During my kindergarten years, I attended Sun Sing Kindergarten (新聲幼稚園) in Yuen Long, which was opened by my grandmother. However, because it was just kindergarten, my grandmother didn't put any pressure on me at the time. After graduating, I automatically advanced to the primary (elementary) school owned by my grandmother's family, called Chung Sing School (鐘聲學校). Back then, it was still located in the old building near Chung Sing Path, Yuen Long—which has now become CCC Chun Kwong Primary School, though the building structure remains unchanged and looks exactly the same.

A Brief History of Chung Sing School, Yuen Long

Chung Sing School was officially founded in 1934 by my grandmother's father, named 黃子律 (Wong Tsz-lut). However, based on old photographs left behind by my grandmother, the school actually opened in 1923 and initially had only a few students. My grandmother was one of the teachers at the school back then, later serving as the principal from 1969 to 1979, and after that, she became one of the directors until she passed away. When the school first opened, they only rented a small house to use as a schoolhouse.

Chung Sing School ceased operations during the Japanese occupation of Hong Kong. It reopened in 1953 and built a new school on a street in the Yuen Long district. That street was subsequently named Chung Sing Path, and the street name is still used to this day. In 2005, the government granted a larger plot of land to Chung Sing School located on Yuen Long Kau Hui Road, and the old school building was handed over to CCC Chun Kwong Primary School.

The primary school graduation ceremony for the first alumni of Chung Sing School (Year 1923). The one sitting is my grandmother's father.

The 7th primary school graduation ceremony for the alumni of Chung Sing School (Year 1930). In the middle is my grandmother's father; grandmother is number 2 from the right.

Chung Shing School in the 1990s. The small house in the middle of the field holds an interesting story that I will share in future articles.

The Chung Sing School building from 1953–2005 at Chung Sing Path. It has now become the CCC Chun Kwong Primary School building.

The Chung Sing School building from 1953–2005 at Chung Sing Path. It has now become the CCC Chun Kwong Primary School building.

Facing Many Demands from Grandma, Leading to 6 Years of Intense Pressure for Me and My Parents

As mentioned in the previous article, my grandparents were highly disciplined people, which was also the reason why my father's younger sister decided to move to England and never return to Hong Kong. You can imagine how they treated me, given that I was their only grandson.

Most of the cousins and relatives from my grandmother's side also went to school there. In my generation, there were several relatives attending the same school, which automatically created a sense of competition and comparison among us. Their pressure wasn't quite as heavy because their parents or grandparents didn't hold high-ranking positions at the school. In contrast, because I carried the weight of my grandmother being a school director at the time, if my rankings weren't good, I would immediately become the center of attention for the teachers and the principal. And that is exactly what happened from the very first day I entered the school.

Never Getting Good Grades in School

Carrying such a heavy burden, it wasn't just me—both of my parents felt the exact same pressure, especially my mother, who couldn't read Chinese characters and had to rely heavily on a private tutor to teach me for homework and exams. At the time, my father worked as an editor for a school textbook publishing company located in the Kowloon Tong area. Back then, there were no cross-mountain tunnels, bridges, or MTR lines connecting Yuen Long to Kowloon. The commute from Kowloon Tong to Yuen Long took over an hour, and combined with my father's frequent overtime work, he easily lost his temper when trying to help me study after getting home from work. Furthermore, a relative who was in the same class as me always ranked very high, which made my grandmother feel ashamed of the grades I received. This made me feel extremely pressured and made me dislike school; waking up every morning, my heart felt incredibly heavy just thinking about going to school, which caused my elementary school grades to become very poor.

Being Punished Even After Scoring a 70

Since Chung Sing School was the most famous elementary school in Yuen Long at the time, the average student there scored very high on exams, adding yet another layer of pressure on me. Even when I scored a 70 (in Hong Kong, 60 is a passing grade and 100 is a perfect score), I was frequently disciplined by my parents—and it was even worse if I got a 60 or lower. I remember one time I scored a 30 on a math exam; that day, after coming home, I spent half the day just staring out at the street waiting for my father to return, knowing full well that I was going to receive a severe punishment from him.

Of course, I didn't feel depressed and pressured all the time. There were occasionally moments when I felt happy, such as when I played with friends and did activities I enjoyed, which I will share in the next article.