The Other China

努力活著

China Heritage celebrates the First Day of the First Month of the Year of the Snake in the company of Lao Shu 老樹.

See also:

• The Dragon Gives Way to the Snake

— Geremie R. Barmé
29 January 2025

乙巳蛇年正月初一

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Grand Plans for a Modest Life in 2025

2025年偉大理想生活

 

New Year’s Benediction

a couplet in red

Good fortune is being able to eat your fill and sleep through the night,
Maintaining good health and making a buck will make your heart sing.

Devote yourself to living well.

 

It’s not really about how much I get paid,
I just really really want to keep my job.
Hope my kids’ll be okay after graduation and,
if I fall sick, that maybe I’ll get legit medicine.
I hope too that I don’t get hit by a car and that
my account isn’t blocked ’cause of a truth bomb.
Depression won’t make me jump off a building,
and, yeah, it’s always smart to smile at everyone.

— Lao Shu, on a winter’s day, Jiachen Year of the Dragon

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