迁徙与文化生活

In 1958, my mother, another elder sister and my nephew, then only eight and a half, travelled back with us by ship. After roughly ten days we entered through the Luohu crossing in Shenzhen and reached Guangzhou, where we rented a home on Aiguo Road.

Most pupils at Huaqiao Primary School were children of returned overseas Chinese; many teachers were themselves returnees and cared for the pupils as if they were their own. At No. 21 Middle School, our classmates included both children of returnees and children from local working families. We got along well and remained in touch.

During the summer holidays, the school organised study groups in selected classmates’ homes. In the spirit of Lei Feng, pupils often helped neighbours weed their gardens, expressing friendship and a willingness to work. Returned overseas Chinese families also frequently exchanged food and culture, sharing snacks from the countries where they had lived, including Southeast Asia and North America.

One night at three in the morning, I suddenly heard my grandmother practising her voice in her room and wondered why. The next day I asked her. She told me that reading the script had filled her mind with thoughts, making it hard to sleep, so she sang to relax.

My grandmother’s former home mainly presents scenes from her everyday life. It differs from the Hung Sin-nui Arts Center in Tianhe, which focuses on her achievements in Cantonese opera. People know about her contribution to the art, but much less about her life.

When we moved in in 1956, the surroundings were peaceful and particularly suitable for artistic work, so we stayed for decades. My father liked growing flowers and plants, and often tended them in the courtyard when he was not working.

My father was quiet by nature, but many well-known people lived in Huaqiao Xincun, and some friends from the cultural world visited him. The celebrated Cantonese opera performer Hung Sin-nui lived opposite and often dropped by, calling him “Uncle Yu”. He also painted her portrait.