Beyond the Red Pocket: A Tango with Luck 與福同行: 一個加拿大華裔的看法
Written by Justin Poy · Translated by Jennifer J. Lau
Red pockets as captured by Ikonica Images
我父母在香港長大，第二次世界大戰當日本攻打香港時，他們有幸移居到加拿大，在60年代開始建立起我們這個家。因此，我可以說我們一家都是在中西合璧的環境裡成長的。雖然我們沒有宗教信仰，但是我們每年都會慶祝聖誕節與其它跟基督教有關的節日。同時，我們也會參與中國傳統的節慶。我們會特別留意香港，台山，跟新會的習俗，因為我們是南方人。
Chinese New Year was always a time for family celebration and still is to this day. We always give red pockets to unmarried children of the next generation. Red Pockets were historically during the Qin Dynasty given to children to prevent them from becoming deathly ill. I received them throughout my childhood from my parents and relatives. However, at the age of 10, I lost all my kidney function, and needed a kidney transplant by the time I was 14. So would a traditionalist say that the Red Pockets gave me luck? It really depends on how you look at it.
從小到現在，我們一家都會一起很熱鬧地過農曆新年，或稱：春節。已經結婚的人都會派紅包給還未結婚的後輩與小孩子。從秦朝開始，人們都認為紅包有保護小孩的功效，保佑他們的小生命。童年時，我也收過不少紅包。可是我十歲時不幸患上腎功能衰竭，而到十四歲的時候，我更需要接受腎移植手術。所以紅包真的帶給了我運氣嗎？我覺得答案是很主觀的，要看你怎樣看待運氣。
Sponsored by Union Capital Realty, Brokerage.
In my own life, as with many of us, I can say that luck has played a fundamental role in my success. Or perhaps I am just going through the motions and when things turn out for the best, I attribute that success to whatever moves I took to ensure the best “luck” — much like a self-fulfilling prophecy or living the expression that “something good always comes from something bad”. I’ve seen my share of Chinese businesses go bankrupt even though Feng Shui Masters were consulted for the best day to “officially” open their offices. I’ve seen business owners lose everything despite having a massive tank of goldfish right at the entrance, with plentiful flowing water (water symbolizes wealth in the Chinese culture).
在我的生命裡，運氣可以說是飾演了一個很重要的角色。或者我只是比較樂觀，所以會覺得所有如意的事都是因為“好運”才會發生。也可能，就算我沒有去做一些大家都覺得是迷信的動作，結果也會是一樣好。我也遇到過不少生意失敗的中國人，儘管他們開張的日子是由風水師所選的黃道吉日。我也認識不少未能成功的生意人，就算他們在門口放了一個象徵財運的大魚缸。 （魚缸裡的水代表財富。）
I’ve always been a bit more pragmatic when it comes to Chinese “luck” and Feng Shui. If I’m told to do something on a Tuesday instead of a Wednesday by my Feng Shui consultant, and it doesn’t hugely inconvenience anyone, I will. Would I start knocking down walls in my house if he told me to do so? Likely not. It’s a bit like buying the optional accident insurance on a credit card. Growing up Chinese-Canadian in Toronto in the 1970s, there weren’t many Chinese influences, so my mother naturally became my mentor and my sole source of cultural information. It has always been explained to me by her that Feng Shui is about a feeling you get when you enter a room or a building. Bad luck comes from having an “eerie” or “ominous” feeling about a situation or a location. I think in the west, we just call that intuition. Growing up, my mother forbid my brothers and I to wear solid black. She said it was only meant for funerals. To this day, I still remember the first pair of black pants I bought and how afraid I was to wear them in front of my mother. I bought them in the late '80s and at the time that was the coolest colour one could wear to a school dance. In fact, I would hide them in my backpack until I got to the school and then change. I never agreed with her about the colour black and never heard anyone of my Chinese friends or their parents say the same thing. However, over the years as I grew into my own shoes within the Chinese community here in Canada and overseas, I soon learned how to navigate the world of Chinese luck on my own.
我一向都抱著比較理性的態度去面對所謂的運氣跟風水。如果風水師說星期二比較適宜做什麼，而換日子對我沒有太大的影響的話，我便會聽從他的勸言。但是如果他說，我應該把家裡的牆壁拆下，我也絕對不會這樣做。 70年代在多倫多長大的我，作為一個加拿大華裔，只有我母親提供有關中國文化的知識給我。風水，根據她說，是一種感覺。當你走進一個房間，一個空間，你可以感受到它的風水。西方文化可能會說，這就是我們的直覺。而衣著方面，媽媽說不能穿全黑，因為黑衣服只適宜在參加葬禮時穿。直到今天，我還記得我很害怕讓媽媽看到我穿上黑色牛仔褲。但是80年代，穿黑衣服是非常流行的，所以我會偷偷地把黑色牛仔褲放入包裡，然後到了學校再換上。而事實上，其他華裔同學都沒聽說過不能穿全黑的概念。長大後，我漸漸懂得怎樣去融入華人群體與文化。
“[A]sk me about choosing cell phone numbers or the dates on which I would hold company events and I’m right there choosing as many three’s, sixes and eights as I can muster up.”
My father was the first person I ever knew to get a vanity plate for his car back in the '90s. It said NGP888 (for, Neville George Poy). He never actually drove that car because he considered it a treasure. It ended up literally falling apart in his garage and was never used. I remember thinking how “Chinese” that was of him, even though he immigrated to Canada at the age of 7. The number 8 in Chinese is widely known to sound similar to “發” which means to grow rich. When I decided that I wanted a custom license plate of my own, I contemplated adding numbers, but then didn’t want to be stereotyped on the highway as people drove by me. I get enough grief for merely owning one. I do not, however, regret omitting any numbers on my plates. But ask me about choosing cell phone numbers or the dates on which I would hold company events and I’m right there choosing as many three’s, sixes and eights as I can muster up.
我父親是我認識的人當中第一個擁有自編車牌的：NGP888（NGP代表他的英文名字 Neville George Poy 的縮寫）。我們很少機會開那輛車，因為它太寶貴了，結果最後車子因被放置太久而壞掉了。我還記得當時心裡在想：就算爸爸七歲已經移民到加拿大，卻還是喜愛888這般傳統的選擇（畢竟“8”跟 “發”是諧音）。到我要選車牌的時候，我也曾想過要不要加上幾個號碼，可是到最後都沒有加上去，因為我的車已經太引人注意了。到今天為止，我也並未後悔沒有在車牌上添加號碼。可是當我要挑選我公司舉辦活動的日期或編電話號碼的時候，我會想盡辦法用到 3, 6, 和8這幾個數字。
Sponsored by Palettera.
I consider myself a logical person, but certainly don’t have any solid answers when it comes to luck. If I did, I would be offering up words of wisdom for a living. I grew up in Canada but don’t consider number 13 to be unlucky, yet would choose 666 over 444 any day of the week. These preferences are the combined result of being raised with two cultures: the one at home and the one we see around us. I always eat fish with the head and the tail intact. I will try to touch the head of the dragon at Chinese New Year, but I will also avoid opening an umbrella indoors or walking under a ladder. Previously, it was my year according to the Chinese zodiac (the Year of the Fire Rooster to be exact) and in geomancy, it was supposed to be a somewhat miserable and uneventful year for me. I was given a beautiful (and rare) piece of sandalwood to wear around my neck so that I wouldn’t “sink” and to have something hard to stand on during the year of the Fire Rooster. Does it make any sense at all? To me it doesn’t, but I had worn it every day that year since I received it from a dear friend of mine and I had been incredibly fortunate during a year that should by all accounts, have been a horrible year for me.
我認為自己是一個有邏輯的人。對於“運氣“這個概念，我也沒有一個統一性的想法。我不覺得13號是不祥的。但如果要從666跟444之間選一個，我一定會選666。為什麼呢？可能是因為我是在兩種不同的文化影響之下長大。我吃魚的時候，一定會吃整條魚；過新年的時候，我也一定會伸手摸摸舞獅的頭；在家，我絕對不會開雨傘或在梯子下走過。幾年前我犯太歲， 有人送了一條有檀香木為墜子的頸鏈給我。他說，它可以幫助我渡過那一年的惡運。邏輯上，是不能解釋的，但是我每天都帶著它。而到現在為止，還很平安。
For the record, I’ve never felt any luckier or experienced any particular luck from spending or saving the money I received as a child in a Red Pocket either. But it won’t stop me from giving them out. It’s my wish for others to be fortunate and it’s my way of sharing a pinch of positivity and hope.
同樣，用還是不用紅包裡的錢對我的運程從來都沒有影響。但是我還是會繼續派紅包，因為我希望透過這個傳統習俗來祝福他人，且給予他們希望和正能量。
Sponsored by Ferris Wheel Press.
