【推荐1】As a child, Liu Wenwen didn’t like the suona, a “loud” traditional Chinese musical instrument, also an ancestral treasure of her family that was to become her career.

Liu says she felt ashamed. In the 1990s, people admired things that were modern and international. The suona was considered out of date. Her father’s family has performed with the suona for seven generations, while the tradition on her mother’s side of the family can be traced back to the early Qing Dynasty. Despite her unwillingness, she followed her parents to play the suona as early as 3 years old. Besides it, Liu has also learned traditional Chinese vocal music and dancing — skills that have improved her oral muscles and sense of rhyme, helping equip her to be a professional musician.

It wasn’t until 2008 that she first found suona music beautiful. That was when she entered the Shanghai Conservatory of Music to learn the instrument more systematically from Liu Ying, a professor and top player. “The music played by the professor is just amazing, and different from what I had heard before,” she says.

She loves exchanging ideas about suona playing techniques with her students. “It’s wonderful to see the younger generation carrying on this cultural tradition.” Liu Wenwen said she is pleased to see the suona regain popularity among young people, sometimes combined with jazz, opera and other art forms. This has stopped its decline in the 1990s. Her name, when mentioned on China’s social media platforms, often is followed by a video of her live performance at a concert in Sydney, Australia. Westerners were amazed by the loud, unfamiliar instrument and its colorful music. “I felt my hard work had paid off. I trained for over 20 years, probably just to win cheers and applause for traditional Chinese music on the international stage.”

【推荐2】By any standard, Dr. Seuss’ Oh, The Places You ‘ll Go! is a great book. And Martin is hardly the first parent to buy the book for his graduating high-school. But Martin did something special—he added to the book’s pages 13 years’ worth of hand-written teachers’ comments and impressions about his daughter, Brenna.

When Martin first told Brenna, 18, that he had a present for her, Brenna thought she was getting some graduation card. But then she opened the book and realized that it was filled with personal memories. “Every year, for the past 13 years, since the day you started kindergarten (幼儿园)I’ve gotten every teacher to write something about you inside this book,” he told her. Brenna’s eyes were filled with hot tears.

She described her happiness at her graduation gift online, “He managed to keep this book a secret for 13 years, and surely everyone else in my life knew about it! I was moved to tears. Sitting there reading through this book there are encouraging and sweet words from every teacher I love and remember through my years in this small town. My early teachers mention my ‘laughs’ while my high school teachers mention my ‘smart’. But they all mention my humor and love for life. It is astounding to receive something this touching and thoughtful. I can’t express how much I love my Dad for this labor of love”.

Millions of people have checked out Brenna’s Internet message on her father’s gift, which has been considered “unbelievable” and the “best graduation gift ever”. It sure beats a bunch of roses.