A Summer Day

As a child in China back in the 1990s, my generation had a markedly different lifestyle than kids today. Without the digital technologies and screens that now dominate our daily lives, we spent our free time engaging in more analog and physical activities. I have fond memories of those times, especially of one summer day that stands out in my mind. I recall the simple joys of making paper planes, daydreaming on hot afternoons, and playing a popular children’s game called “Two little bees” with my peers. This game, which involved a well-known nursery rhyme and was similar to rock-paper-scissors, was always a favorite.

Looking back on those days more than 20 years later, I have come to appreciate the experience in a way that I didn’t fully grasp at the time. There was a certain beauty in that vintage lifestyle that I rarely encounter today in the United States. It’s possible my memories of that time became faint and perhaps even romanticized. I found Violin and Erhu the perfect combination to carry the collision of different experiences and perspective of me at different times as I revisit them with new thinking. After all, I believe it’s important to remember and share the simple pleasures of life.

—Yanchen Ye