Culture\Music and Theater

Encouraging song provides release from family pressures during Spring Festival

By Zhang Xingjian | chinadaily.com.cn | Updated: 2017-01-18 09:38

Encouraging song provides release from family pressures during Spring Festival

Shanghai Rainbow Indoor Chorus has released another song called What I Do is for Your Own Good on January 17. [Photo/Weibo.com]

Generally speaking, a hit song can reflect on the mood of listeners at a certain period, and What I Do is for Your Own Good is no exception. Many young people have expressed their sense of identity to it.

"I am not used to the change in my position, from a receiver to a giver of red envelops. And I just graduated from the college last year and have not saved much money yet, which really frustrates me," said Zhang Qian, a 24-year-old woman working at a state-owned enterprise.

"I am very happy to return home for a reunion during the festival and cherish the valuable moments to spend with my parents. However, I am already 32 years old but still single, a knot in my family members' hearts that cannot be untied for many years," Peng Xiaochun said, an English teacher working at a public high school.

According to a survey recently conducted among 1,918 young people by the research center at China Youth Daily, an overwhelming 86.4 percent of interviewees think it is necessary to return to their homeland during the Spring Festival. However, nearly half of them (42.6 percent) have expressed their concerns for returning, as they are afraid of losing face for an average life or career.

"Mediocre performance in school or work cannot be the excuse for not coming back. Spring Festival is a golden opportunity for strengthening family bonds, but many young people have not realized the significance of it," Ma Jiezhen, Guangzhou-based folklorist said.

At the beginning of the music video, a classic line from Forrest Gump is cited: "Life is like a box of chocolates you will never know what you going to get."

"Indeed, we may not be that good but we will work hard in the future. That's enough! After all, the essence of spending the Spring Festival is reunion not compression," the song echoes the theme at the ending.