Prof. TONG Duen-ching —— Dormitory life on Battery Street and Kweilin Street
(00:16)
When I reached Kowloon, I lived in my uncle’s home at first. Later, in the early days of Asia Evening College of Arts and Commerce, which I entered, I lived in its dormitory on Battery Street.
(00:40)
<Displaying photo of Asia Evening College of Arts and Commerce’s hostel on Battery Street, Jordan>
It was a rented space of about 300 square feet. There, a small room was set apart, just enough for a canvas cot, a small desk and a small rattan chair, for Mr. Tang and Mr. Ch’ien. Because they taught in the evening, they might not make it home in time.
(01:14)
When Mr. Tang and Mr. Ch’ien were still at that [Wuxi] school,① they met Mr. Wang Shu-tao amid tense political situation. Mr. Wang Shu-tao headed a school named Hwa Kiu College of Engineering and Commerce. Mr. Wang invited Mr. Ch’ien and Mr. Tang to Guangzhou and teach at Hwa Kiu College of Engineering and Commerce. Mr. Tang and Mr. Ch’ien accepted the offer and went to Guangzhou. Soon afterwards, situation in Guangzhou also became unstable. Mr. Wang Shu-tao’s Hwa Kiu College of Engineering and Commerce moved to Sha Tin, at Tung Lo Wan … There is a Tung Lo Wan in Sha Tin. Hwa Kiu College was located there. Mr. Ch’ien and Mr. Tang followed Hwa Kiu College and moved to Hong Kong. After moving to Hong Kong, then, Mr. Ch’ien, Mr. Tang and several other scholars founded Asia Evening College of Arts and Commerce on their own. Asia Evening College of Arts and Commerce would become New Asia College.
(02:50)
Early on, I lived in the dormitory on Battery Street for about half a year. That small room was where Mr. Ch’ien and Mr. Tang took turns to stay. Whoever had class in Kowloon and could not return to Sha Tin, to Hwa Kiu College of Engineering and Commerce in Tung Lo Wan, slept in the room. When Mr. Tang had class, he slept in the room. Sometimes, both teachers had classes. With only one canvas cot in the room, Mr. Tang would stay with us outside the room, with several bunk beds in place. The double-deck ones.
(03:44)
An enthusiastic teacher from Taiwan recruited about a dozen students to study here. In Taiwan, he said, “Ch’ien Mu founded a college there.” As always in Taiwan, people knew who Ch’ien Mu was. So, there came the students. When they arrived in Hong Kong, they could only sleep on the bunk beds on Battery Street, but it was not enough. The dormitory was small. How to deal with them? There was a wild idea that the College hire a junk boat and send the students on board. After struggling with a solution, the College rented several rooms at an apartment in North Point to settle these students from Taiwan.
(04:59)
I did not have the chance to live in the dormitory in North Point. I lived in the one on Battery Street, having slept on bunk beds, the bunk beds in New Asia College’s earliest dormitory. Later, we moved to Kweilin Street. There was also a student dormitory. We still slept on bunk beds at the time. Dormitory life it was. Sleeping on a bunk bed was better than sleeping by the stairs.
– End of Interview Video Transcript –
NOTES:
① The original wording by Prof. Tong, in Chinese, may be translated as “when Mr. Tang and Mr. Ch’ien were still at that Shanghai school.” Here, “Shanghai” is a verbal slip that requires clarification. The school Prof. Tong refers to is Jiangnan University, founded in Wuxi by Mr. Jung Te-sheng in 1947. In autumn 1947, Mr. Tang Chun-i was named professor and dean of studies at Jiangnan University, while Mr. Ch’ien Mu returned to Wuxi as the dean of Jiangnan University’s arts faculty in spring the following year.