Practical Folk Secrets

Folk Secrets and Practical Wisdom: Survival Skills and Ingenious Tricks Passed Down by Our Ancestors

Have you ever heard...

In the back alley behind an apothecary late at night, an old herbalist hums a tune while grinding medicine. Hidden in its melody is a secret remedy for setting bones and healing torn muscles and tendons;

Deep in the mountains, a bamboo weaver always rubs a handful of plant ash into his palms before weaving a basket. With a change in technique, he can make a container that “breathes”;

At the head of the village, a blind fortune-teller works out the problem with the feng shui around your kitchen stove just by counting on his fingers...

These folk secrets, polished bright by the passage of time, are not mysterious tales of the supernatural. They are survival wisdom etched into the blood of the Chinese people. For thousands of years, they helped rural communities thrive: herbal remedies for bruises and sprains, ingenious woodworking without nails, sayings about the clouds that predict the weather, and methods for warding off evil and protecting the home that put elders at ease...

This book strips away the label of “superstition” and explores more than 30 kinds of genuine folk skills on the verge of being lost