{"id":13453,"date":"2018-12-04T14:27:24","date_gmt":"2018-12-04T06:27:24","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/varsity.com.cuhk.edu.hk\/?p=13453"},"modified":"2021-10-15T16:38:50","modified_gmt":"2021-10-15T08:38:50","slug":"chop-and-change","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/varsity.com.cuhk.edu.hk\/index.php\/2018\/12\/chop-and-change\/","title":{"rendered":"Chop and Change"},"content":{"rendered":"

Easy-going Ng Kam-chun\u00a0<\/strong>enjoys making seals for children and foreigners<\/strong><\/p>\n

By Civi<\/strong>\u00a0Yap<\/strong><\/p>\n

Man Wa Lane, also known as Chop Alley, is a tiny pedestrian lane in Sheung Wan lined with stalls of chop makers. It is where Pun Han Sin Koon (\u534a\u9592\u5c71\u9928)<\/a> \u2014 which translates into \u201claid-back mountain hut\u201d \u2014 sits with its wide display of traditional Chinese seals. Ng Kam-chun, the 60-something owner of the stall, refers to himself as a \u201claid-backer\u201d. \u201cOur predecessors hoped that in this industry we could enjoy some free time while earning a living. Isn\u2019t this lifestyle delightful?\u201d<\/p>\n

You may have seen Ng\u2019s artwork without realising it \u2014 the red chop in fifteen-fold seal script on Standard Charter\u2019s 2010 edition of HK$100 banknotes<\/a> was in fact his work. Ng was 16 when he entered the industry as an apprentice in a printing house in Macau where he learnt various engraving and printing skills. In 1989, after nine years of apprenticeship, he moved to Hong Kong because the market here was more diverse.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn Hong Kong, we carve in numerous languages such as Chinese, English, Japanese, Russian, and Thai,\u201d Ng explains. He says traditional chops are more formal and require higher crafting skills, whereas making modern chops allows for more creative flair. \u201cWe want to have a fusion between Chinese and Western cultures,\u201d he says. \u201cThere are fewer rules and limits now\u2026when you express ideas through carving, it\u2019s just like making layouts.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"
Ng Kam-chun demonstrating the process of seal-carving<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Even though automated rubber stamp-making technology and machines exist nowadays, Ng believes hand-carved Chinese seals can never be replaced. \u201cYou\u2019d know the difference between hand-written fonts and computer-generated ones. Handmade chops have human spirits in them,\u201d he says. \u201cThings don\u2019t have to be rigid and static. Be more flexible and you will have lots of variation.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ng\u2019s carefree spirit helps him enjoy making creative chops for children and foreigners. Sometimes he helps foreigners translate their names into Chinese, and also combines cartoon patterns onto the seals for children. He is such an experienced craftsman that he can draft his designs on the spot and modify them until customers are satisfied. From experience and reading calligraphy books, he is also aware of the cultural preference for how names appear on seals, which affects how he utilises the space aesthetically.<\/p>\n

Ng believes the philosophy behind Chinese seal-making is \u201crespect the job and have fun with it.\u201d After working for nearly four decades in the field, he is still eager to learn. \u201cEvery day is a challenge, but that is where my skills come from,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

To customise your own Chinese seal, be it for an official purpose or for fun, visit Pun Han Sin Koon<\/a> at GPT8, Man Wa Lane, Sheung Wan, Hong Kong Island.<\/p>\n

Edited by Angela Ng<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Veteran Chinese seal crafter Ng Kam-chun finds joy and freedom in the traditional art with a laid-back attitude.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":13458,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1808,18],"tags":[95,1160,1150,1159,1161],"class_list":["post-13453","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-issue-150","category-vchoice","tag-arts","tag-chinese","tag-craftsmanship","tag-seals","tag-traditional"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/varsity.com.cuhk.edu.hk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13453","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/varsity.com.cuhk.edu.hk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/varsity.com.cuhk.edu.hk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/varsity.com.cuhk.edu.hk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/varsity.com.cuhk.edu.hk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=13453"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/varsity.com.cuhk.edu.hk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13453\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":13463,"href":"https:\/\/varsity.com.cuhk.edu.hk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13453\/revisions\/13463"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/varsity.com.cuhk.edu.hk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/13458"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/varsity.com.cuhk.edu.hk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=13453"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/varsity.com.cuhk.edu.hk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=13453"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/varsity.com.cuhk.edu.hk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=13453"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}