Xìngfú ǔg (Valley of Happiness) [L.M.] Coastline Community College English 100 Professor Davis December 13, 2012 1 Xìngfú ǔg Abstract This research paper was written to create an ideal society. In order to produce this kind of society, the greatest happiness for a community people is this essay's main priority. A cluster of peaceful villages and calm people have been designed in a quiet environment to observe possible influences on true happiness. The subjects of this essay are the Hépíng people of Xìngfú ǔg (Valley of Happiness). Their beliefs and traditions have been carefully studied by researchers for several years and are described in this article. Hépíng thrive among nature's forests and mountains while trying to preserve it and survive off of its limited resources. They hunt, fish, and farm, but they do not domesticate animals or use money, vehicles, guns, or electricity. Nevertheless, art and their beliefs in the afterlife inspire joy and pleasure amongst the Hépíng people. They are also content with being guided by their elders, who make ultimate decisions. In conclusion, researchers have discovered that money or other unessential possessions do not necessarily bring people satisfaction, rather a sense of community, generosity, compassion, and forgiveness influence happiness and contentment. Keywords: Happiness, Generosity, Compassion, Forgiveness, Community, Family, Afterlife, Pleasure, Art 2 Xìngfú ǔg Xìngfú ǔg (Valley of Happiness) Towering mountains of light blue rock and white snow surround a serene valley of green. Various shades of red, yellow, and olive green trees cover most of the area, while several clear rivers flow through the forest and climb over the mountains. A deer calmly tugs at a leaf for food, flashes of colorful birds move about the full pines and white birches while chirping excitedly, and slivers of silver glint in the streams as fish bask in the sun. Among these harmless creatures of Xìngfúǔ are tranquil human beings who thrive in small villages or, cūnzhuāng (cūn for a single village). These beings, called Hépíng, live as peacefully and contentedly as possible with nature, while limiting their use of its resources. Despite occasional storms and other extreme weather conditions, Hépíng are able to survive these harsh conditions through their positive attitudes and sense of unity with their people. Fortunately, Xìngfúǔ's seasonal weather conditions are rarely intense. The year begins with medium showers in early spring, remains clear and sunny until fall brings light showers, and ends with a white blanket of snow during winter. Hépíng are not be dispirited by the challenges of life. In fact, they take the opportunity to find food by hunting and fishing, but only enough to sustain their cūn. Spring and summer summon fish, which migrate to the .

1. Xìngfú ǔg
(Valley of Happiness)
[L.M.]
Coastline Community College
English 100

2. Professor Davis
December 13, 2012
1 Xìngfú ǔg
Abstract
This research paper was written to create an ideal society. In
order to produce this kind of
society, the greatest happiness for a community people is this
essay's main priority. A cluster
of peaceful villages and calm people have been designed in a
quiet environment to observe
possible influences on true happiness. The subjects of this essay
are the Hépíng people of
Xìngfú ǔg (Valley of Happiness). Their beliefs and traditions
have been carefully studied by
researchers for several years and are described in this article.
Hépíng thrive among nature's

3. forests and mountains while trying to preserve it and survive off
of its limited resources. They
hunt, fish, and farm, but they do not domesticate animals or use
money, vehicles, guns, or
electricity. Nevertheless, art and their beliefs in the afterlife
inspire joy and pleasure amongst
the Hépíng people. They are also content with being guided by
their elders, who make
ultimate decisions. In conclusion, researchers have discovered
that money or other
unessential possessions do not necessarily bring people
satisfaction, rather a sense of
community, generosity, compassion, and forgiveness influence
happiness and contentment.
Keywords: Happiness, Generosity, Compassion, Forgiveness,
Community, Family,
Afterlife, Pleasure, Art
2 Xìngfú ǔg
Xìngfú ǔg

4. (Valley of Happiness)
Towering mountains of light blue rock and white snow surround
a serene valley of
green. Various shades of red, yellow, and olive green trees
cover most of the area, while
several clear rivers flow through the forest and climb over the
mountains. A deer calmly tugs
at a leaf for food, flashes of colorful birds move about the full
pines and white birches while
chirping excitedly, and slivers of silver glint in the streams as
fish bask in the sun. Among
these harmless creatures of Xìngfúǔ are tranquil human beings
who thrive in small villages
or, cūnzhuāng (cūn for a single village). These beings, called
Hépíng, live as peacefully
and contentedly as possible with nature, while limiting their use
of its resources.
Despite occasional storms and other extreme weather
conditions, Hépíng are able to

5. survive these harsh conditions through their positive attitudes
and sense of unity with their
people. Fortunately, Xìngfúǔ's seasonal weather conditions are
rarely intense. The year begins
with medium showers in early spring, remains clear and sunny
until fall brings light
showers, and ends with a white blanket of snow during winter.
Hépíng are not be dispirited by
the challenges of life. In fact, they take the opportunity to find
food by hunting and fishing, but
only enough to sustain their cūn. Spring and summer summon
fish, which migrate to the
mountains to attempt crossing their waterfalls. Deer and birds
are hunted with self-fashioned
bow and arrows during fall, and leftover meat is stored for
winter. Hépíng are taught to be
grateful for their kill and its provisions and to not take their
hunting opportunities for granted.
Although meat is a necessity, Hépíng refrain from
domesticating animals since their care
3 Xìngfú ǔg

6. requirements are too high; they would need space, food, and
water. Rather than keeping animals,
which use up valuable resources, Hépíng believe they are
capable of sustaining themselves with
wildlife and harvested vegetables and fruits. Food is also
farmed, in each cun from the freezing
peaks of the mountains to the warm basin. Due to different
climate conditions, vegetables such as
lettuce, onions, and potatoes are grown in the alps, while wheat,
rice, tomatoes, and most fruit is
produced in the valley. Much like the Utopians in Thomas
More's society (1514), every Hépíng
(starting at the strong age of 10) works a considerable amount
of time to yield fruits and
vegetables. Whereas, they are not wasting precious time and can
grow plenty of food for their
ūnzhucāng. Furthermore, Hépíng do not import or export their
vegetables and fruits or other
goods to other countries, because they do not use money. To
them, cash is a powerful
influence that propagates greed and competition, which in turn

7. reduces happiness, thus
money is worthless and not used. In the film Happy (2011), two
individuals, one with
$100,000 and another with $1,000,000, are compared regarding
their happiness levels.
Researchers discovered that people with a six figure salary are
as happy as those with
millions of dollars, which demonstrates that more money does
not necessarily make one
person happier than those with less or none. Although Hépíng
do not use money, through
trade, they provide essential food to those who are unable to
grow certain vegetables and
fruits in their area. Left over goods, which are plentiful, that
cannot be produced in oneūnc are
received from another in return for their left over goods.
Hépíng distribute goods by traveling along rivers in long,
wooden canoes called chuán.
They hand-carve wooden paddle, which they use along with
their chuán to move
through streams. Other than walking and running, there are no
alternatives to traveling

8. 4 Xìngfú ǔg
since they do not domesticate animals or build other forms of
transportation.
Hépíng see no reason for using an unnecessary amount of
nature's resources for
constructing vehicles. Besides, their chuán, combined with the
quick flow of rivers,
are much faster and efficient than the average car or horse.
Moreover, Hépíng do not have technologically advanced
machines for manufacturing
vehicles or other modern products, including electricity. This
source of power is not used by
Hépíng since it is a distraction from life and happiness and
poisons nature. For example, Vanessa
Haggie, a law student, logged 24 hours of a day she spent with
digital technology while writing a
research paper (The Dominion Post, 2012). Her results showed a
staggering amount of Twitter,

9. Facebook, and email distractions; she spent all of her breaks
checking these social sites despite
the hours her eyes already spent focusing on her computer
screen. To avoid the distractions
Haggie faced during her observations, Hépíng use fire to warm
themselves and cook food rather
than technology. Additionally, because there is no electricity or
imports from other countries, they
do not possess modern medicine or medical technology.
Nevertheless, if an individual falls ill,
shùshì (doctors) provide them with roots and herbs gathered
from the forest. In the case of an
untreatable disease, elders call upon the cun to gather as a
community and help the severely
afflicted individual's línghún rise to the afterlife. Although an
untreatable disease has
never appeared in Hépíng history, they are prepared for
unfortunate events in which their
elders would make the ultimate decisions.
Hépíng maintain their health through art and extracurricular
activities, which are
primarily influenced by nature and folklore. They carve scenes
and figures into wood, trim

10. plants to resemble animals and other beings, draw (with the
combination of a special plant's
5 Xìngfú ǔg
black liquid and thick bamboo shoots or tree branches), and
perform (dancing, singing, playing
music). These creative outlets allow Hépíng to embrace
happiness, remember pleasant
memories, and learn important life lessons and significant
history. Most of their wood carvings
depict life, the afterlife, and death with a positive approach.
Carved scenes involve animals
and plants characterized by personalities and emotions which
match certain Hépíng
individuals' (their spiritual beliefs are further explained later).
A few include the stubborn,
hot-tempered badger, the quiet, peaceful deer, and the social,
musical finch. Plants
(mostly bonsai trees) are also trimmed into animal figures. The
process of shaping a plant
teaches and encourages patience (an important virtue) in

11. Hépíng, whether they are young
or elderly. Their drawing techniques also foster patience; the
bamboo
shoots and tree branches they use to sketch are fragile, and the
special black liquid (not
exactly like ink) can spread rapidly if too much is applied.
Despite the challenges of
Hépíng art methods, wood carving, plant trimming, and drawing
are pleasant activities
which provide joy and mental stimulation. In fact, they are
honored to possess and master
such skills. Additionally, their belief that all human beings
possess artistic abilities
(whether we can't find them or we express them) prevents them
from thinking they are
better than other individuals. Furthermore, to reduce
competition and unhappiness, every
Hépíng individual wears a blue robe since the color encourages
calm feelings and
peaceful behavior. However, during special occasions (such as
the weekly gatherings
described below) they wear different clothes to celebrate life
and happiness.

12. All Hépíng, from youths to the elderly, participate in song and
dance entertainment since
it is exciting and represents vitality. At the end of each week,
the dark night is lit with fire and
6 Xìngfú ǔg
flashes of brilliant colors. Hépíng figures dance excitedly while
dressed in vivid costumes
while wearing unique masks symbolizing nature and animals.
As various lively instruments
are beat, strummed, and blown, they become vibrant, animated
creatures calling and
reaching out to one another. They eagerly tell each other tales
of the past; combining
ancestors, beasts, hardships, and humorous occasions. Each
listens and responds
enthusiastically with different stories. One tale tells of a small
fish who strays from his
family and swims the opposite way of other migrating fish, only
to become food for a

13. hungry bear. Despite the moral of this story, most Hépíng songs
and dances portray
the pleasures of generosity and depict serenity in the afterlife.
Animals and plants often symbolize specific personalities and
emotions among
Hépíng to determine which kind of being they will become after
their línghún (soul) has left
their original body. Hépíng are untroubled by this connection
with nature, in fact, their
belief in an afterlife brings them bliss and humbleness knowing
their ancestors, family, and
friends are always watching over them. Due to their beliefs,
they are unafraid of death and
do not feel lost or depressed after an individual or loved one
passes. After one dies, their
family members bury them in a community garden near other
relatives. The deceased are
accompanied by their favorite plant, which is grown above their
burial ground. Each
member of the community is cherished in death as in life.
Hépíng respect their elders, parents, and each other. Older
individuals are typically

14. regarded as wise and sagacious because of the considerable
amount of knowledge and
experience they have acquired. Most decisions are ultimately
made by Hépíng elders, as they are
highly regarded for their knowledge and valuable skills. They
choose whether or not to ban
7 Xìngfú ǔg
rebellious individuals from their cun, how many animals should
be hunted and
fished, or whether or not a banished individual can return their
cun.
Parents make decisions such as how many children they will
conceive. Both women
and men farm and are given equal opportunities (including
hunting, fishing, education,
and the arts) and take similar responsibilities regarding
children. They care for their
children (although they become independent at a young age) and
motivate them to be

15. happy, healthy, and educated. Hépíng families are close and
never hostile toward one
another since children respect their parents and other older
relatives and siblings.
Hépíng children, men, and women alike are well-aware of the
outside world, including
its dangers. If Xìngfúǔ were to be threatened by another
country, Hépíng elders plan to
summon every male from each cun and order them to draw their
bow and arrows. The
elders, women, and children would seek shelter in underground
refuges dug in preparation
for an attack, while Hépíng men would prepare by hiding
amongst trees in the forest and rock
crevices in the mountains. Provided that an enemy attempts to
enter, which can only
be done by crossing a surrounding wall of mountains, Hépíng
within boulder traps would silently
attack with their arrows. In case this strategy fails and the
enemy advances, a second wave of
Hépíng wait quietly in the thick trees with their weapons ready.
Last resort

16. is for the elders, women, and children to wait for the enemy
with sharp tools and
more bow and arrows.
Nonetheless, Hépíng are peaceful and intend to be at ease with
other countries. They
do not aim for perfection, rather they try to be their best selves
through generosity and other
good deeds. Happiness, according to Hépíng belief, is achieved
by means of magnanimity,
8 Xìngfú ǔg
compassion, creativity, and forgiveness. This idea is similar to
the Random Act of
Kindness Day, which was developed by Debb Ritchie in 2008
after a man gave her his 24
hour parking ticket since he no longer needed it (The Record,
2011). RAKD is dedicated
to encouraging people to be generous to others for no specific

17. reason other than out of
kindness. Furthermore, helping others, loving others, inspiring
others, and forgiving
others is Hépíng philosophy. The following tale is a frequently
told story which represents
their idea of generosity's advantages. It is an example of some
of the morals and
principles of the Hépíng people; it involves a selfish squirrel
and a family of hungry mice.
The squirrel proudly basks in his tree hole full of nuts as he
waits for winter to arrive. All of a
sudden, he is disturbed by a family of mice calling to him from
below. They ask the squirrel if he
has some food to spare, for they have failed to find any and
winter is rapidly approaching. He
shakes his head no, but the mice clearly see the ridiculously
enormous pile of nuts behind him.
Nevertheless, they sigh and continue to search for food. While
the mice collected an abundant
amount of sweet, thin roots they happened to come across, the
squirrel stuffed himself with nuts,
eagerly shoving handfuls of them into his mouth incessantly.
But as he reached for another load of

18. nuts, his hand only felt the rough wood of the tree. He searched
his shelter for more food, but
found none. Winter snow began to fall over the squirrel's head,
causing him to panic. Frantically,
he leapt from his tree to the next and continued his search
throughout the forest until he came
upon the mice's home. He peered into the fresh hole they dug in
the ground and called to them.
They came quickly and asked what was wrong. He told them of
his sudden shortage and asked if
they could possibly spare some food. The mice looked at each
other and pointed out that he did
not help them when they were in need. He
9 Xìngfú ǔg
apologized, begged them for a few roots, and promised to be
more generous in the
future. A heavy silence fell upon the mice's shelter. Fortunately,
the mice were
compassionate and believed the squirrel would keep his word.

19. They nodded, forgave him.
and provided him with enough food to last till spring. He
thanked them and stated that he
would be forever grateful because, without the mice, he would
not have survived. From
then on, the squirrel and the mice helped each other collect food
during winter seasons
and ate together while giving thanks for generosity, love, and
forgiveness.
Hépíng believe their intellect and skills are more developed
than animals' because it is
their duty to take care of the world (shìjiè), and they require
these abilities to fulfill this
responsibility. The elders have considered sending a few of
their men and women to other
countries in order to express this idea to a larger audience.
However, they will only take this
course of action once they are convinced foreigners are willing
to listen with open minds and
hearts. Currently, they are discussing whether or not we are
ready to receive guidance and
advice. Some of the elders do not think we are eager to learn
from their wisdom, while others

20. are confident the outside shìjiè would be attentive to their
speeches. Moreover, they wonder
whether or not we will understand their moral reasoning. The
following information
was retrieved from an interview with one of the Hépíng elders
who wished to
share their peoples' beliefs and traditions with foreign
countries:
"We are one with nature," says a Hépíng elder sitting across
from me on the long grass.
He is wearing a light blue robe and thickly padded sandals.
Dense pines and birches surround us
as we listen to the quiet trickle of a stream nearby. The elder
calmly speaks about how his
10 Xìngfúǔg
people hunts and fishes when the seasons allow them, and that
they are grateful for their
kill because it provides them with life, which they cherish. He
reminds me, however, that

21. they do not hunt or fish more than they need since nature can
only supply them with so
much. If they killed too many deer or birds, or caught too many
fish, they would run nature
dry and find themselves starving. They do not domesticate
animals since holding
creatures captive is torturous and unfair; to the Hépíng,
containing animals is comparable
to locking up their people in cages or pens (it is not right).
Animals also consume a large
amount of resources and space, which is limited as it is.
Speaking of resources, the elder enthusiastically tells me that
everyone in the
Valley of Happiness grows and harvests vegetables and fruits
because their population is
large enough to provide a fair amount of food for each village.
They do not sell or buy
goods from other countries since money is not of value to them.
It encourages greed,
pride, jealousy, and other feelings of misery, therefore they do
not have a form of
currency. One participant in an interview with John Stossel
(2012) stated that money

22. would not make them happier "because family is most important
in life." In addition, social
economic class does not define his people as rich or poor since
we do not use money.
Another source of unnecessary stress that is forbidden in the
Valley of Happiness is
electricity. From the Hépíng's observations, they realize that
electricity and technology distracts
people from life and nature, hence its use is not permitted in
their villages. Instead, they travel in
hand-carved boats and their doctors heal the ill with nature's
roots and herbs. At the end of the
interview, I asked the elder whether or not his people are
unhappy since they do not own certain
possessions that we have. The elder shakes his head and
responds, "Foreigners
11 Xìngfúǔg
should not feel sympathy for us simply because we choose to
live this way; in fact, we are

23. extremely happy and healthy without nonessential things such
as your pets, sweets, money,
electricity, vehicles, or phones." He smiles and states, "We
achieve happiness through
generosity, love, and forgiveness. Art, our beliefs in the
afterlife, and our families bring us a
great amount of pleasure. Our community is most important to
us, because without unity, we
would be lonely, depressed, angry souls without guidance,
concerns, or kindness.
13 Xìngfúǔg
References
Barnet, S., & Bedau, H. (Ed.). (2011). Current Issues and
Enduring Questions
(9th ed.). Boston: Bedford/St. Martins
Belic, R. (Director), & Shadyac, T., Reid, F., & Shimizu, E.
(Producers). (2011).

24. Happy [DVD]. United States: Wadi Rum Productions.
Haggie, V. (2012, October 23). Switched-on student records a
day of digital life.
(Electronic Version.) The Dominion Post. Retrieved from
EBSCOhost database.
Ritchie, D. (2011, November 4). Kind Acts Build A Happy
Community. (Electronic
Version.) The Record. Retrieved from EBSCOhost database.
Stossel, J. (2012, February 2). Stossel for February 2, 2012.
(Electronic Version.)
Fox News Network. Retrieved from EBSCOhost database.
PINTER AND TARANTINO 1
[This style guide shows how I wish you to format your final
research project in APA style. Page number and running head
appear in upper right corners, though not on this cover page.
Click on Insert > Page Number > Top of Page > Plain Number
3. Then beside the page number type your running header—an
abbreviation of your title—in caps. You’ll also have to go to
Page Number > Format Page Numbers > Start at 0. Everything
is Times New Roman, size 12. You may use my APA guide
here as a template for your research essay. This guide is five

25. pages long, starting with this page 0, so be sure to read to the
end. –sphd]
Harold Pinter’s Influence on Quentin Tarantino [your title,
centered]
Uma Thurman [your name]
Coastline Community College
English 100
Professor Davis
[whatever your date is] August 13, 2012

26. Abstract [centered]
An abstract is a summary of the key points of your research,
written as a single paragraph. Don’t indent the abstract. OWL
at Purdue (http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/560/01/)
suggests the following: Your abstract should contain at least
your research topic, research questions, participants, methods,
results, data analysis, and conclusions. You may also include
possible implications of your research and future work you see
connected with your findings. Your abstract should be a single
paragraph double-spaced. Your abstract should be between 150
and 250 words. You may also want to list keywords from your
paper in your abstract. To do this, indent as you would if you
were starting a new paragraph, type Keywords: (italicized), and
then list your keywords. Listing your keywords will help
researchers find your work in databases. Thus:
Keywords: Reservoir Dogs, Dumb Waiter, Samuel Jackson,
Kahuna Burger

27. Harold Pinter’s Influence on Quentin Tarantino
[re-type your full title here, centered]
Begin your introduction! Indent the first line of a new
paragraph as usual. Open with a snappy “hook” or “lead” that
catches the reader’s attention. Briefly give the background of
the assignment and your research methods and sources. Close
with a Thesis Sentence stating what your research project does /
shows / demonstrates / reveals. You may use “I” sparingly in
this research project. These sample paragraphs are 1.15-spaced,
by the way; yours should be double-spaced.
You’ll write body paragraphs. Each should open with a
transition connecting the previous paragraph to the new
paragraph. A topic sentence stating the main idea of the
paragraph should then follow, or can be combined with the
transition. Which is smoother? Read aloud to find out. After
quoting, write the source in parenthesis (Source’s Last Name,
Year of publication). Remember, this is APA style. MLA style,
on the other hand, requires the page number where you found
the quote instead of the year. Remember that you are both
creating an imaginary country AND arguing for policies using
evidence you found from research. Minimum of five sources
required. You should also cover five different aspects
(governance, arts, family units, etc.) of your country. Your
paper length, including cover page, abstract, and references
(which add up to three pages), is a minimum of ten pages.
Conclusions are never hard, but are always tricky. To

28. conclude with a sense of closure (the door is locked, your word
is absolute), you’ll first synthesize (NOT summarize) your
essay’s arguments, meaning you’ll show how it all fits together.
To add more style:
1. Link the last paragraph back to the first paragraph by
referring back to a person, symbol, or description introduced in
the first paragraph. This is called “bookending.”
2. Answer a Q posed in the first paragraph. This is called
“echoing.”
3. Use a simple, definitive final sentence.
4. Close with a rhetorical technique such as chiasmus (see h.o.
from first week).
5. Give a relevant anecdote.
To leave your essay more open ended:
1. Insert a quotation that amplifies or expands your essay’s
purview;
2. put your essay in a larger context.
3. Consider the short/long term implications of your essay.
4. Pose a Q or challenge to the reader;
5. Add an ironic or surprising observation (use this cautiously;
don’t sound flippant)
6. End with a “clever” remark;
7. Give your hope or recommendation
8. Criticize or praise something/someone (use cautiously)
Do NOT simply summarize your essay or undercut your ethos at
the last minute.
Scroll down to see References…

29. References [centered]
[Your sources will be alphabetical by last name. Write
“Retrived from” when using an online source or database.
Below is a sample. Remember the minimum number of sources

30. is five, with three coming from EBSCO. -sphd]
Lally, R. (1997, October 6). Ultraviolence in play and movies.
(Electronic Version.) The L.A.
Times, p. B3. Retrieved from EBSCOhost database.