Testament 5 - 14

Hong Kong Type #25

14.

The development of Dai Fuk’s story surprised me. Unlike the conversations with the character spirits before, this time Dai Fuk wrote his own story through my hand. If the character spirits could be trusted, what I’d written was Six Records of a Resurrected Life. In just a month, I had intermittently written two records and had started the beginning of the third one. I printed out the completed sections and took it to the soul therapist, Nami, to read.

The heat outside was unbearable that day, the Flame of the Forest on campus blazed like fires, burning with clusters of bright red flowers that stung the eyes. But the temperature inside the treatment room was pleasant, with gentle air conditioning. Nami seemed to match the spirit of high summer, she wore a fresh yellow knee-length skirt, with a vest-style top that exposed her smooth arms. Matching her skirt’s color, she wore a bright yellow mask.

I showed her the first two chapters of the Dai Fuk’s story. As she read, she exhibited a look of surprise, yet frequently nodded as if it was within her expectations. After reading, she said, “I’ve said it before, what you want to create is a myth about searching for a father. It seems like it’s truly going to materialize now. This Dai Fuk character is the source of your soul. However, he is only the source of paternity. For a creation myth to be complete, there must also be the other source, maternity. It seems the girl in the story, Heng Yi, is the source of that maternity. However, their relationship is still in its budding stage. How it will develop, we will have to wait and see.”

Nami’s words always make perfect sense, unarguably convincing. Yet, I voiced my doubts, “But don’t you think this might just be a figment of my subconscious? In other words, pure fantasy.”

As usual, she didn’t immediately dismiss me. Instead, she empathetically nodded her head and asked, “So, how did you feel when you wrote it out on your computer?”

“I felt like I was Dai Fuk, I fully understood his story and his feelings, without the need for consideration or verification. The words flowed unimpeded and without stopping from my fingers, transmitted to the keyboard, and then appeared on the screen. Everything happened automatically without any thought, just like a dream. However, strangely, I also retained a sober part at the same time, as if I was observing this matter – not to say observing, but rather anticipating – yes, I was listening to his confession, but I was not responding, or was unable to respond. I could only listen. So, I also felt a bit anxious inside.”

“So, you are also Heng Yi. You have become Dai Fuk’s confidant.”

“It seems to feel this way.”

Nami propped up her chin, blinking her enchanting eyes, lost in deep thought.

“The situation is quite interesting! Regarding cases of spirit possession, it’s rare to be simultaneously fascinated and sober, or to be possessed while still retaining one’s consciousness. If explained in words, it’s like having two souls in one body. They not only know each other, but also try to establish connections. However, they are unable to truly communicate, let alone merge.”

“What do you mean by merging?”

“That is the characteristic of the soul being One and Many, Many and One. Christianity tells us that the soul is single, unique, individual, and of an unchangeable essence. Although Buddhism advocates for reincarnation and insists that independent self and personal identity do not exist, the force of karma is still continuous and differential. Hence, it refers to someone’s past life or reincarnation. But if souls can merge, and inevitably tend towards merging, then there is no ultimate distinction between self and other, nor the existence of individual reincarnation.”

“You mean, Dai Fuk wants to merge with me? But he’s my ancestor, my paternal root!”

“What’s so strange about that? You are a part of the maternal lineage, and it would be strange if paternity and maternity did not seek fusion.”

“That’s a bit weird ethically.”

“Matters concerning the soul are not ethical. However, this does not mean that ethics doesn’t exist. Otherwise, we, soul therapists, would become morally decadent!”

At this point, Nami covered her mouth and bent over laughing. Seeing my puzzled expression, she resumed her serious attitude and said, “When soul and ethics clash, that is the root of evil in the world. Whether it’s the soul breaking ethics, or ethics suffocating the soul, both are situations that need to be avoided, but they are also unavoidable.”

“Should I then, follow ethics or the soul?”

“This is a choice you have to make for yourself, I can’t answer for you. If you seek stability, then follow ethics, if what you’re pursuing is fulfillment, then follow the soul. However, on the road to fulfillment, you will experience a lot of turbulence.”

I’m not sure if Nami’s words have been of any help to me, nor do I know if the so-called treatment has restored my mental state (or soul) to health. Or perhaps, health itself has never existed from the beginning, but is just a concept created artificially, which is what Nami refers to as ethics. During this past six months of so-called recovery, what I might have learned is simply how to pretend to be healthy, so that I can return to a healthy world, which is to return to a world where everyone pretends to be healthy. In this respect, I have indeed made progress.

I continued to immerse myself in my work as usual, dealing with various chores related to the exhibition. After finishing the text draft, I assisted in arranging for the filming of short videos required for the exhibition. The subjects of the filming included scholars in typography, professional typeface designers, veteran masters from the letterpress printing industry, and the new generation of letterpress printing inheritors.

I visited a pair of young sisters with Yixisi. They set up a letterpress printing company, producing stationery featuring their own designs. There were two Heidelberg Windmill printing presses in the small office. The sister in charge of design personally demonstrated the printing process for us. It was my first time seeing the complete operation of a printing press - from plate mounting, inking, paper feeding, to paper output - the final products were postcards featuring famous landmarks in Hong Kong. Although what my grandfather printed were probably practical items like company invoices, letter paper, and business cards, different from creative products emphasizing design concepts and color variations, I still felt a strong resonance within me, as if a latent genetic memory was awakening. Watching the rhythmic operation of the machine and listening to the sounds of operation that seemed like a wonderful melody, I was almost moved to tears. I firmly believed without doubt, these are not lifeless machines, they are my guardian beasts.

In order to fully resurrect this mythical beast, I first needed to revive the Hong Kong Type. I boldly suggested to Miss Yung that if she needed to send someone to the Netherlands to help recast the Hong Kong Type, I would be willing to go and take on all the costs myself. I admitted that, although I wasn’t familiar with printing operations, I’d practiced calligraphy and was proficient in Chinese, so I was quite confident in my understanding of Chinese characters. Miss Yung looked at me in surprise, as if I had just told her I was going to Mars. Being a cautious person, she didn’t hastily agree to my proposal and considered me volunteering to go at my own expense to be reckless. However, she still comforted me by saying, “Don’t rush, take it slow, there will always be a way.”

After three weeks of hard work, Ah Lok finally completed the movable type image created for the exhibition. It is a three-dimensional typography image composed of thousands of movable type pieces, creating the character “字” in reverse on it. She used characters and symbols with diverse stroke counts, creating either sparse or dense lines and light-effects. Up close, one could see the individual characters, but from a distance, it appeared as one huge piece of type. This work would be used for exhibition publicity and the event brochure, and also displayed as an example of typographic creation.

The craft didn’t just lie in creating the image with movable type; the printing process was no simple feat either. Without a high-quality final product, all talk of creativity was of little value. On the day of the trial print, Mr. Lui, the retired master who taught Ah Lok printing techniques, suddenly showed up. He said he was there to give his apprentice a surprise test. I went to the print studio that day to witness the production of the work and unexpectedly bumped into Master Lui.

Master Lui looked about seventy years old, but he was still very energetic, with a voice as loud as a bell. Yixisi had interviewed him before and now rushed up to greet him respectfully. He enthusiastically introduced me to the master, saying that my family also owned a printing shop. Master Lui looked at me with a gaze that was not curious but seemed to want to discern something which made me feel a bit uneasy. Consequently, I uttered nervously:

“My grandfather, who was in the printing business, had a shop in Sheung Wan before he retired. But he passed away over a decade ago.”

Upon hearing this, he suddenly became interested and pressed further, “I used to have a shop in Sheung Wan too. What was your grandfather’s name? I knew many colleagues there and recognize many of the old-timers.”

“Dai Fu,” I answered.

As if struck by lightning, he jumped up, excitedly saying, “Dai Fu was my master! I followed him for over a decade before setting up my own shop!”

Everyone present was so astonished that they were rendered speechless. Master Lui continued, “When Master Dai passed away, several of his disciples, including myself, and many experts in the field went to the funeral to bid him farewell. You must have been just a little child at the time, right? Perhaps we have met. Of course, you probably wouldn’t remember. Master passed away in 2003, didn’t he? As I recall, it was the year of SARS. Can’t believe it’s already been seventeen years.”

He paused as if remembering something, then continued, “If Master Dai was your grandfather, does that mean you are Chi Ching’s daughter?"

 I nodded in response.

“I watched your mother grow up!”

Master Lui laughed, but his joy quickly turned into sorrow. He touched my shoulder and said, “I’ve heard about your mother. When did it happen?”

“In 2004.”

“So, it was a year after master passed away. Your grandpa loved your mother very much, everyone knew that. It’s such a pity…What's your name?”

“Lai Sun Fei.”

“Sun Fei! What a beautiful name! It matches well with your mother’s. You look just like your mother. The moment I walked in, I had a sense of familiarity, but couldn’t quite place it. It’s destiny that I would meet a descendant of an old master here!”

Everyone sighed, falling silent. In the end, it was Miss Yung who broke the impasse and reminded everyone to return to the matter at hand.

Under the supervision of Master Lui, the printing was very successful, and he couldn’t stop praising Ah Lok’s skills. Unfortunately, the master had an appointment afterwards and couldn’t stay long. Before he left, we took a picture together on his phone, said he wanted to show his wife, and gave me his phone number to keep in touch. I sat down on a chair and couldn’t recover from the shock for a long time.

Seeing that I was not feeling well, Yixisi accompanied me to a nearby restaurant for a bite, and then insisted on taking me home. Although I wanted some time alone to calm down, I didn’t want to refuse his kindness. The aftereffects of my emotional turmoil caused some discomfort in my chest, so we sat in the first-class cabin. I rested with my eyes closed throughout the journey. When I occasionally opened them, I found Yixisi not doing anything else, but continuously watching me with a concerned look.

When I got off the car, I still felt short of breath and weak, so I let Yixisi help me walk. Just as I stepped onto the platform, I ran into Ah Loi coming out of the regular carriage from behind. We hadn’t seen or contacted each other since the last time I visited his house. He had finally cut his hair, which made him look neat, but also more pale and fragile. I immediately let go of Yixisi’s hand.

We awkwardly waved at each other. Just when I was hesitating whether or not to introduce Yixisi, I discovered that Ah Loi was with a middle-aged woman. The woman was thin, her face was haggard, but she had a bit of makeup on, and her outfit was carefully put together. One glance and I could tell that she was Ah Loi’s mother. As someone who has a fear of meeting new people, I didn’t know how to react for a moment.

As a result, none of us said anything. As we lined up to take the escalator, Yixisi and I stood in front, while Ah Loi and his mother were behind us. I heard his mother whisper, “Is she a friend?” He replied succinctly, “A former colleague.” For some reason, my back felt incredibly hot, as if it were on fire.

Exiting the gate, I found the situation unbearable. However, I wasn’t sure whether I should make a hasty escape or boldly turn back to have a decent conversation with Ah Loi. When I finally made up my mind to turn back, I found that Ah Loi and his mother had already walked towards the shopping mall. Worried that my actions might be noticed by Yixisi, I quickly averted my eyes and headed towards the pedestrian overpass.

After going home, I was restless, paying attention to my phone for no reason, as if waiting for a call or a message from someone. After dinner, I couldn’t hold back anymore and made a phone call to Ah Loi. I felt this was the most brazen thing I had ever done in my life. I had rehearsed dozens of opening lines beforehand, but the one that came out when the call was connected was totally unprepared:

“Why did you ignore me today?”

“I didn’t ignore you. Do you think I’m Ah Sau?”

“Of course I know you’re Ah Loi, that’s why I wanted to ask you.”

“I was with my mom! And you were with your friend.”

“Couldn’t we talk then?”

“It wasn’t convenient at the time, my mom was in a bad mood.”

“Really? What happened to Auntie?”

“She just bailed me out of the police station.”

“You were bailed out from the police station?”

“I was arrested yesterday.”

“You got arrested? Why?”

“It was Ah Sau’s doing.”

“Ah Sau did it, but you were arrested?”

“Of course! The police won’t see the difference. It doesn’t matter who did it!”

“What did Ah Sau do?”

“It’s a long story. It happened last year. But it's really not a big deal!”

“Not a big deal? If it wasn’t, you wouldn’t have been arrested!”

“At least I was bailed out, so don’t worry.”

“Ah Loi, I’m sorry!”

“Sorry for what?”

“For calling and blaming you in this situation.”

“No, I was happy to receive your call. It’s me who should say sorry... for what happened last time.”

“No need, Ah Loi. - Ah Loi, is your mom there?”

“She just left.”

“Can I come over to see you?”

“...I think, maybe next time. I’m really tired, I spent the whole night at the police station. Have to work early tomorrow too.”

“I see…”

“Don’t worry, I'll be fine.”

“Hmm.”

“You sleep early too!”

After hanging up, I cried until dawn.