2025.02.04 - Year Arrives, Blessings Arrive

Title: 2025.02.04 – Year Arrives, Blessings Arrive

Reading Selections:

Five Blessings: “First, longevity; second, wealth; third, health and peace; fourth, virtuous conduct; fifth, a blessed end of life.”
Six Calamities: “First, disaster, shortness, and ruin; second, illness; third, worry; fourth, poverty; fifth, evil; sixth, weakness.” — Shang Shu (Book of Documents)

Year Arrives, Blessings Arrive https://mp.weixin.qq.com/s/adAOIVkcvm5e49Z_Rtmv5g https://mp.weixin.qq.com/s/EM_QK8tDrLaQKVhP7guxpw
“Blessing” (福) is probably one of the oldest Chinese characters. It already appears on oracle bones and bronze inscriptions more than 3,000 years ago. Few characters have been embraced by everyone as universally as 福, becoming a symbol of hopeful aspiration that has been passed down through the ages, embodying people’s relentless pursuit of a happy life. In antiquity, the character depicted two hands holding a wine vessel in prayer. “Abundant clothing and food” was the foremost blessing that early ancestors longed for. In the Shang Shu the “Five Blessings” were first listed: “First, longevity; second, wealth; third, health and peace; fourth, virtuous conduct; fifth, a blessed end of life.” As the concept of 福 expanded, it grew ever deeper in the collective heart—longevity, prosperity, safety, moral virtue, and a graceful old age are all expressed by this single character.

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Cultivating and Promoting New Trends in Socialist Family Civilization https://mp.weixin.qq.com/s/ei6fFy81WuOXakvO6Vj3qQ https://mp.weixin.qq.com/s/caI1FrIxMDZB0EvIhHMpNA
During the annual Spring Festival, countless people across China return to their hometowns—the places that tug at their hearts and where their spirits find rest after a year of hustle. Warm stories overflow from thousands of households, portraying the deepest human affection; vivid scenes of happiness showcase the joy and harmony of the Chinese nation’s big family, carrying the profound heritage of excellent traditional culture and forming a distinctive hallmark of Chinese culture.

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Fu Peirong: The First Hexagram of 2025 – Change or No Change? Have You Found the Answer to What’s on Your Mind? https://mp.weixin.qq.com/s/ifQinklVV1pCkPg7ZkDLnw
2025 is the Year of the Snake (Yi‑Si). This year’s governing hexagram is Ge (革) – “Lake over Fire, Revolution.” Hexagram 49 in the I Ching is called Ge. The Za Gua Zhuan commentary says, “Ge means to remove the old.” Thus Ge represents transformation, discarding the old to make way for the new. What insights does this hexagram offer us?

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From “Intention” to Achievement – The Most Suitable Practice for Our Times

https://mp.weixin.qq.com/s/-391DvBMYKqIcPCiF-PuAQ

“Intention‑settling” means being fully present in the current moment, aware of one’s own intention. In the integrated state where intention and circumstance merge, the locus of self‑awareness is precisely where intention is settled. Holding onto this is the cultivation of intention‑settling. Starting practice from intention‑settling is a superior method, especially fitting for today’s era. Modern people cannot stop their minds; they are overly dependent on intention and constantly focused on utility. The so‑called “Degenerate Age” sees only danger and ignores the harmonious principles of yin‑yang. Breaking through this era can lead to greater achievement; this approach aligns with the yin‑yang integration path. Find the right method, and “the superior person hears the Way and diligently practices it.”

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Solar Term Talk | Beginning of Spring: The Momentum of Spring https://mp.weixin.qq.com/s/mR-QY_M7RY8yqqS1EL8qZQ
Form (形) looks at the present; momentum (势) looks to the future. “Form returns to qi… qi gives rise to form.” When we can see the invisible side through the visible, we can more accurately anticipate the arrival and timing of spring, making life more composed. By using yin as a carrier and attuning more to the dominant yang force, we are less likely to be misled by material temptations or crushed by immediate difficulties. Life shifts from drifting like a floating duckweed to following a clear trajectory—growing in the spring breeze, storing in the autumn dew.

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Originally written by Ping Xia (平侠) and published in Chinese on 拾一集 (Weekly Reflections). Translated and adapted for DriftSeas with permission.