CADUCEUS The Society Newspaper Editorial Board
Conversations I Medic I City I Entertainment I Prose
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2019 Issue 01 Volume 50
C O N T E N T S
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Editor’s Word Conversations Climb Your Everest: Benjamin Chan
Medic 7
Hope Lost and Hope Regained
City
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Millennial Slang or ModernDay Neologisms?
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Entertainment 21
The Great Spectrum of Nontheism
In Appreciation of Coffee
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The History of Small Things
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Prose Two-Faced
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Editor’s Word
The issues of Caduceus welcome each new year by shaking off their old colours, and taking up a new guise. Just as the seasons are transient, the people behind Caduceus come and go. Yet, we always strive to preserve the true essence of Caduceus and its publications. This issue’s theme is ‘Self’, and the corresponding Chinese theme is xian wei ([Canto.] hín mèih, lit. microscopy, revealing the minute). As its name suggests, the collected writings and stories in this issue are but miniatures of ourselves that reflect various aspects of our personas: introspective narratives painted in a personal voice. Our first story begins with Benjamin Chan, the featured interviewee of this issue, who is both the youngest person to climb Mount Everest and an aspiring doctor-to-be. Wonderfully forthcoming about his struggles and experiences both on the peak as a mountaineer, and off the peak as a medical student, his fresh and unorthodox perspective on life shows us a different definition of ‘success’. Besides this, a political essay on the failure of Prism, the wildly unpopular HKUSU proposed cabinet, splits the surrounding debate into a spectrum of varying opinions, much like a prism splitting light into a rainbow. Of particular note is the reader submission The History of Small Things, which does not chronicle the grand and monumental, but instead briefly explores how modest and unassuming things have subsequently shaped history. We thank our readers for their continuous support and for their generous submissions. Hopefully, our work will be able to provoke you to stop skimming life’s surface. Instead, we encourage you to stir up deeper insights of ourselves, both in thought and in writing, prompting new journeys of joyous self-discovery. We dedicate this issue to individuality, and to us all: to ‘self’, and to selves.
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Climb Your Everest: Benjamin Chan / M24 Terry
WOULD YOU RISK leaving your whole life behind to pursue your passion? Benjamin Chan Ka-hei has successfully climbed to the 8,848-metre summit of Mount Everest at the age of 19. Rather than following the traditional path of most Hongkongers who would go straight to university after graduating from high school, he made a decision to take a gap year in order to achieve his lofty goal of climbing the world’s highest mountain. Having made such a significant choice that could compromise his life and future, he has no regrets. ‘I want to be able to look back in ten years and think about the things that I have done, rather than the things I haven’t done,’ he says. After having made such an achievement, he has returned to his studies and is making another one of his dreams of becoming a successful doctor come true. Currently, he remains
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a massive inspiration to young people across Hong Kong, reminding them that it is possible to follow their passions without abandoning their livelihood.
How it all began It was a passion developed over the years. Originally, Benjamin loved hiking with his parents as a child. However, he recalls that it wasn’t until when he was 13 years old that this enthusiasm for climbing started. At the time, one of his friends had invited him to join the scouts. Consequently, one of the scouting activities led to him diving off a cliff during a hike. He ended up receiving 17 stitches in his arm. However, this did not intimidate him at all. Ever since then, he only continued to do more hiking and cliff jumping around
Hong Kong, seeking the most thrilling waterfalls and rock pools. He says that he was instantly hooked on the feeling of danger. However, he never thought that he would be doing the Explorers Grand Slam, a challenge to climb the seven highest summits of each of the continents, until he heard about Marin Minamiya: a former South Island School student who had successfully became the youngest person at the time to complete the challenge. Having freshly graduated from high school, this news served as a reminder of the infinite possibilities in front of him. Benjamin remembers his immediate thought: ‘What have I done with my life?’ Seeing another young person achieving something that he deemed impossible was what pushed him to take a gap year, in order to start conquering more challenging mountains such as the Aconcagua and Mount Everest. He saw this as the perfect opportunity for him to see a world outside of Hong Kong and medicine, before dedicating the next six years of his life towards studying and working. Benjamin became set on his goal of summiting Mount Everest. However, when he first revealed that dream to his parents, their great worry was most definitely understandable. It is no secret that many people have died on their way to the summit, and so it was not unusual for his parents to be hesitant in letting their son take on such a significant risk. Benjamin was also aware that everyone else around him had the same concern. Despite this, he was determined and eventually convinced his parents. ‘My dad said that if this is my dream, they would support me as much as they can,’ he says. Ultimately, his parents and close ones became very encouraging and supportive of his choice and aspiration, despite it not being the most conventional one.
The journey For such a dangerous expedition, it was only natural to be scared or worried. However, fear did not deter Benjamin. Instead, he developed a very disciplined
approach towards managing his risks. At such high altitudes, there are a lot of elements that cannot be controlled, such as extreme weather and hazardous terrain. ‘One of the only things that you can control is how you react to your environment – how to be safe and manage the risk,’ says Benjamin. This aspect is one of the most stimulating and gratifying part about climbing to him. ‘This is what makes you a good climber: maximising your chance of survival,’ he explains. With the constant awareness of danger looming over him throughout his journey, he stresses the importance of minimising risks by being familiar with his own limitations and what his body is capable of doing safely. ‘For example, whenever I am on an ice cliff or a dangerous section, I will try to go through them quickly so I will not be exposed to the terrain for a long period of time,’ he shares. Benjamin headed towards the Mount Everest base camp with his teammates in April of 2018. His team had been arranged by the International Mountain Guides (IMG), which organised the entire expedition. As a result, he did not know anyone from the team beforehand. Fortunately for him, he got along fine with them. According to Benjamin, a poor team dynamic could pose extra challenges to the process, especially because at a 7,000-metre altitude, people tend to act less rationally which could easily lead to disagreements and conflicts. Looking back, Benjamin feels lucky to have had a good relationship with his teammates.
In the face of adversity He laughs as he recalls his daily living conditions during the two months: eating raw onions for nutrition, sleeping on air mattresses, and living without a proper toilet. In addition, for his body to acclimatise to the high altitudes, the journey involved several rotations where he climbed between camps and base camp each day. Therefore, his schedule involved waking up at three o’clock each morning, when it was the coldest and the ice was the most stable. During these arduous times, there were definitely moments when he considered giving up. He remembers how intimidating
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Pursuing two passions: climbing and medicine Climbing is Benjamin’s passion, but at the same time, he has another ambition. ‘Medicine was always something I wanted to pursue – it is a very rewarding career,’ he says. In climbing Mount Everest, he has to confront the most human experience of mortality. Such is the same for his ideal career as a physician. ‘We have the privilege of sharing the most intimate and personal moments with our patients, such as life and death,’ he remarks. Therefore, he looks forward to the humbling experience of a doctor. Evidently, he is not afraid of challenges, be they physical or mental.
it was to go down the mountain while keeping in mind that he would have to climb back up via the exact same route for the next rotation. This certainly served as a major hurdle for most people. ‘In our group, we had started with 30 people and by the end, only 13 people successfully reached the top. There were adults who had given up,’ he says. He jokes that the only way he got through it was just to stop thinking. However, he goes on to say that the main thing that kept pushing him was knowing that there were a lot of people who wanted him to succeed and to achieve his dream. With his supportive family and friends in mind, he refused to even consider giving up as an option. It was with this persisting drive that he ultimately reached the summit. Benjamin was heavily aware of the possibility that he may die on the way to the top. He had heard about deaths of climbers like himself on the news. ‘You don’t know these people. But when it comes to seeing the bodies face-to-face, it’s very shocking,’ he says. He recounts his unforgettable memory of seeing the dead body of a climber inside a tent on the mountain. From then on, Benjamin became very conscious of his own mortality. After all, the victims who have lost their lives on the mountain were very much like him. They all had the same dream: successfully climbing to the top and then returning home safely. He asked himself, ‘Why am I doing this?’ Fundamentally, the expedition represented much more than just his goal of reaching the summit: he had to consider his family, friends, and the life he left behind. Ultimately, he only wished to make it back safe and alive. He recalls having the worries of his death potentially being a heavy emotional burden for his close ones. During every step of the way, he turned inwards and confronted himself emotionally: ‘You have to come to grips with the possibility of dying and you have to accept it. You really have to think about whether it’s worth risking,’ he says. In the end, his reason for committing towards summiting Mount Everest was simple. In his opinion, there was a possibility of death in doing anything, from car crashes to any other accident. Therefore, he would regret not even trying. ‘The risk is worth chasing my dream,’ he says.
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When asked why he had chosen to take a gap year for such an ambitious project, he stresses that as humans, big goals and dreams are what fuel the fire and soul in life. He does not dare to imagine living a life doing the same things every day with no motivations and passion. He views these seemingly unattainable challenges and goals as crucial stepping stones towards personal growth, as they propel us to continuously try to reach higher and higher tiers. In addition, having big goals has made him find out more about himself and what he is capable of. ‘There are these fears in life: one is the fear of risking too little, and the other is the fear of risking too much. The one I’m most afraid of is risking too little,’ he says. ‘At the end of the day, we only have one life and one opportunity, so what we do with it is all up to us.’
Life after Everest When Benjamin returned to Hong Kong after his feat, he was immediately caught in the limelight. Suddenly, he found himself doing interviews with numerous local news outlets and filming advertisements with sports brands. ‘Sometimes I don’t even feel like I deserve all of this attention. This is much more than what I expected,’ he says. Media presence was never even included in his primary vision. He simply sought to achieve his childhood dream. However, he eventually embraced the wide reach he has on media. In fact, he views media exposure as part of his responsibilities. Media coverage effectively helped expand his goals – allowing him to reach sponsors and spread his inspiring story to the youths in Hong Kong. Now, he began visiting local secondary schools to give talks to students who may have the same ambitious dreams as him. The impact of his story on others was unimaginable. ‘I honestly thought it was just me climbing this mountain,’ he says. ‘I didn’t realise the effect I have until students started coming up to me and saying that I’ve changed the way they thought.’ As a young student himself, there is no doubt that his journey is admirable and relatable to many. In particular, he is inspiring to those who feel as though they are trapped in the daily humdrum and conventional paths of life. There is a stereotype in Hong Kong where students are expected to pass through high school, university and then their jobs. However, Benjamin feels differently. Through telling his experience that is unusual and out of the ordinary, Benjamin hopes to encourage those
around him to try something equally new and to challenge their own limits. ‘I see it as my responsibility to be a role model,’ he says. Effectively, he has transformed his own personal story into one that is profound and impactful.
Future plans As of now, there is no stopping his story. He continues his daily training to reach new limits, and wants to pursue even bigger challenges now that he has conquered Mount Everest. It is almost as if Everest was a door that opened him up to a multitude of different possibilities. Now that he has sponsors and media reach, he is able to accomplish much more than what he thought he could. Having done something that he previously thought of as impossible only pushed him to rethink his own perceptions on his capabilities. ‘That made me want to challenge myself even more,’ he adds. He declares his next goal to be summiting the mountain K2 in the summer, the second highest mountain in the world with slopes of 85 degrees. It is only 37 metres shorter than Mount Everest and is known to be highly dangerous, with around 1 in 4 deaths amongst those who reach the summit. Undoubtedly, he remains unfazed by the danger.
The right choice? At the end of the day, Benjamin is proud of his bold decision which is not easily made by most people. When it comes to making big changes in life, many people are hesitant in fear of unexpected outcomes or of making the wrong choice. However, the truth is, life is unpredictable. Chasing our dreams may come with the cost of a few unexpected difficulties. Yet if we at least try, we will be able to live a life without regrets. Benjamin owed his courage to his support system of his close ones. He believes that they are the ones who help him hold himself accountable for his own actions. He advises us to take responsibility for our own decisions regardless of their consequences. After all, it is our goals and dreams that lend our lives meaning and if we do not at least attempt to explore them, we will never be satisfied.
‘At the end of the day, we only have one life and one opportunity, so what we do with it is all up to us.’
TEDxHKU article
Hope Lost and Hope Regained
lecture theatre on 27th October, one man stood up on his own two feet, and deafening applause resounded through the hall. One might wonder, how such a seemingly simple feat warranted such a huge reaction from the audience.
IN A JAM-PACKED
I had the pleasure of attending TEDxHKU 2018: Motion, a TEDx event put together by a team comprising students of the University of Hong Kong; and was thereby able to bear witness to this awe-inspiring moment for myself. When former athlete Lai Chi-wai rose, albeit a little unsteadily on his exoskeleton, I, too, clapped with the crowd, celebrating this moment with him. t was a defining moment, and could see that many in the audience were overcome with emotion at the resounding journey that both Chi-wai and his co-speaker Professor Kenneth Cheung, had both embarked on together as doctor and patient. The story began with Chi-wai’s professional career in rock-climbing. Once the eighth-ranked rock climber in the world, and the first hinese to win the X-Games, disaster struck out of nowhere when he was involved in a car accident eight years ago. He was left a paraplegic: unable to walk, stand, or move his two lower limbs. Once the best climber in Asia, he fell into the deepest straits of hopelessness. For a person whose physical agility represents both their livelihood and pride, it is unsurprising that Chi-wai succumbed to this depression. Stripped of his career and his mobility, Chi-wai felt like he had practically lost everything. Yet, he did not give up. Five years after his traumatising injury, he ascended the Lion Rock
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with the sole strength of his two arms, climbing in his wheelchair: a feat that speaks volumes about his determination and his drive to return once again to his greatest hobby. Photographs of him illustrated a scene of tremendous hardship, with Chi-wai hanging precariously from rocky outcrops by ropes that he clutched in his straining arms, wheelchair dangling. Even from the distance of my seat, I could feel the effort that it must have taken him, to climb up Lion Rock mountain under the unrelenting sun, with only his arms. But he did not stop there. Chi-wai wished to truly walk again, on his own two feet. The strength of his determination shone fiercely in his eyes as he spoke to us, and his aura of energy made a huge impression, even though he was just sitting in a wheelchair for the duration of his sharing. In the quest to regain his motion, he sought out Professor Cheung, a world-renowned spine surgeon and the Head of the Department of Orthopaedics and Traumatology here at HKU. Professor Cheung is very experienced in developing novel technologies in spine surgery, and although he could not undo the damage to Chi-wai’s nervous system, he managed to restore Chi-wai’s ability to walk, by virtue of an external skeleton. When Chi-wai shed his wheelchair and stood up all by himself, it was a moment that struck inspiration into every single person in the packed auditorium. He wobbled, almost imperceptibly, straining with the effort and unfamiliarity of standing upright, but his face showed no struggle, and he smiled tightly but joyously to us, in triumph. Behind him, Professor Cheung
stood proudly, as much a part of this incredible feat as Chi-wai was himself. In regaining motion, Chi-wai regained hope for a brighter future, a future where he will once more be able to walk side-by-side with his family, hand-in-hand. Professor Cheung and Chi-wai hope that by raising attention for the plights of paraplegic patients in Hong Kong and proving that there is hope for them in walking again, they can inspire others to put in sweat and tears. By inspiring us to pave our own roads to success, and also attracting donations to their noble cause, Professor Cheung and Chi-wai seek to further refine the exoskeleton technology, and expand this programme to more paraplegic patients in Hong Kong. In Hong Kong, the main challenge to expanding this exoskeleton technology in the medical setting is the lack of funding, as each exoskeleton is an intricate piece of technology that can cost several hundred thousand dollars. Moreover, the priority of these patients in the healthcare system is low, further exacerbating their lack of support.
Professor Cheung and Chi-wai’s talk was one out of nine at TEDxHKU 2018: Motion, which included a livestream broadcast. In these talks, a diverse mix of speakers delivered talks to an audience of almost 300 people. The third TEDx conference to be held at the University of Hong Kong since 2014, the event was hosted by a diverse and multi-talented team of students from HKU, employing the same narrative as TED Conferences, celebrating the spread of ideas with a focus on our local community. TEDxHKU is an intermediary that acts as a bridge between the University’s students, alumni, faculty and the larger community as a whole. The TEDxHKU team organises conferences that feature speakers from multiple disciplines, who share and connect with their audience to deliver inspiring, innovative visions and ideas to promote discussion of issues that warrant our attention. This year, TEDxHKU will return in October with fresh and innovative ideas worth spreading, and I hope we all continue to support this amazing initiative in the years to come.
Chi-wai does sharings and seminars in local schools, talking to children about what his experience means to him. He is also in the process of writing a book speaking up about ableism, his struggle to regain normalcy, and his journey from the accident to the present. He hopes that through his words, he can show people that even from a wheelchair, a person can still strive for their goals, as well as bringing hope for both paraplegic patients and young people. In the brief space of a quarter of an hour, Mr Lai Chi-wai taught us that hope exists for everyone, and that no matter how dark the path forward seems, there is always light shining at the end of the road. We recognise how far he has come from his debilitating injury, to become this confident, awe inspiring embodiment of hope and perseverance, and thank him for the lesson that he has so kindly taught us.
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前線醫護人員不屬於函數
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雙方取平衡發展 良好合作機會現
醫學理念有不和 中西結合遇攔阻
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社會關注漸提高 中醫前景望轉好
各方面配合調整 達醫療體系願景
Millennial Slang or Modern-Day Neologisms?
/ M24 M25
neologism /nɪˈɒlədʒɪz(ə)m/
noun 1. a newly coined word or expression.
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WHETHER ENCOUNTERED through our verbal interactions, via various forms of media, or even by simply hearing it in passing, modern slang permeates every subculture, to varying degrees. It is constantly developed in a spontaneous and organic social process, accelerated by mass media. However, some disapprove of slang for its low register, informality, and its associations with disorderly behaviour. Yet, contemporary slang is comparable to the countless neologisms spread throughout both literary history and the standard language of present times.
Languages are dynamic, continuously evolving alongside popular culture and contemporary society. Neologisms allowing for this may be entirely new words, derivatives of existing words, or existing words with new meanings. Some obvious examples are popularised trademarks like ‘Frisbee’ and ‘Granola’, or portmanteaux such as smog smoke fog , flare flame glare), and ‘electrocution’ (electricity/ execution). Other neologisms may be hidden so deeply in language that they are rarely noticed, including ‘goodbye’ (formed from progressive contractions of ‘God be with you’), ‘gust’ (coined by Shakespeare in his play Titus Andronicus), or ‘pram’ (an abbreviation of ‘perambulator’). Clearly, the English language is not a stranger to neologisms. Rather, neologisms are an important aspect of communication, serving to fill voids in language, and assist it in keeping up with modern times. Furthermore, neologisms capture the culture, attitudes, and linguistic necessities of society over time. Considering this, is modern slang really any different from neologisms? Just like neologisms, most slang words are formed as variations of existing words. For example,
trolling originally described fishing by trailing bait in water, but now metaphorically describes ‘online baiting’, while ‘doggo’ is a derivative of dog with an o suffix. ust like neologisms, slang reflects subcultures, social climates, and other key elements of our society, such as slang stemming from the internet, text messaging, video games, and (regretfully perhaps) drug and alcohol consumption. However, some may view many slang words as unnecessary because their meanings overlap with existing words, such as Facebook ‘friending’ (instead of ‘befriending’) or ‘shook’ (instead of ‘shocked’). Nevertheless, it can be argued that even these slang words serve a functional purpose of creating a more casual atmosphere. Some words like ‘LOL’ or ‘BTW’ are convenient for messaging, which are abbreviations similar to the word ‘laser’ in standard language (‘Light mplification by timulated Emission of Radiation’). Others are derivatives that differ not in meaning, but in connotation: the -o in ‘doggo’ lends it a friendly and comedic nature, while ‘fam’ has casual associations that steer it away from the literal meaning of ‘family’. As such, are modern slang words not just neologisms that reflect the desire of our society for a more casual and open social environment? Our society may not be ready for the complete incorporation of slang, and in many situations the casual nature of slang words may mean that they are inappropriate. However, we should not be so quick to dismiss and we should be open to its usage and significance. lthough most slang words will fall out of use, some will remain as relics of subcultures past, such as what ‘groovy’ and hippy slang is now today. Fewer, like strenuous , may even find their way into formal language of high register, and persist for decades to come.
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The Great Spectrum of Nontheism
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‘GOOD MORNING COUNSELLOR,
are you occupied? Would I be disturbing you if I –’
‘When you mention god being unnecessary, do you say that in terms of practice or theory?’
‘No, not at all, Timmy, come in and have a seat. What’s the matter?’
‘What’s the difference?’
‘I was at church yesterday, and I asked the Father some uestions, but m not satisfied by his answers. I’m having more doubts than ever about gods, supreme beings, and whatnot, and those doubts only seem to grow. Do you think there is a god?’ ‘That’s nothing to worry about. Personally, I do believe in a god, but for a young person like you, it’s not uncommon to have these thoughts, especially among those who are more educated.’ ‘I hope so, but that’s not the only thing. I’m also uncertain about what my religious stance is.’ ‘I see. Well, there seems to be as many ways to be irreligious as there are genders, with just as much debate about their exact definitions. till, I’ll try to help you best I can. First of all, do you straight-up believe that no deities exist; just to gauge if you’re an atheist or something else.’ guess, but wouldn t say that there s scientific evidence behind that religious disbelief either.’ o maybe you re an agnostic rather than an atheist. Do you think, simply, that you do not know if gods exist?’ ‘Yeah, I would say so.’ ‘Great, now we’ve narrowed down the options a bit. Do you think the question of whether gods exist is irrelevant?’ ‘Not really, but now that you’ve mentioned it, maybe indeed the existence of gods doesn’t really matter, that our daily lives may not be so different whether gods exist or not.’
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‘Well, a practical atheist disregards god in dayto-day life, hence “in practice”, but doesn’t necessarily believe that gods don’t exist; but a pragmatic atheist disregards god, in theory, because it is unnecessary for daily life. The former doesn’t address the question of if gods exist, but the latter rejects the existence of gods.’ ‘I’m not too sure. Maybe I need a bit of time to think that part through.’ ‘Take all the time you need. Anyway, I asked you if you think the existence or non-existence of gods is irrelevant, because an apatheist would say that it is irrelevant and be apathetic towards it.’ ‘Doesn’t that kind of overlap with pragmatic and practical atheism? In the sense that god is irrelevant?’ ‘They are similar in some ways, but still different. Apatheism doesn’t reject the existence of gods, unlike pragmatic atheism, but simply deems it irrelevant. In contrast, practical atheism isn’t a philosophical position. There’s also posttheism, which proposes that our stage of human development has already reached the point in which gods are irrelevant, à la “God is dead”. But those aren’t the only ways stances of irreligion can overlap. What do you think agnostic atheism means?’ ‘Erm… not knowing if gods exist and not believing that gods exist? How does that work?’ ‘It’s for people who do not believe in the existence of deities and at the same time think that the existence of deities is unknowable, so they are both agnostic and atheistic. Being agnostic is a
matter of knowledge, being atheistic is a matter of belief, being apatheistic is a matter of attitude. You can pretty much mix and match these terms like a ubway sandwich and still come up with a valid stance. For example, if you ask apathetic agnostics whether gods exist, they will reply that they simply don’t know and don’t care about the answer.’ ‘That’s a lot of ways to say I’m not a theist. I’m still not sure what exactly represents my stance.’ ‘You shouldn’t be thinking of which stance you want to adopt, but rather ask yourself what your views on gods are and identify yourself with the stance that accurately reflects your thoughts. wouldn’t mind the subtleties too much if I were you, unless you want to be really precise. There’s strong agnosticism and weak agnosticism, representing different degrees of certainty in how unknowable the existence of gods is. There are also other positions of non-theism, and even different interpretations of the same stances.’ hat is a god anyway houldn t that be something need to know if want to figure out my own views on god?’ ‘That’s a very ignostic thing to say, Timmy. Igtheists would say what you just said, that without a coherent and unambiguous definition of god, any debate on the subject of god is meaningless. You could go even further and say any religious language is by itself not cognitively meaningful, which is the theological noncognitivist’s argument.’
‘I feel like I partially identify with a lot of positions you listed. I’ll need some time to think and see what exactly I am in that regard. You said you believe in a god, right? Which one?’ ‘I’m glad you asked. I am a Pastafarian, meaning believe that the Flying paghetti onster created the world and governs it with his noodly appendages.’ ‘W-what?’ ‘And not too long ago, around the end of December, I celebrated the Pastafarian holiday “Holiday”. Ha, parody religions aren’t as ancient as mainstream ones, but they aren’t without followers, genuine or not. I think there’s nothing wrong with them, the particularly humorous ones offer some great comic relief in the serious debate of divinity. Of course, passionate theists might disagree.’ ‘I probably won’t go down that rabbit hole. Anyway, thank you for the help. I’m less confused than before.’ ‘I’m glad that I helped. At the end of the day, as long as you’re principled and moral, it shouldn’t matter what you believe in. Being a good person is probably easier than figuring out your religious stance, so strive for that just as much as you want to figure out your opinion on religion and the existence of deities and gods.’
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In Appreciation of Coffee
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DRIVING MANY OF OUR MORNINGS is often a simple
cup of coffee, which acts as the springboard that launches us into each day. But in the modern world, we have many things to do in the day, so coffee is hastily picked up, gulped down, and discarded. As such, coffee has simply become a means of productivity, a tool that allows us to perform our tasks in the workplace. Indeed, the functional aspects of coffee cannot be denied, but does this ‘on-the-go’ perception of coffee truly do it justice?
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When considering the effects of coffee, one may often instinctively group it with other caffeinated beverages such as Red Bull or Monster Energy. Yet, these are only superficial, made for the express purpose of the caffeine rush. Coffee, on the other hand, has a far richer backdrop in terms of history and culture, dating back at least to the 15th century. The narratives of folklore claim that coffee was first discovered by Islamic mystics in Ethiopia, as they observed birds with an exceptional energy after eating coffee berries. However, the earliest credible appearance of coffee was in the 15th century, with its cultivation in Yemen and the Arabian Peninsula. There, the Yemeni gave it the initial Arabic name of qahwa, and ufi monasteries used it to aid in concentration, spiritual intoxication, and night prayers s a result of trade and pilgrimage, coffee began its spread throughout the Middle East, to the Ottoman Turkish Empire by the 16th century. Thereafter, coffee flourished in the rest of the world despite many obstacles: in Europe where Pope Clement VIII enjoyed it so much that he baptised coffee, in England via the Dutch East India Company, and in the Americas via exico and Bra il t uic ly replaced beer or wine as the standard breakfast beverage, and became the preference of Americans after the Boston Tea Party. The coffee in your cup today is very much a culmination of centuries of trade, work, and cultivation. Alongside its spread to the global scale from the Middle East, coffee was increasingly integrated into various communities, and thereby their lifestyle, practices, and culture. Not only was coffee enjoyed in homes, but also in newly introduced coffee houses that followed the global spread of coffee. These were institutions where men and women met, socialised, discussed, and also engaged in a variety of recreational activities including poetry, music, dance, and chess. The lively and vibrant atmosphere of these houses was perhaps due to the invigorating effects of coffee, and there were over 3000 coffee houses in England alone by 1675. At the same time, different ways of coffee preparation sprung up, capturing local cultures across the world or example, unfiltered ur ish coffee is simmered in a brass pot, Italian espresso is served with lemon, and Moroccan
coffee is spiced with cinnamon, clove, and nutmeg. Since its discovery, coffee has lain at the heart of a social revolution and become an element of culture, intellectual life, and political and commercial activity. In our modern lifestyle, coffee continues to be an important social lubricant, with the international growth of branded coffee chains. For Hong Kong in particular, coffee was only introduced in the 1950s via instant coffee from the local British garrison, and the cha chaan teng ( , ‘tea restaurant’), where it still played just a secondary role to traditional Chinese and British tea. However, coffee culture finally began to develop with apanese coffee houses like UCC and Pokka Cafe in the early 1990s, followed by the opening of McCafé and Starbucks in the 2000s: despite a culture that had favoured tea for thousands of years, and many Chinese people not being adjusted to coffee’s bitterness. Its success was in part due to the choices of sweet frappuccinos and milky lattes, alongside uni ue cultural flavours such as matcha s a result, the social role of coffee is preserved, if not magnified, in ong ong today: bustling coffee stores host study sessions, social gatherings, and business meetups. The distinct taste and smell of coffee can often also hold a personal significance: its deep, mellow, and full-bodied aroma; its heavy consistency as it settles on the tongue; and its smooth, clean aftertaste. Perhaps it reminds you of the safety and peacefulness of early mornings, or gatherings and relationships from the past, or simply brings out memories of relaxation and leisure hether you are a coffee aficionado, or detest its taste, coffee can be appreciated as more than a ‘caffeine rush’. Rather, it has a rich heritage formed by intertwining histories and cultures, and has a role in communication and social activity.
Coffee itself is made, served, and consumed – but it is the atmosphere that it creates, the memories and feelings that it brings out, which truly linger. CADUCEUS
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The History of 25
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CHURCHILL. MAO. Napoleon. World War II.
Often, the study of History focuses on the great men and events which have driven the human story forward. However, by taking this perspective, it is easy to ignore the small events, people, and factors that helped precipitate these earth-shattering events. Take rats; seen as no more as a mild annoyance and pest today, it led to one of the most devastating periods of Medieval Europe, the Black Death. The pathogen Yersinia pestis was carried by lice, who feasted on rats. These rats were carried by the Silk Road and the invading Mongol Army, leading to an estimated one-third of Europe succumbing to disease. The subsequent weakening of the church and feudal structures precipitated a paradigm shift in Europe – the weakening of the church indirectly led to the rise of Protestantism and the accompanied religious conflicts, and the weakening of feudal structures contributed to the rise of the bourgeoisie and the middle class. Take the potato as another example. Originally from the New World, the cultivation of the starch filled potato aided the massive population boom in Europe starting from the 16th century. It is incredible to think that a plant which had only been known to the wider world for 500 years is now the fifth most cultivated plant
in the world. The hardiness and nutrition of the potato facilitated explosive population growth, which may have been vital in the urbanisation and thus industrialisation of Europe in the 18th and 19th centuries. This economic advantage allowed the ‘Western World’ to outproduce the rest of the world, leading to a 3:1 disparity in per capita GDP between the ‘West’ and the rest by 1913. Finally, let us examine the printing press, without which the Protestant Reformation may never have happened. Before the advent of the printing press, plenty of heresies, from the Cathars to the Waldensians, had been put down by the Catholic Church. However, with the printing press and the resultant mass production of Bibles in vernacular, more people were able to follow Martin Luther’s doctrine of sola scriptura – by scripture alone. People were, for the first time, able to read the Bible and comprehend it themselves, decisively weakening the power of the Catholic Church. As a result, more and more states began to adopt Protestantism and its emphasis on individual faith, paving the way for the secular, modern nationstate. While great men and events may cast a long shadow over history, let us always remember the importance of the small things in History. As insecure men love to say, size doesn’t matter.
/ M24 Gabriel
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/ M24 Valkyrie
an ugly man. Short of stature and grossly wide at the middle, with a stubborn square jaw, he was nothing close to the prim and polished fathers of my peers. I was always sharply aware of friends with incredibly presentable fathers, who spoke with the selfassured, posh tones of affluence and with the air of a man who orders people around every day, thinking nothing of this privilege. My father spoke English well enough, albeit with a slight accent, and was both intelligent and educated enough to land himself a job with a decent pay. Gruff, silent, and deeply pessimistic, we rarely exchanged words. I often felt disconnected with him, like there was a great, bottomless chasm growing wider and wider in between us.
I ALWAYS THOUGHT MY FATHER
My mother, on the other hand, was the epitome of beauty according to Chinese standards: slender, waif-like, with a face of a painting. With her tall nose, wide-set eyes, tapered chin and thinly arched brows, I often questioned my genetic relation with her, given my own rather ordinary face. She was more often in bed than not, due to her poor disposition, and hence her role in my life was more of signing the test papers that I brought home from school and shouting at me from her bed until she tired herself to sleep: a brief reprieve from her incessant nagging. As an only child, my early years were better spent in the care of our Filipino maid, rather than my working father and my sickly mother. They were not cruel or unloving, but their parenting methods were of typical Asian quality, which translates to ‘somewhat distant’, with ‘once-in-a-blue-moon begrudging affection’, and ‘demanding total compliance’. It was, for lack of a better word, uneventful. I was
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not beaten, I was not abused. I just felt rather alone. Secretly, I felt more attached to the darkskinned filipina, who took my hand and led me through childhood and adolescence, a fact that I dared not admit to my own two parents. The filipina who raised me was called Marzia, and she, too, was beautiful in the way women from Southeast Asia are, with pretty, large eyes set far apart in their faces and a pseudo-Caucasian nose. Her skin was a gorgeous caramel colour, uncommonly light for her people, and she had a voluptuous figure to die for, with an hourglass shape and all the perky bits, a stark contrast to my stick-thin mother. We shared the same room, and every morning she would wake me with her movements as she climbed down from her bunk bed atop mine, and cleanse her face with a cotton pad in the small mirror on the closet door, as I watched with bleary eyes. As she put her face on, though her back was to me, I would often follow the movement of her eyes by her reflection in the mirror. he would scrub her face scrupulously with a small piece of cotton, closing her eyes to brush away the crusty bits from sleep. Once done, I watched her conduct her ritual of applying sunblock, smoothing the pale blobs of whitish paste across her cheeks, until she was a good two shades lighter than her natural. She would then change her clothes, stripping without much care for my presence, or perhaps she assumed me asleep, and ready herself for making breakfast to start the day. I developed a deep and unyielding curiosity towards the arts of beautifying oneself, surrounded by beautiful women in my home, and being disgusted of my own, plain features. I, too, wanted to look beautiful. And if I was not born so, why not pursue ways to alter one’s appearance?
But my mother strongly protested. Perhaps too steeped in the prerogative of being a naturally beautiful woman all her life, she did not understand why I yearned so desperately to dabble in the art of makeup. Her daily routine, as far as I could tell, consisted mainly of wetting her face with a damp towel and applying a simple lip balm, with nothing else on her face. She had been the kind of person who had been born effortlessly pretty, receiving only compliments for her facial features since the day she was born, and needed no paint, no powder, no artificial colour to look the way she did. She did not understand the pain of being born plain. She had never been ridiculed, singled-out for the unusual features on her face, for the mere fact that one was not conventionally pretty. She had never been shoved against a wall, isolated, friendless, bullied for being born with the wrong face. Strongly derisive of the girls who had to paint their faces on, my mother disapproved of every beautifying procedure a woman could ever do. Once, I came home with painted nails, and she was so outraged I was made to scrape off the polish bit by bit with the blunt end of a nail file, indignant tears pooling in my eyes. Marzia was the only one who understood. I remember telling her when she came to pick me up after school one day. She asked me a seemingly innocuous question – ‘How was school?’, and I had immediately dissolved in tears, everything spilling out in choked sobs and hiccuping breaths. The mean words, the looks of apathy, the way people shied away from my
touch. She comforted me all the way home, and when we reached home, she let me play with cosmetics, her cosmetics, for the first time in my life. They may have just been cheap drugstore products, but it was all so exciting, appeasing the vain little girl inside of me that yearned for the validation I was deprived of at home, at school, every day. She taught me the little things that a girl starts to learn upon shedding the skin of the child and easing into that of the woman: how to deal with our monthly troubles, how to style one’s hair, and how to dress to hide the faults of our figures. t was like a whole new world had opened up to me, a world that I had not been privy to before she took me there. Fast forward to secondary school. Marzia was gone, shipped back to Manila for her marriage, and I never saw her again. But I never forgot her, a mother in my girlhood where I learnt vanity. And as I stare at the familiar face in my bedroom mirror even now, it is not the first time that feel disappointed by what is reflected before me. hardcore feminist would have a fainting fit over my actions – how dare I pretty my face to please others, how dare I treat what is between my ears as secondary to my face. Despite the body positivity movements that are promoted every day, find it impossible to truly believe that what I see in the mirror is beautiful. And when we all smile and pat each other on the back and cry out so easily and freely, ‘You’re so beautiful!’ or ‘You look so good in those!’, I wonder why we as human beings are such two-faced people.
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倒 數 醉 翁
CADUCEUS 30
Caduceus, The Society Newspaper Editorial Board Medical Society, HKUSU Session 2019 Chief Editor General Editors Financial Secretary General Secretary Publication Secretaries Social Secretary, Acting Editor Media Manager, Acting Editor Editor
Tang Fong Yi, Fanny Lo Hon Yin, Kelvin Yap Han Wen, Ansel Li Chak Cheung, Andy Wong Chun Ho, Darius Chau Cheuk Wai, Katrina Jia Jimsyn Yueh Yiu Kwan, Jacky Tse Hiu Kwan, Terry Tang Lok Kan, Duncan