[Diary of the Absurd Life in 1997:
All Entries]

TH: Diary of the Absurd Life in 1997, in 28 sections, was written originally in Chinese by Mary Wong and serialised in Ming Pao 明報 in 1997. The pieces, translated into English by Chris Song, are serialised in Cha beginning from Monday 25 September 2023.

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A Mistress’s Heart

3/28

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Pak Kwong possessed an extraordinary talent; the moving crew willingly followed her guidance without the need for tipping. Within the exchange of just three sentences, she had already established a warm rapport with the foreman. Overhearing her inquiring about his children’s ages and school grades, I was struck by the foreman’s willingness to share intricate details of his life story. This talkative middle-aged man had made the journey from the mainland over two decades earlier, and despite the passage of time, hints of his accent lingered—a deliberate choice, perhaps, to hold onto a fragment of his homeland within his memories. Our initial interactions with the company involved his tendency to delve into unrelated small talk, seemingly eager to engage in conversation. However, my lack of interest eventually steered our exchanges to strictly business matters.

Seeing them engrossed in conversation made me realise that Kwong was more human than I was. I seemed destined to play the role of a hired hand, lugging boxes up and down at least twenty times. Kwong had more friends than I did. Every day, she spent over two hours answering calls from her friends, in conversations ranging from idle chitchat to psychological counselling, academic guidance, fashion updates, skincare secrets, love and marriage advice, and more. She had talked to friends from different professions and social strata, and it always seemed so natural. She was a receptive listener when encountering something unfamiliar. Out of respect for her, I even had another phone line installed.

My friends also adored Kwong. On the evening before our move, we threw a dumpling and meatball party in our old place, inviting mostly colleagues from my line of work. Editors were always the ones to initiate conversations, often praising the depth of each other’s magazine features. Wine connoisseurs would flaunt their knowledge of fine vintages while a female writer sat quietly in one corner, immersed in her reading of Kristeva’s theories. The womaniser Fung was busy soliciting film reviews from attractive girls. But as soon as Kwong arrived, after a few rounds of drinks, that initial guardedness gave way to a more relaxed air. Gathered in a circle, they began wrapping dumplings and, amid the lively ambiance, finished off three bottles of 1993 Bulgarian, Hungarian, and Chilean red. In the kitchen, as I prepared the soups and two kinds of snacks, Kwong’s excitement led her to discover a karaoke microphone at the bottom of a cardboard box. She tore open the plastic bag and enthusiastically dove into a guest appearance, flawlessly mimicking the Bai Guang’s singing from “A Mistress’s Heart”, crooning, “Your job is editing. Your power is beyond measure!” Friends who had or hadn’t seen the film were captivated, unfazed by whether her gentle mockery was intentional or not. How could one argue that she wasn’t my dearest friend?

How to cite: Song, Chris and Mary Wong. “A Mistress’s Heart.” Cha: An Asian Literary Journal, 27 Sept. 2023, chajournal.blog/2023/09/27/mistress-heart.

Mary Shuk-Han Wong 黃淑嫻 (author) is a Hong Kong writer. Her short story collection Surviving Central (中環人; 2013) received the “25th Secondary School Students’ Best Ten Books Award.” Her essay collections include How to Live the Sad Days (悲傷的日子如何過; 2021), Against the Grain (亂世破讀; 2017), and From Kafka (理性的遊藝：從卡夫卡談起; 2015). She has also published an online poetry collection, Cave Whispers (絕地抒情; 2022), in collaboration with Hong Kong composer and photographer. She was the co-producer and literary advisor of two literary documentaries: 1918: Liu Yichang (1918：劉以鬯紀錄片; 2015) and Boundary: Leung Ping Kwan (東西：也斯紀錄片; 2015).

Chris Song (translator) is a poet, editor, and translator from Hong Kong, and is an assistant professor in English and Chinese translation at the University of Toronto Scarborough. He won the “Extraordinary Mention” of the 2013 Nosside International Poetry Prize in Italy and the Award for Young Artist (Literary Arts) of the 2017 Hong Kong Arts Development Awards. In 2019, he won the 5th Haizi Poetry Award. He is a founding councilor of the Hong Kong Poetry Festival Foundation, executive director of the International Poetry Nights in Hong Kong, and editor-in-chief of Voice & Verse Poetry Magazine. He also serves as an advisor to various literary organisations.

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