun arrived at the Capital City safely and successfully passed his exam with honor. He eventually reunited with his mother. They lived happily together ever after.

This adorable Chinese-English bilingual children''s book tells the story of the Little Rat and the Grandpa | unlikely allies who embark on an adventure to find a golden seed. They encounter rough seas, fierce guards and tall mountains, but | in the end | bring home a golden rice seed and save the village from going hungry. Illustrated with unique Chinese ink paintings, this book also includes a "cultural explanation" section. Readers can reference a chart to see which zodiac animal represents their birth year, and read more about common characteristics of people born then. For the rat, birth years include 2008 and 2020.

Cai Lun was called into the Palace to serve the Emperor at the age of 15. He was smart and studied hard. Soon he was promoted to be an attending official in charge of documentation. At that time, documents were written either on tablets of bamboo strips or on silk. Bamboo strips were heavy and silk were expensive. The Emperor was very unhappy about it. Therefore, Cai Lun was determined to find another durable material that would be good for writing including a light-weight quality with a soft writing surface. Cai Lun began his experiments with all the cheap natural material that he could find such as dry grass, bark, fishnet and old ropes. With the support from the Emperor and the help of the imperial craftsmen, Cai Lun successfully invented "paper" after many attempts. The innovation of paper made it possible to keep records and also paintings.

Grandpa builds a beautiful little vegetable garden, but a big ugly rock is in the way. He digs it with a shovel. Thinking that it is as big as a car, he decides to bypass it when planting vegetables. Grandma nearly trips over the rock when watering the seedlings, so she digs it with a shovel. Thinking that it is as big as a house, she decides to walk across it when she is there. Papa stumbles over the rock when he is going to trim the seedlings, so he digs it with a shovel. Thinking that it is as big as an airplane, he decides to let it stay. Mama is worried about her sons tripping over the rock, so she digs it with a shovel. Thinking that it is as big as a mountain, she decides to keep her sons out of the vegetable garden. One day, the two brothers see the big rock and decide to dig it out together. Both their grandparents and parents tell them to give it up, because the rock can be bigger than they ever imagine. However, in just one afternoon, the two brothers dig out the rock successfully. It is not as big as they think. Sometimes the things in front of us are not as simple as they look.

This beautifully illustrated multicultural children''s book tells a story about China''s most famous archeological site—the terracotta soldiers of Xi''an. When a special exhibition of terracotta warriors comes to town, Ming and his mother go to see them at the museum. To remember this exciting event, Ming''s mother buys him a little figurine of a General to keep in his room at home. But at midnight, Ming wakes up and finds the General figurine is alive and he has a copper carriage ready to take Ming to his home in Emperor Qin Shi Huang''s Tomb in Xi''an, China. In this mysterious underground world over 2,000 years old, Ming meets the General''s army of terracotta warriors. Read and find out more about Ming''s adventures with his new friends!