(An old story recalled by a Chinese man who recently emigrated to the United States)

          Once upon a time there were three young men who planned to go to the national capital to take an examination that would enable them to become officials.  At that time - in old China - it was a method intellectuals used  in order to live a good life and bring honor to their families.  There had always been a beauty in having books, but it had been discovered that there was also gold in them when used for self improvement.

          To qualify, a man had to pass a county test and be named "xiu cai".  Then a second test had to be passed in the province to get the title jin shi.  If successful in passing the national exam, a man could become a low level official - perhaps a county leader.

          The three men heard there was a famous fortune-teller whose predictions always came true so they went to see him.  They wanted to know what their futures would be.

          When asked, the fortune-teller raised just one finger and said, "God knows".  That confused the men, but they decided to take the examination anyway.

          Several months later, one of the three returned to thank the fortune-teller.  He had passed the examination and would soon be an official.  He asked the man, "How did you know I would pass?  And the seer said, "I didn't know".

          "Well then, why did you hold up one finger when there were 3 of us?"

          The man answered, "If there are less than five people asking me that question, the reply would always be the same.  If there is one person, I know ONE will pass or ONE will fail.  If there are two, one finger shows that ONE will pass and ONE will fail or no ONE will fail.  If three people ask the question, the answer is the same.  If there are four, ONE finger shows ONE thing more: ONE half will pass and ONE half will fail.  If there are five people, it can be concluded that ONE will pass, ONE will fail; no ONE will pass; no ONE will fail; or ONE more will pass than will fail; or ONE more will fail than will pass.

(Written by a student at Macao University)

          Heavy snow made it impossible for thousands of Chinese to be able to celebrate the Chinese New Year with their families as transportation lines were paralyzed, but the enthusiasm for the holiday didn't die out.  It followed its usual track of eating, watching CCTV programs and setting off fireworks.  Without relatives around, feelings obviously weren't perfect here at the university, but almost everyone enjoyed themselves with a few friends.

          I leaned back on my sofa - immersed in the happy times our family had had with the grandparents on my father's side.  My father's little brother had also usually been there on the evening before the holiday.

          Glancing at the clock as I sat up, I noted that it was already 10:30, and I began imagining another scene in the home of the grandfather on my mother's side of the family.  Grandmother had passed away nine years before, and festivals had become the roughest times for the 78-year-old man.  Each of his two daughters celebrated that holiday with their husband's families as was the custom.  Only his son was there for him on some of the years.  It would have been better if my uncle had married so that more warmth could have been provided grandfather as he aged.

          It's true that the rate of increase in the national population is decreased by the strategy of permitting only one child for each family, but how will people deal with its negative affects.  It's unknown how many grandparents and even middle-aged couples will have to eat and watch fireworks on CCTV by themselves.  It's apparent to me that personal happiness will decrease and the harmony and balance of the society may be broken.