Evelyn Li: 2024 Year of the Holy Dragon Special

First thing first, wishing everyone especially Descendants of the Dragon a very happy & prosperous 2024 Year of the Holy Dragon… Yes, not just any Dragon, but the Holy Dragon called 龍 (simplified 龙) spelled as “Long” (pinyin) and pronounced as “Loong”.

Descendants of the Dragon

In the Far East there is a river; its name is Chang Jiang (Yangtze River)
In the Far East there is a river; its name is Huang He (Yellow River)
Though I have never seen the beauty of Chang Jiang, through dreams the river’s waters flow
Though I have never heard the strength of Huang He, it surges turbulently in my dreams.

In the ancient East there was a Dragon; its name was Zhong Guo (China)
In the ancient East there was a group of people; they were all Descendants of the Dragon
Under the foot of the great Dragon I grow, grow into a Descendant of the Dragon
Black eyes, black hair, yellow skin, forever a Descendant of the Dragon

A quiet night a hundred years ago, the deep dark night before a revolution
The sound of guns and cannons broke the silent night; indulgence wielded the weapon of battle (?)
How many years do the cannons ring out, how many years and how many more
Great Dragon, great Dragon, rub your eyes and awaken; rub your eyes and awaken forever.

Here is one of my fave “Kungfu” songs… I just ❤️ heart ❤️ the classic Chinese drumbeat (Dragon Dance type) for some reason.

It’s actually the theme song for a kungfu movie “Once Upon A time In China 黃飛鴻”.

Some translate title of the song “男兒當自強” as “A Man Should Strengthen Himself”. While the translation maybe semantically okay, but I find it contextually “offbeat”… I’d say something like “Be A Real Man” is probably more apt?

In any case, nowadays “Real Man” is also referred as “Red Patriot”. Sorry girls, no gender discrimination intended… Just that the word “Mankind” is easier than “Peoplekind” (promoted by Wokeboy Justin Trudeau).