鄧永鏘（DavidTang）中國會、上海灘創辦人
Thiscartoonof"老夫子"wasaplagiarismbymyson.IhadbeenawayforawhileandwhenIcameback,hegaveittomeasagreetingcard.Itwasirreverent,butveryfunny.Thankgodhe,likeme,hasasenseofhumour.Humourisoneofthemostimportantthingsinlife.Lookingatit,Iamveryhappytosaythatinthelastfewmonths,Ihavecommissionedthecreatorof"老夫子",Mr王澤,toproduceandreproduceanumberofcartoonsforusattheChinaClub.Therewillbe21ofthem,andtheywillredecoratethewallsoftheprivateliftoftheClubattheoldBankofChinaBuilding.Theywill,Ihope,makepeoplelaughwhilsttheyareinsidethelift.Itwillbeevenmoresplendidifsomewouldburstoutlaughingloud.Ihavedonesoonmanyoccasionsforstupidreasons.Itwilllightenupthatbriefperiodwhenweascend.Andmuchmoreeducatedthan,say,watchingatelevisionmonitorwhichiswhatoneinvariablyfindsnowadaysinafancyblock.
Ihavebeenreading老夫子eversinceIwasachild.Ithasbeenover35years.IusedtobuythecomicwheneverIcould.IstillbuyitwhenIseeit.Mr王澤is,forme,abitofagenius-orIshouldsay,heandhisfather,whooriginallyinventedthecharacter.Itiswonderfulthatfatherandsonshouldusethesamepseudonymforapublicationthathaslastedforsolong.Ihopethepresent王澤willhaveasontocarryonforthethirdgeneration.Allofusshouldsupportthisperpetuation.IfanyonetalksofHongKongheritage,surely老夫子isaprimecandidate.Evenmoresowithitscontinuationforgenerations.Notonlyhasitsurvivedforsomanyyears,butithasgivenenormouspleasuretoacountlessnumberofpeople.Ofcomics,老夫子rankssupreme.Itisclean,andwhenswearingisoccasionallyalludedto,funnysymbolswouldbeused:☆！?-andweknowexactlyhowtheysoundandwhattheymean.Anditissohealthyforusalltolaugh.
Iwishmorepeople,especiallytheyoungergeneration,willnotforgetaboutartistslike王澤.Theyareeasilypassedoverbecausetheyformpartofourdailylivesandbecomealmostunnoticeable.Soifweshouldclaimtohavearenaissancesenseofheritage,weshouldbegintoseekoutcharacterssuchas王澤whohavemadearealdifferencetothevernacularinHongKong.
Talkingofthevernacular,theKingofKowloon(九龍皇帝)hasjustpassedaway.Thereistheusualpatheticallygingerdebateaboutwhetherthisgraffitishouldbepreserved.Ofcoursetheyshould.Ifnotpreserved,theyshouldnotberubbedoff,asithashappenedinanumberofcases.HavepeoplenotheardofBasquiat?Hewasagraffitiartist,andhisworkswereoutstanding.OurownJoeLau(劉鑾雄)hasinhispossessionacoupleofthebestBasquiatsthereare.Hepaidtensofmillionsforthem,andweknowMrLauisanexceedinglycleverman!Solet'sbedecisiveandkeepeverything.Intime,noneofuswillhavetodecideiftheworksofthe"KingofKowloon"aregoodorbad,outstandingorappalling.Thepopulaceandtheopenartmarketwillbethejudgeofthat.Ifpeoplerecognizehisgenius,theywillpeddlehisworks.Iftheydon'tandeventuallycometoregardhimasanirrelevantandathird-rateartist,nobodywouldcare.Onethingaboutthepopulaceisthattheyarenevercheatedongenius.Whenthereisgenius,it'srecognized,ifnotimmediately,theneventually.
SomayIsay:longlive老夫子,大蕃薯,秦先生,陳小姐,andalloftheirhumourandsenseoftheabsurdity,andalloftheirwitandcharm;andinthesamevein,maythegraffitiofthe"KingofKowloon"liveonmuch,muchlongerthantheQueen'sPier!
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逢周日刊出
