Wishing You Happiness and Prosperity
Encyclopedia
"Wishing You Happiness and Prosperity" is a popular
Mandarin Chinese
song and a Chinese Lunar New Year standard. Other English titles for the song include "Congratulations" and "Happiness To You."
The music and words of the song are both by Chen Gexin
(under the pen name Qing Yu) and it was written in Shanghai
in 1945 to celebrate the defeat of Japan
and liberation of China
at the end of the Second Sino-Japanese War
(World War II
). The final lines of this song replicate the typical beat of the Chinese drum. An early popular recording of the song was by Yao Lee
and her brother Yao Min
.
Because its Mandarin title is also a common Lunar New Year greeting and the song celebrates the arrival of spring, it quickly became associated almost exclusively with New Year celebrations and remains a part of the season's musical canon. Contemporary versions of the song frequently appear on Chinese New Year musical collection album
s, sometimes as electronic dance music
performances and occasionally also feature lyrics in Taiwanese Hokkien and even English.
A more traditional rendition of the song appeared on the 2002 China Dolls
album 多一點點 - 小調大風行. This song was included in the Pink Martini
'Joy to the World' Christmas album released in 2010, under the title "Congratulations - A Happy New Year Song" with vocals by China Forbes
and Timothy Yuji Nishimoto.
Popular music
Popular music belongs to any of a number of musical genres "having wide appeal" and is typically distributed to large audiences through the music industry. It stands in contrast to both art music and traditional music, which are typically disseminated academically or orally to smaller, local...
Mandarin Chinese
Standard Mandarin
Standard Chinese or Modern Standard Chinese, also known as Mandarin or Putonghua, is the official language of the People's Republic of China and Republic of China , and is one of the four official languages of Singapore....
song and a Chinese Lunar New Year standard. Other English titles for the song include "Congratulations" and "Happiness To You."
The music and words of the song are both by Chen Gexin
Chen Gexin
-Biography:Chen was born into an elite family and had a grandfather from India. He was jailed during the occupation of Shanghai by Japanese forces during Second Sino-Japanese War for his patriotic songs....
(under the pen name Qing Yu) and it was written in Shanghai
Shanghai
Shanghai is the largest city by population in China and the largest city proper in the world. It is one of the four province-level municipalities in the People's Republic of China, with a total population of over 23 million as of 2010...
in 1945 to celebrate the defeat of Japan
Empire of Japan
The Empire of Japan is the name of the state of Japan that existed from the Meiji Restoration on 3 January 1868 to the enactment of the post-World War II Constitution of...
and liberation of China
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
at the end of the Second Sino-Japanese War
Second Sino-Japanese War
The Second Sino-Japanese War was a military conflict fought primarily between the Republic of China and the Empire of Japan. From 1937 to 1941, China fought Japan with some economic help from Germany , the Soviet Union and the United States...
(World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
). The final lines of this song replicate the typical beat of the Chinese drum. An early popular recording of the song was by Yao Lee
Yao Lee
Yao Lee, also credited as Yiu Lei and Miss Hue Lee, was a Chinese singer from the 1930s to the 1970s and sister of Yao Min. By the 1940s, she became one of the Seven great singing stars.-Biography:...
and her brother Yao Min
Yao Min
Yao Ming was a Chinese popular music songwriter and singer and brother of Yao Lee. He was arguably one of the most prolific songwriters of the shidaiqu era in 1930s and 1940s Shanghai through the 1950s and 1960s in Hong Kong....
.
Because its Mandarin title is also a common Lunar New Year greeting and the song celebrates the arrival of spring, it quickly became associated almost exclusively with New Year celebrations and remains a part of the season's musical canon. Contemporary versions of the song frequently appear on Chinese New Year musical collection album
Album
An album is a collection of recordings, released as a single package on gramophone record, cassette, compact disc, or via digital distribution. The word derives from the Latin word for list .Vinyl LP records have two sides, each comprising one half of the album...
s, sometimes as electronic dance music
Electronic dance music
Electronic dance music is electronic music produced primarily for the purposes of use within a nightclub setting, or in an environment that is centered upon dance-based entertainment...
performances and occasionally also feature lyrics in Taiwanese Hokkien and even English.
A more traditional rendition of the song appeared on the 2002 China Dolls
China Dolls
China Dolls are a pop music singing duo from Thailand. The group was composed of Pailin "Hwa Hwa" Rattanasangsatian and Supachaya "Bell" Lattisophonkul.- Career :...
album 多一點點 - 小調大風行. This song was included in the Pink Martini
Pink Martini
Pink Martini is a 13-member "little orchestra" from Portland, Oregon, formed in 1994 by pianist Thomas M. Lauderdale. They draw inspiration from music from all over the world – crossing genres of classical, jazz and old-fashioned pop.-History:...
'Joy to the World' Christmas album released in 2010, under the title "Congratulations - A Happy New Year Song" with vocals by China Forbes
China Forbes
China Forbes is an American singer and songwriter, best known as the lead singer of Pink Martini.Forbes was born and raised in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Her father is American of French/Scottish descent, and her mother is African American...
and Timothy Yuji Nishimoto.
Lyrics
First verse lyrics.- Mandarin Chinese lyrics
- PinyinPinyinPinyin is the official system to transcribe Chinese characters into the Roman alphabet in China, Malaysia, Singapore and Taiwan. It is also often used to teach Mandarin Chinese and spell Chinese names in foreign publications and used as an input method to enter Chinese characters into...
transliteration - English translation
- 每條大街小巷 每個人的嘴裡
- Měitiáo dà jiē xiǎo xiàng, měige rén de zuǐ lǐ,
- On every street and in every lane, on everyone's lips,
- 見面第一句話 就是恭喜恭喜
- Jiànmiàn dì yī jù huà, jiù shì gōngxǐ gōngxǐ.
- Whenever anyone meets, the first thing they say is "Congratulations."
- 恭喜恭喜恭喜你呀 恭喜恭喜恭喜你
- Gōngxǐ gōngxǐ gōngxǐ nǐ ya, gōngxǐ gōngxǐ gōngxǐ nǐ .
- Congratulations, Congratulations, Congratulations to you...
See also
- Chinese New YearChinese New YearChinese New Year – often called Chinese Lunar New Year although it actually is lunisolar – is the most important of the traditional Chinese holidays. It is an all East and South-East-Asia celebration...
- Music of ChinaMusic of ChinaChinese Music has been made since the dawn of Chinese civilization with documents and artifacts providing evidence of a well-developed musical culture as early as the Zhou Dynasty...