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Hong Kong Sweet & Sour
French artist Zabovisited Hong Kong in the 1960s, and condensed his year-long stay intoa book of cartoons which has come to be known as an emblem of theera. Life in Hong Kong's streets and trades is humorously illustratedwith a touch of satire, covering popular habits, social etiquette,traditions and the customs of local people as well as foreignresidents.
Even half a century later, Zabo's portrayal of Hong Kongstill rings true, and his take on life will resonate in the fondmemories of all who lived through the Swinging Sixties.
Even half a century later, Zabo's portrayal of Hong Kongstill rings true, and his take on life will resonate in the fondmemories of all who lived through the Swinging Sixties.
88 pages, Paperback
Published April 2, 2019
6 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
December 31, 2022
Deze heb ik gevonden in een ruilkastje omdat hij opviel tussen de andere boeken. En eindelijk beslist hem eens te lezen. Grappige tekeningen over Hong Kong.
October 16, 2021
A historian will find troves of treasure in this little book of cartoons. Hong Kong Sweet & Sour is a collection of cartoons by the French artist Zabo who arrived in Hong Kong in 1967. This little book represents the culmination of his personal experience during his year-long stay in Hong Kong.
Some of the things depicted in the cartoons are obviously no longer the case in Hong Kong nowadays. No, people are not permitted anymore to burn firecrackers in urban areas when new businesses open. The traditional flower plaques (which can stand for several storeys high) had gone out of fashion long time ago (and the few old people still in the industry are struggling for a living). The once ubiquitous neon signs, being a conspicuous part of the cyberpunk setting, are being demolished and are slowly but surely disappearing from the urban scene.
The book also evokes a very old-styled oriental attitude still existing during the 1960s. Even the book title itself reminds people of the sweet and sour dishes commonly found in Chinese restaurants in Chinatowns that are pleasant to the tastes of foreigners but alien to many native Chinese more tuned to the nuances of other savoury Chinese dishes. Of course, we also find many foreigners in the cartoons of this book lusting after petit women wearing mini cheongsam (or otherwise known as “qipao” given the prominence of Putonghua today).
However, some of the cartoons are surprisingly modern and still resonate with people living in Hong Kong. Hong Kong remains a hyper-capitalistic society and in one cartoon, a person found himself requiring psychiatric treatment when he was uninterested in money. People are still living in obscenely crammed spaces, especially in less privileged neighbourhoods such as Sham Shui Po or Mong Kok, enveloped by a cruel and unintentional surround sound of noises. In one cartoon, a foreigner was shocked to live in such kind of living quarters when he was tricked into it by an unscrupulous landlord. Things did not seem to have improved much after more than 50 years.
Please do pick up this little book. Old people can reminisce the past and for those younger ones, those humorous and sometime sarcastic cartoons are a good gateway to learning Hong Kong’s not-so-distant past.
Some of the things depicted in the cartoons are obviously no longer the case in Hong Kong nowadays. No, people are not permitted anymore to burn firecrackers in urban areas when new businesses open. The traditional flower plaques (which can stand for several storeys high) had gone out of fashion long time ago (and the few old people still in the industry are struggling for a living). The once ubiquitous neon signs, being a conspicuous part of the cyberpunk setting, are being demolished and are slowly but surely disappearing from the urban scene.
The book also evokes a very old-styled oriental attitude still existing during the 1960s. Even the book title itself reminds people of the sweet and sour dishes commonly found in Chinese restaurants in Chinatowns that are pleasant to the tastes of foreigners but alien to many native Chinese more tuned to the nuances of other savoury Chinese dishes. Of course, we also find many foreigners in the cartoons of this book lusting after petit women wearing mini cheongsam (or otherwise known as “qipao” given the prominence of Putonghua today).
However, some of the cartoons are surprisingly modern and still resonate with people living in Hong Kong. Hong Kong remains a hyper-capitalistic society and in one cartoon, a person found himself requiring psychiatric treatment when he was uninterested in money. People are still living in obscenely crammed spaces, especially in less privileged neighbourhoods such as Sham Shui Po or Mong Kok, enveloped by a cruel and unintentional surround sound of noises. In one cartoon, a foreigner was shocked to live in such kind of living quarters when he was tricked into it by an unscrupulous landlord. Things did not seem to have improved much after more than 50 years.
Please do pick up this little book. Old people can reminisce the past and for those younger ones, those humorous and sometime sarcastic cartoons are a good gateway to learning Hong Kong’s not-so-distant past.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews