Beijing Workers' Singing Moved Millions

Two migrant workers in Beijing, with bare arms and worn faces, covered a song "In the Spring" (春天里) in their shabby dorm. This video quickly went popular among millions of viewers in China.

In the video are 29-year-old vagrant singer Liu Gang (the one with the guitar) and his friend, 44-year-old Wang Xu, who works as a docker in Beijing.

Wang Feng, original writer and performer of this song, highly praised their work as "lived out the true spirit of rock & roll from where it is most needed - the blue collar class". "I was most delighted to see my song re-produced by people like these two guys. They gave substantial meanings to my work and, more generally, all works of rock&roll as a means to express what needs to be said in our society."

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In the Spring -Lyrics

I still remember those spring days

When I hadn't cut off my long hair

I had no credit card and no girl

No home with 24-hour hot water supply

But I used to be that happy

Only with my old wooden guitar

In the street, under the bridge, and on the field

Singing the songs that nobody would listen to

If one day I'm old and alone

Please leave me back in those past days

If one day I'm gone silently

Please bury me in the spring

I still remember those spring days

Hardly had I grown beard

No present for Valentine's Day

Nor did I have my lovely princess

But I didn't think they were that bad days

Though I only had fantasies of love

In the dawn, in the night and in the breeze

Singing those songs that nobody would listen to

If one day I'm old and alone

Please leave me back in those past days

If one day I'm gone silently

Please bury me in the spring

Now you are my beautiful spring

As warm as it used to be

I cut my long hair and grew my beard

Pains are gone with the wind

But I feel such a sadness

Time left me deeper loss and emptiness

In the sunny spring days

My tears can't help shedding

...

Busyness Leads to Happiness

Here's a piece of recent work done by Christopher Hsee, of University of Chicago, a prominent researcher of psychology and one of those who established the term hedonomics.

http://www.psychologicalscience.org/index.php/publications/observer/obsonline/busyness-leads-to-happiness.html

It was three years ago when I was helping with some research on his team that Prof. Hsee told us about the original idea behind the article: he wanted to prove that people sometimes do things only to "release their excessive energy". Sounds like a strange idea, but he said he had a way to prove it (which is pretty much you read from the article above). I was soon convinced he's a genius.

Then we went to a few colleges to do the "experiments". I still remember some details: after finishing one survey, we "lied" to students that the questionnaires of next survey was not ready and they had 15 minutes to kill. They could either stay in the room or hand in the questionnaire to another location in the building where I was collecting the papers and sending out candies... At the end of the day, our data suggests that people would choose the farther location not for a better candy, but as an excuse to take a walk and avoid idling.

Now I'm really happy to see this very project is published, and realized that perhaps I should find myself some more "busyness" in order to be happier, rather than staying home all day long...