Joy

Written by Grace Pow

I first learnt about Dr Caroline Keung and her calligraphy through Dr Keung Calligraphy Youtube channel. Her passion for Chinese culture has impressed me tremendously. By chance, I met her at Ms Qi Guhua’s Chinese calligraphy exhibition. Plucking up my courage, I went up to Dr Keung and introduced myself. When she accepted my interview request, I was so thrilled.  Our meeting took place in her office and focused mainly on her love for Chinese calligraphy and how to be a happy retiree.
 
Dr Keung is a very sociable and dynamic life-long learner. As a language lover, she chose to be a Chinese Language major at university. In 1973, Mrs Keung went to Japan to study Japanese. While visiting a professor at his house, she was invited to write in Chinese calligraphy. The experience made her understand that Chinese people have to know Chinese calligraphy because it is one of the national quintessence. Learning this art form is not only about how to use the brush and ink to practise writing but also about Chinese culture and history.
 
After returning to Hong Kong, Mrs Keung started working for a Japanese bank. In 1990s, she started learning Chinese calligraphy and became one of Ms Qi Guhua’s students. Since then, she took part in different competitions and won the championships. To help promote Chinese arts and culture, Mrs Keung helped the Chinese Bankers Club (Hong Kong) to organise Chinese calligraphy classes and competitions. 
 
In the early 2000s, she had worked for the same bank for 30 years. Owing to her competence and good working attitudes, Mrs Keung was promoted to Assistant General Manager. It was indeed extraordinary for a local employer of a foreign bank to have made such an outstanding achievement. So why did Mrs Keung give up her flourishing career and go to Beijing to study for a PhD degree in 2006? In fact, she still had 5 more years before reaching the retirement age. She chose to retire early mainly because she heard from Ms Qi that Capital Normal University in Beijing offered a postgraduate research programme in Chinese calligraphy. Throughout all those years, Mrs Keung was so busy that she did not have time to enrich her knowledge. At that time, she really wanted to go while she was still healthy.
 
Coincidently, Mrs Keung’s eldest daughter, Helen, just resigned. She asked her mother if she would support her to study for a Master degree abroad. Of course, Mrs Keung gave her full support. At the same time, she decided to leave her comfort zone and went to Beijing to prepare herself for her postgraduate research programme.
 
Mrs Keung really wanted to be a PhD postgraduate. But it was not enough just to be decisive, persistent and passionate. She also needed to have strong academic foundation. After her resignation, Mrs Keung went to Beijing to visit two elite scholars of two universities. Through their guidance, she enrolled in a two-year Master summer programme and attended a rigorous entrance examination. In September 2008, Mrs Keung was so happy that she could be admitted as a graduate student in Chinese calligraphy.
 
A typical PhD programme usually takes 4 years. But Mrs Keung had spent twice as much time on fact-checking to ensure all the information of her thesis was correct, She kept travelling to China, Hong Kong and Japan back and forth to do her research. With a life-long learning mindset, this Chinese calligraphy lover finally obtained her PhD degree in 2016.
 
Dr Keung graduated at the age of 65. After returning to Hong Kong, she immediately organised a joint Chinese calligraphy exhibition by teachers and friends. Instead of feeling exhausted, Dr Keung said she felt joyful because she loved organising joint exhibitions. Through these events, she could exchange ideas with those who shared the same passion and spread positive vibes. It was very meaningful. Dr Keung added that different people have different concepts about how to lead a ‘meaningful’ life. For her, it means to convey happiness to others and promote harmony in the community.
 
Dr Keung believes that anyone who wants to live happily needs to develop their hobbies. She loves Chinese calligraphy and sports. In 2017, she started learning Taekwondo. This martial arts can improve our physique and fitness, etiquette and memory. A few months ago, Dr Keung just finished her black belt test which gave her a great sense of accomplishment. Her life philosophy is to adopt an optimistic attitude towards life. She always feels grateful and goes with the flow. Every morning, she tells herself that she is still young so she must live life to the fullest.
 
Some people may feel unhappy or scared when they reached 60 because they believe they are not as competent as they were before. Dr Keung stated that everyone will become old so we do not have to worry too much. Most importantly, we have to maintain good health and take better care of ourselves. It is also crucial to set different goals at different stages. We will succeed when we put our words into action. Dr Keung started learning Taekwondo when she was 66. At 70, she began to learn golf. Age is definitely not a barrier.
 
With her 2^nd daughter’s (Melody’s) encouragement, Dr Keung created Dr Keung Calligraphy Youtube channel early this year. She hopes to teach students irrespective of their backgrounds and promote Chinese culture. Dr Keung is grateful to all those who support her channel and hopes to have a chance to organise a joint Chinese calligraphy exhibition with them.
 
The two-hour chit-chat session was very relaxing and motivating. Dr Keung gave me a copy of her calligraphy anthology as souvenir. While reading the publication on the bus, I could really feel that she is a typical life-long learner. Dr Keung has not only shared her anthology, but also spread happiness and positivity. One life can indeed influence another life. I really hope that this article can inspire more readers to be life-long learners.