It is the Lantern Festival for Chinese people today and I hope everyone will enjoy it with the full moon and the magic light!
Memory leads me back to some CNY (Chinese New Year) 's Days I have had in the past....
The first and best recall on this is in 1956, the Monkey's Year. That time was just one more years after our family moved from Nan Jing and settled down in Jinan. For visiting us and also for celebrating that CNY, my grandfather came from hometown with some firecrackers and fireworks as well as a small basket of fried then salted sparrows. I can never forget the delicious taste after I had such kind of sparrows. I was also deeply impressed by playing with the fireworks. It was not to blast when you fired it, but burn with twinkling light and some low noise. It was really puzzling and surprising me, a 5 years girl with her first time knowing and playing with such things. Parents shouted our sisters not to play it at daytime, but we couldn't bear waiting till the night. Then, we went to a narrow alley where it could get dark earlier and then fired all the fireworks one by one. At the end when it was full dark, we realized that we should have fired them later, so that we could enjoy them better. However, it was too late. I got a lot of fun as well as deep regrets with this first experience.
The other thing impressed me best on CNY is in 1960, which was also a Rat's Year. My 5 years brother got a new cotton padded jacket for the New Year. It was his first time to get new clothes for him own, since he was the younger one then and normally put on the remaining clothes from our elder sisters. Without parents' awareness, he took his pocket money and bought some fireworks, which could work only by being struck. But brother was too young to know how to handle such kind of fireworks. He even put them in his new jumper's pocket and played with other young fallows in the big courtyard. Suddenly, the fireworks burnt out when he was running. His new jumper was badly destroyed. Nobody blamed him as he was lucky not to hurt himself. But he himself and we sisters were all shocked by this accident. We then got to know that it was never a safe thing to play with fire or fireworks.
After so called "Cultural Revolution" due to what my father died, the CNY seemed hardest days for mother and me. I needed to help mum to manage how to spend such days easier. When we approched to the CNY's Day of 1970, which was a Dog's Year, we met a big problem on family finance. Then, I suggested mother to sell some old books for getting some living cost. Mum agreed, while she said "Oh, we need to check before taking the books out, to see if there are some photos in." With great surprise, we found in one book a note of "National Debt" mother bought in 1955. It was still valid to exchange. We were delighted and I rushed into a bank and got back 40 Yuan, which was a big amount at that time. We then had a great CNY's Day. And I believe now that it was God who blessed us in that disaster......
Compared with the above CNY's Days, such days for the latest 20 years are seemed so so. Maybe it is because I have grown up, and maybe it is due to too many hard days I have spent, so that my heart gets insensitive. However, I am still looking forwand to CNY, during what time I can get long vacation and have a good rest.
At this moment when I was almost completing this post, I suddenly recalled a song, of which the words is translated by me as follows:
"We are living one year after another, which is harder and harder,
We are moving here and there, though no place is real home to dwell.
But we still keep going ahead all of our lives, along with the river,
Since its running water flows all over the earth forever...... "
PS
I also dedicate this post to Elliott Ng, who left me comments and asked for such experience.
Hi everybody, I am a Malaysian Chinese, born and bred in Malaysia and Lisa's post reminded me of my younger days here too. The Chinese in my country were immigrants from different provinces of China and started to immigrate here in the 1800s, first to work in the tin mines and then later branching out to fishing ports and trading posts dotting the country. Almost every immigrant who came here were the very poor looking for a better future. For many, they came with just the shirt on their backs and the will to succeed and send money home.
Life was hard then as it was hard in most Asian countries, China included. The children of immigrants, like my own parents, were lucky if they managed a few years in school. But they never gave up hope and they toiled and slaved and save and Chinese associations all over the country provided a vital link to the homeland.
Today, the Chinese makes up about 28% of the population but control more than 50% of the economy.
Those difficult days of old seemed so much a part of the history now but for many of us, it was very much a part of our lives then. The toils and hardships we went through has brought forth a new generation of Chinese the world over who are educated, confident and can compete with the best from the rest of the world.
Lee Ching, Thanks for your comments! Hope you come here once more!
We Chinese people are now all over the world. No matter you were born in china or overseas. We have the same root of nation, so that we would get something in common, I bet.
Now, China is playing a more and more important role in the world affairs and this let our Chinese people feel prouder than ever before. However, it is also ask us for more responsibilities and concerns.
Welcome Lee! :)
Actually, I knew some other Malaysian Chinese too, they are very kind and smart.
Chinese people are smart, kind and however, very glad to help the others. It's not concluded by me, but told to me by a friend of mine who's from Zambia :)
Hi, Lisa.
I am very pleased that I got my first comment from you, because aw ever told me about you and in fact you were the first person I knew on ifgogo.
Thanks for sharing your story with us, and the poem is good. Yes, out of adversity comes greatness. Only through the experience of trial and suffering can the soul be strengthend.
Celia, you are always welcomed!
And I also found something from you what I am very familiar with. I guess it's the favorite to Literature and English. right? lol
Let's use the language to tell our own stories, which will enrich not only the colorful world, but also our own minds.
Yes,you are right:)
Lisa,
Thank you for sharing some of your memories of the CNY of your past. Its interesting how as a child, one has such vivid memories of some small things, like the salted sparrows or the first firecrackers. Now I wonder what memories my 6 year old son will have, and what role I have in creating those memories for him.
I was also touched by your story of finding the National Debt note in the book! These books were probably very important to your mom, otherwise she would not have hidden the note in the book in the first place. I'm inspired that you choose to believe that this was blessing provided to you and your mom. He who guides, will also provide.
I do believe as Celia does above that trial and suffering is the way in which we are being shaped and formed. Thank you for sharing some of your personal experiences that have helped shaped you! In that sharing, you are a blessing to me and others!
Ellliott,
Thanks a lot for your attentive reading and your comments. I surely agree with you that the more trials and sufferings you have had, the more experience of life you will get!
Though it is no longer existing now, I should still admit that I ever had a good attention and a camera-like memory in the past. So, I could remember a lot of impressed things and whenever I recall them, all the scenes at that moment appears as a old movie on... haha. However, it seems not a good thing to me. I need to forget some bad things.
My mother was an old soldier. She joined the army led by Chinese Communist Part in early Anti-Janpanese War when she was only 13 and then grew up in the troops. So, after liberation and during the early stage of social construction, she answered the Party's call and bought quite a lot of National Notes in 1950s. But I guess she never thought then one of the notes could save us in the bad days.
Anyway, that special local product named "Fried iron Sparrow", I could never forget the nice taste, though I never had it again, and I never know what it is called of "Iron Sparrow " .
Chinese New Year? Just few days for Chinese people to relieve, after a whole year of suppression, from whatever you might think about.
Finished reading in minutes, it was very real experience. However, the first CNY that I could remember was about in the 1990s. I loved to play with my sisters.
My mother used to tell the children some "horrible stories", though we were all afraid of the content, we still enjoyed them in some special way. That's also very funny when I looked back upon them now.
Anyway, we are still living on this world and we are going to enjoy any kind of life. Just enjoy it.
Life goes ahead as it is, from the past to the future.
So, the important thing is to spend well on each day with your own management and its achievements. Thus, you can have a nice course of life without any regrets. I am feeling this, so I am happy although I am coming into the old age.....
Hi Mum. I have read the whole story, which I have heard from you when I was yound, and I am moved again. I think those hard times that peopel in your age have been through can also be a fortune dispite its negative impacts. You should tell us more about that and show how tough and tenacious your generation is. I would like to show my respect to you all.....
Surely you young generation won't face those hard days again！
However, everyone has his own problems or issues, as life is an experience for which the more you bump into, the more you gain the knowledge or feelings. Right?
I have been missing you all on ifgogo.com. Is there anything I can do to help you think of topics to discuss? What happened to everyone? I've learned that its hard to stay blogging, it takes self-discipline and a love for whatever it is that you are blogging about. With group blogs, its hard to figure out how to focus the blog on a specific style or topic so readers understand what the blog is about. We are going through some hard thinking about this topic over at CNReviews.com. Should I sign up as an author and post some questions for people to answer? It seems like there is a lot of willingness to comment here at ifgogo.com once someone has already blogged.