Leung Long Chau (, 1911–December 1998) was a Chinese

poet A poet is a person who studies and creates poetry. Poets may describe themselves as such or be described as such by others. A poet may simply be the creator (thought, thinker, songwriter, writer, or author) who creates (composes) poems (oral t ...

and

calligrapher Calligraphy () is a visual art related to writing. It is the design and execution of lettering with a pen, ink brush, or other writing instruments. Contemporary calligraphic practice can be defined as "the art of giving form to signs in an exp ...

. Born in the early 1910s in

Guangdong Province ) means "wide" or "vast", and has been associated with the region since the creation of Guang Prefecture in AD 226. The name "''Guang''" ultimately came from Guangxin ( zh, labels=no, first=t, t= , s=广信), an outpost established in Han dynasty ...

, he graduated at the Guangdong Medical Research Institute. In the late 1920s, he married Ho Wing Yuet and settled down in

Hong Kong Hong Kong)., Legally Hong Kong, China in international treaties and organizations. is a special administrative region of China. With 7.5 million residents in a territory, Hong Kong is the fourth most densely populated region in the wor ...

. Under colonial rule, his Chinese qualification as a medical practitioner was not recognized; he thus had to turn to business to make a living. His work for a local company just made up the living expenses for his large family. In his spare time he continued to offer free medical advice to his compatriots, and to write poems and practice calligraphy—both hobbies of his since childhood. Through the years he written many poems about Hong Kong, but at the time they remained unpublished. This changed in 1984, when his children decided to compile his works and published ''Lang Yin Xiao Cao'' () for non-commercial purposes. It was never sold in bookstores, but managed to get the attention of the close circle of Chinese poets in Hong Kong and was widely acclaimed as valuable for anyone seriously interested in

Chinese literature The history of Chinese literature extends thousands of years, and begins with the earliest recorded inscriptions, court archives, building to the major works of philosophy and history written during the Axial Age. The Han dynasty, Han (202 ...

and

Hong Kong culture The culture of Hong Kong is primarily a mix of Chinese and Western influences, stemming from Lingnan Cantonese roots and Hong Kong's status as a British colony from 1841 to 1997 (Jyutping: ; Traditional Chinese: 粵英薈萃). As an intern ...

. In 1998, the Leung family decided to publish a sequel to ''Lang Yin Xiao Cao'' (朗吟小草續集), compiling his major works written after 1984. In the same year, the low-profile poet received his first and only prize for

from the

Hong Kong Government The Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (commonly known as the Hong Kong Government or HKSAR Government) is the Executive (government), executive authorities of Hong Kong. It was established on 1 July 1997, following the ...

. He died in December 1998.

References

1911 births 1998 deaths Hong Kong male poets Hong Kong calligraphers People from Xinhui District Poets from Guangdong Artists from Guangdong 20th-century Chinese poets Chinese calligraphers Chinese calligraphy Writers from Jiangmen {{HongKong-writer-stub