Wong Jim, James Wong Jim M.Phil., D.S.Sc. (Traditional Chinese: 黃霑; Cantone… Read Full Bio ↴Wong Jim, James Wong Jim M.Phil., D.S.Sc. (Traditional Chinese: 黃霑; Cantonese Yale: Wong Jim) (February 21, 1940 – November 24, 2004) , whose real name was Wong Jum-sum (Traditional Chinese: 黃湛森; Cantonese Yale: Wong4 Jaam3 Sam1), an alumnus of La Salle College, was best known as a master of Cantopop lyrics in Hong Kong, but was also well known as a talented columnist, composer, actor, movie director, scriptwriter, talk show hosts and various other creative positions in the field of entertainment and mass media in Hong Kong.

Wong died of lung cancer after a four-year battle at the age of 64 in November 24 of 2004 at 00:46.

Education
Wong was born in Panyu, in what now is part of Guangzhou, China and migrated to Hong Kong with his family in 1949. He completed his secondary education at La Salle College. In 1963, he graduated from Chinese Department, Faculty of Arts of the University of Hong Kong. Wong obtained the degree of Master of Philosophy from the University of Hong Kong in 1983 for his study in Cantonese opera. In May 2003, in the midst of his fight with lung cancer, he completed his doctorate study at the Department of Social Science, University of Hong Kong. The title of his thesis was "Hong Kong Popular Music (1949-1997)".

Career and contributions

Exhibition of Dr James Wong's works during Hong Kong University CAS Openday in October, 2005
Music Blanket is one of James Wong's favourite personal collectionWong had participated in a variety of media fields including advertisement, movie and music. He was best known for his achievements as a lyricist of Cantonese songs in Hong Kong. Beginning from the 1960s, he was the lyricist for over 2000 songs, collaborating with composer Joseph Koo (aka. Gu Gaa-fai) on many popular TVB TV drama theme songs, many of which have become classics of the genre. His works had pushed the development of Cantopop to unprecedented popularity. Joseph Koo, might be one of his closest friends, but James Wong acknowledges that Koo is the exact opposite of him, saying that he (Wong) is handsome (in nature), while Koo has a terrible reputation, he curses or uses vulgar while Koo doesn't know how to curse!

At the same time of being well known and praised for his creative works in the entertainment and advertisement fields, Wong was also famous for his vulgar and indelicate image. His vulgar includes jokes that lightly touch on adult topics. In one of his last concerts, he sung ones of his songs intended for advertisements. This one, "Leung Go Gau Sai So" has one particular line where he emphasises the word for mother, lo-mo. On that night he also said he loves si-lai (married women, he said, his mother was a si-lai and he loves si-lai so badly, his si-lai at home said he could only one si-lai. His charismatic nature blends perfectly with his jokes that makes everyone laugh until they fall off their chairs. He had a series of best-seller books on adult-oriented jokes. He was regarded as the one breaking the cultural barrier to taboos in Hong Kong during the conservative environment in 1970s. He is best remembered as the person who came up with the slogan "Two kids are good enough" for The Family Planning Association of Hong Kong.

Wong hosted several TV programs, mostly interviews or talk shows oriented towards adults, on both TVB and ATV. One of the talk shows called "Off-guard Tonight" (今夜不設防), co-hosted by Wong and his close friends Chua Lam and Ni Kuang on ATV, is particularly remembered.

Since 1990s Wong's creative works had become less popular, and many entertainment company had introduced less Wong's songs. Some TV shows hosted by Wong were also unpopular. Wong had decided to turn back to Hong Kong University to take the Doctor degree, about the popular culture of Hong Kong. His essay is now in the library of Hong Kong University.

On November 24 of 2004 at 00:46, he passed away in Union Hospital in Hong Kong Shatin. At this moment, Hong Kong people reflected back and agreed to his career and accomplishment. For the following few days the news of his death had become the headline of medias in Hong Kong and his compositions were played throughout the week. A remembrance ceremony took place at Hong Kong Stadium, over 15,000 attended this ceremony.

道
黃霑 Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

(白)人間道
道道道道道道
道道道道道道道道道

道可道非常道
天道地道人道劍道
黑道白道黃道赤道
乜道物道道道都道

自己個道係非常道
呸呸呸呸呸(NO NO NO NO NO)胡說八道
呢度個度邊度係路 (笑)哈哈
花道茶道哈陰道陽道哈

零度密度鹹度淡度光度熱度雷射角度
鬼哭神號旁門左道狗上瓦坑必然有路
你度佢度豺狼當道唏
我自求我道我自求我道

海底隧道天後廟道皇后大道羅便臣道
馬頭圍道牛頭角道金馬倫道銅鑼灣道
條條大道條條係路哈
我自求我道我自求我道

道可道非常道天道地道人道劍道
一道二道三道四道
東道南道西道北道
左道右道前路後路
都都都都都係胡說八道
呢度個度邊度係路 (笑)哈哈
花道茶道哈陰道陽道哈

零度密度鹹度淡度光度熱度雷射角度
鬼哭神號旁門左道狗上瓦坑必然有路

你度佢度豺狼當道唏
各自求各道各自求各道

Overall Meaning

The song 道 by 黃霑 is an exploration of the concept of "道" or "way" and its various interpretations. The singer starts off by listing out different types of "道" - there's the "非常道" (extraordinary path) and the various "道" such as the "天道地道" (heavenly path and earthly path), "人道劍道" (human path and sword path), and the "黑道白道黃道赤道" (black path, white path, yellow path, and red path). He then goes on to express his skepticism towards these paths, calling them "胡說八道" (nonsense) and saying that he will pave his own "道".

The singer then moves on to describe the different "routes" or "paths" that exist around the world, citing specific examples like the "海底隧道" (underwater tunnel) and "金馬倫道" (King's Road) in Hong Kong. He emphasizes that every path is just as good or bad as any other, and that everyone should seek their own path instead of blindly following a pre-determined one.

Overall, the song seems to advocate for individuality and self-determination, encouraging listeners to question societal norms and find their own way in life.

Line by Line Meaning

道可道非常道
The way that can be spoken of is not the constant way.

天道地道人道劍道
The way of the universe, the way of the earth, the way of humans, the way of swords.

黑道白道黃道赤道
The black path, the white path, the yellow path, the red path.

乜道物道道道都道
The path of nothing, the path of objects, all paths are paths.

自己個道係非常道
My own path is the constant way.

呸呸呸呸呸(NO NO NO NO NO)胡說八道
No, no, no, no, it's all nonsense.

呢度個度邊度係路 (笑)哈哈
This place, that place, where is the path? (Laughing) Ha ha.

花道茶道哈陰道陽道哈
Flower path, tea path, ha, yin path, yang path, ha.

零度密度鹹度淡度光度熱度雷射角度
Zero degrees, density, saltiness, lightness, heat, laser, angle.

鬼哭神號旁門左道狗上瓦坑必然有路
Ghost cries, gods howl, next to the door, left path, dog on the roof, there must be a way out of the tile.

你度佢度豺狼當道唏
In your place, in his place, jackals and wolves are rampant. Sigh.