TCM Way — yin-yang pendant

TCM Way

Ancient Wisdom, Told Warmly

Ollie wearing the yin-yang pendant

One Pendant.
A Thousand Journeys.

The same yin-yang pendant. The same owl. Reimagined through the ancient murals of Dunhuang, the carved stone of Nanyang, the court pigments of Chang'an, the brushstrokes of Kyoto, the stained glass of Notre-Dame, the geometry of Marrakech — and other worlds yet to come.

I've worn this pendant through ink and stone, across silk roads and stained-glass light. Let me show you what I saw.

— Ollie
October 12 – October 18, 2026 · W42

"Still water reflects the moon. A still mind reflects the world."

— Zen proverb

Ollie's Corner Weekly Wallpaper — 静水照大千，清心见本性。
🖥️ Desktop (2560×1440) 📱 Phone (1290×2796)
Dunhuang Mogao Caves, Tang Dynasty mural, Silk Road
The Mogao Caves of Dunhuang
Tang Dynasty mural · Silk Road · 8th century
A thousand Buddhas watched from the cave walls. I was just a small owl in the vast desert, but the pendant caught the same light that painted these cliffs gold.
The Memorial Temple of Zhang Zhongjing, Nanyang
The Memorial Temple of Zhang Zhongjing, Nanyang
Han dynasty stone relief · the age of Shang Han Za Bing Lun · 3rd century
The stone remembered what the scrolls forgot. Six meridians. A thousand fevers. And one owl, holding still long enough to read the pulse of history.
The Imperial Medical Academy of Chang'an, Tang court painting
The Imperial Medical Academy of Chang'an
Tang court painting · the year Sun Simiao finished Qian Jin Yao Fang · 652
The pharmacist looked up from his mortar. 'You're early,' he said. I wasn't. I'd been waiting fourteen centuries.
Kyoto temple, sumi-e ink wash, Edo period
A temple in Kyoto
Sumi-e ink wash · Edo period · 1688
The brush paused. I held my breath. So did the mountain.
Notre-Dame de Paris, Gothic stained glass
Notre-Dame de Paris
Gothic stained glass · Before the fire
Light doesn't just pass through stained glass. It confesses. Every color told me a different secret.
The Silk Road, Persian miniature
The Silk Road
Persian miniature · Somewhere between Dunhuang and Samarkand
A merchant offered me tea. A monk offered me silence. I accepted both.
Lascaux caves, charcoal on limestone, 17000 years ago
The cave of Lascaux
Charcoal on limestone · 17,000 years ago
Before words. Before temples. Before medicine. Someone still drew a circle and knew it meant wholeness.
Bloomsbury study, literary illustration, London
A study in Bloomsbury
Literary illustration · London, the winter Woolf wrote Orlando
She looked up from her manuscript and said, "Stay a while." So I perched. For a hundred pages.
Marrakech souk, Islamic geometric art
The souk of Marrakech
Islamic geometric art · An hour before dawn
Geometry that makes your eyes dance. I got dizzy trying to count the stars in this tilework. (There are 147. I checked.)

The pendant has more journeys ahead. I haven't been to Wudang yet. Or Udaipur. Or anywhere with a good cup of tea and a blank wall.

— Ollie, signing off

The pendant returns home.

← Back to TCM Way