Chunjiehui Reflections: Isaac Chu

Author: Isaac Chu (朱天兴)

Isaac Chu (Left 1) 

Each New Year cycle is an opportunity to pause and to take stock. On Saturday, 2/2/19 certain ones who braved rain and wind found themselves at a Lunar New Year celebration organized by the Transnational Chinese Cultural Exchange Center at the Sunshine Educational Academy in El Monte. In attendance were expatriates from throughout Mainland China, Hong Kong, and Taiwan. Included were their US-raised children and representatives from the arts and humanities.

Inside the event space, one takes note of a cultural awareness of the people of Mexico to whom Los Angeles owes much of its history. There is a large poster depicting Mexican Revolutionary Emiliano Zapata in his broad-brimmed sombrero, along with displays of folklorico song and dance. In this multi-purpose room dedicated to educating Chinese youth is an appreciation for the people of the land.  

Further evidence of cultural conversation was on display through the food offerings of deli sandwiches, baked garlic chicken, zhajiang noodles, arugula salad, and sweet confections both homemade and store-bought. This would have been a good opportunity to ponder why food is central to Chinese culture, while being presented with notions of modern convenience, traditional cuisine, vegetarianism, and whether milk candy is from China or the West.

As for the event itself, one might describe it as a comfortable chaos of food and music, coming and going, introductions and Wechat exchanges. Poets and writers, religious figures and professors, youth and elders all mingled or made their way across the stage while chairs were brought in, food was set up, and children were attended to. Among the performances that stood out was the hulusi, a gourd flute from Yunnan province, brought to us by an American Chinese youth and his culturally astute parents.

In greeting the zodiacal Year of the Boar, sometimes associated with greed and laziness, we are also reminded to live with toughness, courage, and self-awareness. The foregoing event served as an encouragement to recall roots, creatively engage the present, and to be mindful of potential.