Ancient China Sleep Stories by Su

by Su Win

Season 2

3 HOURS Dragon Boat Festival Sleep Stories | Tang Dynasty Ancient China

Tonight, I invite you into a collection of gentle sleep stories following the quiet preparations for the Dragon Boat Festival in Tang Dynasty Chang'an. Across this extended journey, we move in calm, unbroken rhythm from a silk merchant's inner room to the misty waters of the palace lake, and onward to festival morning itself. We begin four days before the festival, where a silk merchant's wife twists five-colored cords by the afternoon light of her worktable. From there, the path leads to Qujiang Pool before dawn, where a lone boatman unties the dragon boat and rows quietly through the mist. As the journey continues, we settle into a Chang'an kitchen before sunrise, where a noodle shop owner wraps glutinous rice parcels (zongzi) in reed leaves for the neighboring households. Around the same time, there is also a story that moves within the palace walls, where court women braid cords and fold silk robes to prepare the emperor's festival gifts. As the festival morning finally arrives, a senior official rises in the last dark to hang fresh mugwort above his gate. A young woman from the same household finishes the last of her fragrant sachets as the household wakes around her. Let the quiet rhythms of the Dragon Boat Festival collection carry you gently into rest. 💤 Chapters 00:00:00 Welcome 00:01:46 Story 1 – The Five Cords She Twisted Before the Festival 00:27:46 Story 2 – The Boatman at Pool Before Dawn 00:53:56 Story 3 – Glutinous Rice Parcel (Zongzi) She Made Before Dawn 01:22:29 Story 4 – The Emperor Gifts Prepared at the Inner Palace 01:52:40 Story 5 – The Mugwort He Hung Before the Household Woke 02:19:38 Story 6 – The Fragrant Sachets She Made On The Morning of the Festival 02:44:19 Goodnight 02:45:42 Calming Music 💤 Prefer listening without YouTube ads? You can also find Su QuietSleep on Insight Timer : https://insighttimer.com/suquietsleep/guided-meditations ☕ A small gesture of thanks if you wish : https://buymeacoffee.com/suquietsleep 🕯️ You can find all listening options and links here : https://suquietsleep.github.io/suquietsleep/ #bedtimestories #sleepstory #dragonboatfestival #tangdynasty #bedtimestory #ancientchina #calmstory #SuQuietSleep Music & Soundscapes : Created with AI-assisted tools including Suno Visuals & Illustrations : Created with ChatGPT

S2 · E23

Jul 26, 2026

3:00:00

Dragon Boat Festival Morning in Tang Dynasty China | Sleep Story

Tonight we step quietly into the walled compound of a senior official of the Ministry of Rites in one of the eastern wards of Chang'an, on the morning of the Dragon Boat Festival, during the Tang Dynasty, roughly thirteen hundred years ago. Before the household has stirred, he rises in the last dark, gathers fresh mugwort by feel along the southern wall, ties it with calamus in the old arrangement, and carries the bundle to the outer gate before dawn. Last year's dried remnants come down, the fresh green bundle goes up, and the gate is dressed once more in the way it has been dressed for as many years as the fifth month has called for this. Settle in, relax, and drift gently into sleep. Chapters 00:00 Welcome 01:38 Sleep story begins 28:37 Goodnight 💤 Prefer listening without YouTube ads? You can also find Su QuietSleep on Insight Timer : https://insighttimer.com/suquietsleep/guided-meditations ☕ A small gesture of thanks, if you wish : https://buymeacoffee.com/suquietsleep 🕯️ You can find all listening options and links here : https://suquietsleep.github.io/suquietsleep/ #sleepstory #sleepstories #bedtimestory #ancientchina #relaxingsleep #suquietsleep Music & Soundscapes : Created with AI-assisted tools including Suno Visuals & Illustrations : Created with ChatGPT

S2 · E22

Jul 19, 2026

30:15

Dragon Boat Festival Sleep Story | Preparing Imperial Gifts at Inner Palace, Chang'an

Tonight, we step quietly into the inner gift-preparation workshop of the Southern Inner Palace of Chang'an, the residence of Emperor Xuanzong at the height of the Kaiyuan era , one of the most prosperous periods of the Tang Dynasty. In this quiet sleep story, a senior court lady at Inner Palace, the personal residence of Emperor Xuanzong in Chang'an, oversees the preparation of imperial Dragon Boat Festival gifts on the afternoon before the fifth day of the fifth month. Five palace women work at three low tables — gathering nine small zongzi into hanging clusters, braiding five-colored long-life cords, and sorting embroidered sachets alongside painted round fans while a sixth folds named summer silk robes into cloth envelopes at a separate garment station along the far wall. Settle in, relax, and drift gently into sleep. Chapters 00:00 Welcome 01:45 Sleep story begins 31:56 Goodnight 💤 Prefer listening without YouTube ads? You can also find Su QuietSleep on Insight Timer : https://insighttimer.com/suquietsleep/guided-meditations ☕ A small gesture of thanks if you wish : https://buymeacoffee.com/suquietsleep 🕯️ You can find all listening options and links here : https://suquietsleep.github.io/suquietsleep/ #sleepstory #sleepstories #bedtimestory #ancientchina #relaxingsleep #suquietsleep #dragonboatfestival Music & Soundscapes : Created with AI-assisted tools including Suno Visuals & Illustrations : Created with ChatGPT

S2 · E21

Jul 12, 2026

33:40

Dragon Boat Festival – The Fragrant Sachets of Chang'an | Ancient China Sleep Story

Tonight we visit Chang'an on the morning of the Dragon Boat Festival — the Duanwu , the fifth day of the fifth lunar month — nearly 1,300 years ago, at the height of the Tang Dynasty. In this quiet sleep story, the younger daughter of a Chang'an household sits before her worktable on the morning of the Dragon Boat Festival to finish the last of the thirteen fragrant sachets she has been making since the beginning of the fourth month. She grinds angelica root, calamus, agarwood, and camphor together in the stone mortar, fills each small embroidered silk bag through the gap in the stitching, and closes each one with a drawstring of five-colored cord finished with a braided tassel. When the row is complete — crimson sachets for her parents and grandmother, saffron sachets for the household's senior attendants, soft green kept for herself — she carries them out of the quiet inner room toward the sound of the household assembling for the festival. Settle in, relax, and drift gently into sleep. 😴 Chapters 00:00 Welcome 01:46 Sleep story begins 26:20 Goodnight 💤 Prefer listening without YouTube ads? You can also find Su QuietSleep on Insight Timer : https://insighttimer.com/suquietsleep/guided-meditations ☕ A small gesture of thanks, if you wish : https://buymeacoffee.com/suquietsleep 🕯️ You can find all listening options and links here : https://suquietsleep.github.io/suquietsleep/ #sleepstory #sleepstories #bedtimestory #ancientchina #relaxingsleep #suquietsleep #dragonboatfestival Music & Soundscapes : Created with AI-assisted tools including Suno Visuals & Illustrations : Created with ChatGPT

S2 · E20

Jul 8, 2026

27:50

Dragon Boat Festival Food - Glutinous Rice Parcels (Zongzi) | Ancient China China Sleep Story

Tonight we step quietly into a peaceful moment from the past in ancient China. In this quiet sleep story, a noodle shop owner in Chang'an wakes before dawn to make wrapped glutinous rice parcels (zongzi) for four neighbouring households on the morning before the Dragon Boat Festival. She washes the softened reed leaves in the courtyard basin by lamplight, folds and fills each parcel with jujubes and chestnuts and plain rice, and winds rush cord around each one before placing it upright in the wide boiling pot. By midday, the kitchen fills with steam and the warm starchy smell of cooked leaves, and the finished zongzi hang in their rows from the beam to cool in the still festival air. Settle in, relax, and drift gently into sleep. 😴 Chapters 00:00 Welcome 01:38 Sleep story begins 30:13 Goodnight 💤 Prefer listening without YouTube ads? You can also find Su QuietSleep on Insight Timer : https://insighttimer.com/suquietsleep/guided-meditations ☕ A small gesture of thanks, if you wish : https://buymeacoffee.com/suquietsleep 🕯️ You can find all listening options and links here : https://suquietsleep.github.io/suquietsleep/ #sleepstory #sleepstories #bedtimestory #ancientchina #relaxingsleep #suquietsleep Music & Soundscapes : Created with AI-assisted tools including Suno Visuals & Illustrations : Created with ChatGPT

S2 · E19

Jul 5, 2026

31:52

Dragon Boat Festival Sleep Story | The Boatman Before Dawn

Tonight, we step quietly to the broad waters of Qujiang Pool in the southeastern gardens of Chang'an, three days before the Dragon Boat Festival, Duanwu, the fifth day of the fifth lunar month, nearly 1,300 years ago, at the height of the Tang Dynasty. In this quiet sleep story, the Dragon Boat keeper unties the dragon boat before dawn, rows through mist among the closed lotus leaves, listens to the first birds begin to wake, and watches the pale light slowly reach the Chang'an city walls. Settle in, relax, and drift gently into sleep. Chapters 00:00 Welcome 01:45 Sleep story begins 27:45 Goodnight 💤 Prefer listening without YouTube ads? You can also find Su QuietSleep on Insight Timer : https://insighttimer.com/suquietsleep/guided-meditations ☕ A small gesture of thanks, if you wish : https://buymeacoffee.com/suquietsleep 🕯️ You can find all listening options and links here : https://suquietsleep.github.io/suquietsleep/ #sleepstory #sleepstories #bedtimestory #ancientchina #relaxingsleep #suquietsleep Music & Soundscapes : Created with AI-assisted tools including Suno Visuals & Illustrations : Created with ChatGPT

S2 · E18

Jun 28, 2026

29:15

Dragon Boat Festival Sleep Story | Five Colored Long Life Threads

Tonight, we step softly into the inner room of a silk merchant's household in a ward just north of the West Market in Chang'an, four days before the Dragon Boat Festival = the Duanwu (端午), the fifth day of the fifth lunar month, nearly 1,300 years ago, at the height of the Tang Dynasty. The silk merchant's wife sits before the worktable where five reels of silk thread are four days before the Dragon Boat Festival. She measures each length by arm, aligns the strands, and begins to twist — each cord slowly taking on its spiral of green and red and yellow and white and black. One by one the finished threads are set along the shelf, each made for a specific child in the ward, the afternoon light from the high window falling quietly across them. Settle in, relax, and drift gently into sleep. 😴 Chapters 00:00 Welcome 01:38 Sleep story begins 27:49 Goodnight 💤 Prefer listening without YouTube ads? You can also find Su QuietSleep on Insight Timer : https://insighttimer.com/suquietsleep/guided-meditations ☕ A small gesture of thanks, if you wish : https://buymeacoffee.com/suquietsleep 🕯️ You can find all listening options and links here : https://suquietsleep.github.io/suquietsleep/ #sleepstory #sleepstories #bedtimestory #ancientchina #relaxingsleep #suquietsleep Music & Soundscapes : Created with AI-assisted tools including Suno Visuals & Illustrations : Created with ChatGPT

S2 · E17

Jun 21, 2026

29:27

Aristocratic Life in Tang Dynasty China: Folding Silk in the Storeroom (ASMR History Sleep Story)

Tonight, we step softly into the textile storeroom of the Pei aristocratic household in Chang'an, nearly 1,300 years ago, at the height of the Tang Dynasty. The senior textile keeper of the Pei household , just east of the imperial city and only a short distance from the East Market, has the silk storeroom to herself at midday. With the household in its midday rest and two quiet hours ahead - time enough for the spring silk rotation: folding the winter heavy silks out of their seasonal positions and into the cedar chest's deep storage, and bringing the summer light silks forward. Settle in, relax, and drift gently into sleep. Chapters 00:00 Welcome 01:40 Sleep story begins 25:16 Goodnight 💤 Prefer listening without YouTube ads? You can also find Su QuietSleep on Insight Timer : https://insighttimer.com/suquietsleep/guided-meditations ☕ A small gesture of thanks, if you wish : https://buymeacoffee.com/suquietsleep 🕯️ You can find all listening options and links here : https://suquietsleep.github.io/suquietsleep/ #sleepstory #sleepstories #bedtimestory #ancientchina #relaxingsleep #suquietsleep Music & Soundscapes : Created with AI-assisted tools including Suno Visuals & Illustrations : Created with ChatGPT

S2 · E16

Jun 17, 2026

26:54

A Walk Through Misty Golden Rice Fields Before Dawn | Ancient China Sleep Story

Tonight, we step quietly into South Village, a small village at the foot of the Qinling Mountains, just south of Chang'an, nearly 1,300 years ago, at the height of the Tang Dynasty. A rice farmer from South Village steps out before dawn to walk his paddy fields in the last quiet days before the autumn harvest. He moves along the narrow earthen paths between the rows, checking the water channels while morning mist sits low and still over the paddies. As the light comes slowly down from the mountain ridgeline, it finds the golden grain bending in its long rows, patient, full and still. Settle in, relax, and drift gently into sleep. 😴 Chapters 00:00 Welcome 01:38 Sleep story begins 28:37 Goodnight 💤 Prefer listening without YouTube ads? You can also find Su QuietSleep on Insight Timer : https://insighttimer.com/suquietsleep/guided-meditations ☕ A small gesture of thanks, if you wish : https://buymeacoffee.com/suquietsleep 🕯️ You can find all listening options and links here : https://suquietsleep.github.io/suquietsleep/ #sleepstory #sleepstories #bedtimestory #ancientchina #relaxingsleep #suquietsleep Music & Soundscapes : Created with AI-assisted tools including Suno Visuals & Illustrations : Created with ChatGPT

S2 · E15

Jun 14, 2026

30:16

Flowing Water on the Guqin Beside the Autumn Lotus Pond | Sleep Story Tang Dynasty Ancient China

Tonight, we step softly into the garden of a retired official's household in Chang'an's eastern wards, where an autumn afternoon is mild and clear. A retired official sits at the stone table in his pavilion with the guqin, a long wooden zither with seven silk strings, before him, playing the piece, Flowing Water, he learned when he was twenty years old, in his teacher's study — slowly and completely, from beginning to end. Around him, the ginkgo tree holds its autumn yellow above the pond, and the last notes of the piece carry out into the still garden air. Settle in, relax, and drift gently into sleep. 😴 Chapters 00:00 Welcome 01:38 Sleep story begins 30:48 Goodnight 💤 Prefer listening without YouTube ads? You can also find Su QuietSleep on Insight Timer : https://insighttimer.com/suquietsleep/guided-meditations ☕ A small gesture of thanks, if you wish : https://buymeacoffee.com/suquietsleep 🕯️ You can find all listening options and links here : https://suquietsleep.github.io/suquietsleep/ #sleepstory #sleepstories #bedtimestory #ancientchina #relaxingsleep #suquietsleep Music & Soundscapes : Created with AI-assisted tools including Suno Visuals & Illustrations : Created with ChatGPT

S2 · E14

Jun 10, 2026

30:03

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