“过年好！” (Guònián hǎo!).

According to the Internet, that means Happy New Year in some variety of the Chinese languages, although I don’t know if that is true. If not, those in the know please correct me.

This Wednesday, January 29, is the Chinese Lunar New Year. Now, there are several other Asian New Years coming, but I believe the Chinese Lunar New Year is the largest because with 1.4 billion people, China is the most populous country on the planet. According to many internet sources, Lunar New Year is the largest human migration on Earth. Over 4 million people travel to celebrate Lunar New Year with family or somewhere other than home each year, which is close to four times as many people who travel for Christmas in the US. It is China’s biggest holiday, and since China is a big country, it is probably the world’s biggest holiday.

So I was looking for some Chinese inspirational music that would still make sense to my mostly English-speaking readers when I found this interesting video. It is some kind of TV show…maybe an American Idol type competition or else a musical concert show? But this video features an American woman who is getting her PhD in Chinese Languages and Culture from University of Wisconsin-Madison who rewrote and sang a version of a Chinese pop song called “A Million Possibilities,” which is based on some philosophical musings by an ancient Daoist Chinese philosophe named Zhuanzi. Written sometime between 476–221 BCE, the original text poses the question of a man who dreams of being a butterfly, but when he awakes…does he really? Is he a man who dreams of being a butterfly, or is he a butterfly dreaming he is a man? It is a classic Chinese example of epistemology, the branch of philosophy that investigates how do we know what is true and what is our imaginations, desires, opinions, etc.

Anyway, as someone who graduated with a major in Philosopy as an undergraduate, kudos to China for having pop music that includes ancient philosophical questions.

I found the video inspirational, especially because at our spiritual center, our theme for the month was “Stretching Into Possibility” and yesterday’s message was “Choosing Possibility.” So I hope you will be inspired as well for our Lunar New Year Motivational Music Monday:

https://youtu.be/Lo_AJsrS5DQ?si=fw0zOoow4vQHft3Z

Will you face the light with me?