Life of Interspersion

11 April 2007

Amusing Toys


During Easter Holidays in few days ago, I went to the Taipa House Museum in Taipa Village to see an interesting aged toys collection.

Two toy collectors from HK and Macau respectively, they showed around 200 toys which were manufactured in Germany, England, Japan, China, Hong Kong and Macao from 1930 to 1980. There are metal toys of transportation vehicles, included the DINKY designed nature models of race cars and toy helicopters manufactured during the Cultural Revolution era of China.

Besides these, the China Can Co. Ltd. in HK produced metal toy cannon during 1950, that company made use of the leftovers from can-manufacturing to make toys and had been able to produce several kind of metal toys in Shanghai. As boys do prefer to play with toys associated with wars, there are also numerous toys were showed out, particularly a green plastic soldier that was manufactured in Japan during 1940 to 1950.

The most hit plastic toys in 60s & 70s are girls fancy – dolls, combine and make up clothing dolls, Mickey mouse, giant robot, Robocop and pinkpanther.


Let’s have a look for some toys came from the Cultural Revolution period:

six sides blocks with chinese animation stories and three traditional chinese dolls


Here are the plastic series toys:


um...boys like to play with these guns but I have been played with this cute wind up pushcart when I was a child


Toys made of iron sheet:

Mini-Bar, refrigerator & washing machine and have a look at this battery operated toy, it had been popular during the 50s due to science-fiction film.

This display definitely awoke everyone’s childhood memories and recall those happy moments while being a child. Of course I am the one of them. Although many of those exhibited toys which I haven’t played, but I do know the following ones are my childhood’s toys to have fun frequently.

Kaleidoscope AND
Aeroplane Chess



By knowing how the playing toys for last generation were, I admit a bit envy the young generation’s modern, new technology toys!



05 April 2007

Time to be a Filial Descendant

每逢清明節日, 總會聽到以下唐代著名詩人杜牧有一首膾炙人口的絕句《清明》

----(唐)杜 牧 (Tang Dynasty) Du Mu

清明時節雨紛紛,
It drizzles endlessly during the rainy season in Spring,

路上行人欲斷魂。
Travelers along the road look gloomy and miserable.

借問酒家何處有?
When I ask a shepherd boy where I can find a tavern,

牧童遙指杏花村。
He points at a distant hamlet nestling amidst apricot blossoms.



雖然這兒幾天來的天氣突然有點兒轉涼, 但幸好今天天氣都良好, 前往掃墓沒有帶來任何的不便之處.

近這六至七年里, 因父母要返回國外生活的原故,于是便由我做代表往
觀音廟拜祭外祖父,母(媽媽的父母亲). 最初有點兒不習慣, 看見別人能夠一家大小開開心心地掃墓去, 好像去野餐般似的, 但我就有些空虛感覺. 幸運地有位年長的亞姨(其中一位親友)每年也陪同我及教我如何準備有關的祭品, 例如: 香燭, 紙扎祭品衣包, 金銀紙…等, 食物有燒肉, 松糕, 茶, 酒, 水果…等. 原來整個拜祭的儀式也有那么多知識要學, 擺放食物位置, 先做那些, 後做那些...真是活到老, 學到老!

現在的家庭去掃墓, 好像是這特別日子裡, 大家又有一天來相聚. 有雙重意義. 家庭多成員的, 就會買多些祭品來掃墓. 掃墓完後, 便興高采烈地來吃一頓午飯或晚餐. 而家團成員比較少的, 則簡簡單單的籌備了.

無論是那一種形式來拜祭祖先也好, 只是代表孝子賢孫的一份孝道而已!