THE CENTENARIANS
Wan Hang, 100, readily admits that she was a stern and stubborn mother towards her five sons and five daughters - all of whom lived into adulthood. She also says she treated her children equally, except in one way: the boys were educated and the girls were not. It was not because they could not afford to put all the children through school, because they were reasonably well off. 'In those days we didn't see why girls should go to school,' said Ms Wan, who ironically had attended school up to Primary 6 level.
Ms Wan came to Hong Kong from Dongguan with her husband at the age of 18, the day after they were married. All their 10 children were born in Hong Kong. 'We were lucky. We never really struggled to feed our large family when the children were little. My husband owned the Tak Ming Teahouse in Wan Chai and food was never a problem,' recalled Ms Wan.
Before coming to Hong Kong, Ms Wan helped her father run his water chestnut business in Dongguan. They squeezed the moisture out of the vegetable, pulverised them and turned them into paste for export. She intended to help her husband run the restaurant here in Hong Kong, but with so many children found herself confined to being a housewife. They chose to have a big family because Ms Wan and her husband were both only children.
Her son, T. H. Man, described his mother as self-assured and convinced she was right in all things. He said she held very firm opinions on almost everything and would not listen to different points of view. It was his mother's attitude that resulted in none of his five sisters attending school for any length of time, he said. Some tried, but not one of them lasted more than three years, because of their mother's belief that it was a waste of time.
'Funny thing is: of her five remaining children, her [three] daughters visit her all the time,' he said. Although they felt they missed out as youngsters, none of them bore a grudge in later life, especially since many of their peers also missed school.
Mr Man, the sixth child, was made to attend an English-language school, St Louis Catholic School in Sheung Wan, after the second world war, because his mother decided the family needed some English.
After her husband died 30 years ago, Ms Wan moved to To Kwa Wan where she lived with her youngest daughter, grand-daughter and great grand-daughter. 'We were four generations under the same roof. I'd always been healthy until seven years ago, when I was knocked down by a taxi,' she said.
The accident led to more than a year in hospital and a five-year wait for admission to the Helping Hand Chack On Care and Attention Home where she now lives as a $4,000-a-month private resident. She does not qualify for CSSA benefits because she owns a flat in To Kwa Wan. 'Of course, I would be happier at home, but I have no choice now that I can't look after myself,' she said.
'This place is all right. I like being with people my own age, and my son visits me at least twice a week.'
