Back in the fifties and sixties, Hong Kong was yet a prosperous but poverty-stricken place. It was overrun with cheap labour and old slums. While illegal wooden houses were commonly found in the hills, education was uncommon. People were leading difficult lives.

It was against this backdrop that Hong Kong and I grew up together, both experiencing and witnessing hardships, particularly those of my very own family, relatives, and neighbours who bore the life of the grassroots.

Consequently, I experienced an epiphany that I can narrate my personal experiences and observations through a fictional character named Ping Buen Yat. As a matter of fact, the stories are also fictional and the themes banal; they all point up the disillusioning nature of life which, however, should not prevent us from confronting it and cruising ahead.

In my opinion, life can be largely divided into two sides: joy and sorrow. We laugh when in joy, and cry when in sorrow. Unfortunately, there are only few folks in the world that lead a life of bliss; and even for them, they burst into crying as well amid laughter galore. As for the overwhelming deserving poor, they cry often but there is also laughter, occasionally.

I once knew an old lady who always laughed despite her traumatic life. She shared with me that she broke into laughter because she was moved by others who were joyfully laughing. Indeed! Just like hilarious scenes in movies, novels, and performances, they all make the audience laugh and relax.

This old lady’s remarks moved me profoundly. That is why I chose to narrate two sides of life in my book; the stories are “sad” but they are complimented with “happy” cartoons. They are antagonistic yet they are unrelated to one another.

The old lady always felt happy for others and by doing so, put on a smiley face. She found joy in her sufferings. Like her, I cannot solve problems for others nor make them happy; I only strive to project beautiful wishes onto the happy figures in the cartoons and pray that they would become reality. My sincere wish goes to all of you that one day you will make your dreams come true.

YEUNG Chun Tong
Director, Sun Museum