Tuesday, January 26, 2010

26 / Hong Kong Revisited


Marilyn and I were here before, in the summer of 1968. It's probably correct to say that we came separately and left together.

Hong Kong is clearly different now. Not British. Chinese. And at least in terms of a first impression, Hong Kong is obviously in the midst of a building boom that has been going on for a very long time.

The train from the airport to downtown was the best train, by far, I've ever ridden. The IFC (International Financial Center) shopping mall, which is right next door to the main Post Office - and to the Central Terminal for train, ferry, and bus transportation - was by far the nicest example of such a commercial structure I've ever seen.

In the next day or two, I intend to investigate what has happened to the natural spots I visited before, particularly in Macau, where I taught vocabulary to Chinese students at Linson College. Linson College was named for its proprietor, Linson Dzau, who was probably about 70 years old in 1968, and who took me under his wing. Linson Dzau told me that it was not necessary to sleep more than five hours per night, and to sleep more was to waste your life.

By and large, I've taken his advice!

23 comments:

  1. Thank you for posting this! It is nice to hear anything about Linson College and Headmaster Linson Chou(Cao)! I miss him a lot! He spotted me as a good horse as opposed to my family's thought that I was the problemed black horse of the family! One day, I went to my Headmaster and told him that I wanted to quit school. He told me that I was a good material, and asked me to hang on. I am now a teacher and role model of many people! I still could feel the love that Headmaster Chou instilled into me!

    God bless!

    Randy Li
    www.wingchunusa.com

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  2. Hi Mr.Patton.

    What a sweet surprise to come upon the blogs by you and Mr.Randy Li on Linson College and Dr. Linson Dzau, our beloved Headmaster.

    I don't recall our Headmaster ever told us not to sleep more than five hours per night. It was a Linson College teacher's privilege, perhaps?

    But I do remember him always telling us, "Don't let anyone find fault with you".

    Not easy but I have kept it as my motto and always do my best to live by it ever since.

    I was a F-6 graduate in the Class of 1972 but in 1970 and without my prior knowledge, Dr. Dzau signed me up to sit for the GCE examination (held by the University of London).

    If I remember correctly, I was the only one from our school and also one of the handful from all other schools over Macau passing the examination that year.

    I feel always thankful to our Headmaster and our English teachers from the USA.

    I am especially grateful for what Dr. Linson Dzau saw in me. And I am glad that, by and large, I've taken his advice too.

    Bernard Chan
    Canada
    bernard1920@hotmail.com

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  3. remembered when we were in Linson taught by a young American gentleman of Vocabularies?
    while he was teaching us with a cigarette in his mouth,Mr.Linson Dzau passed by and blamed him right away to get rid of that cigarette.As Mr.Dzau went away,this man re-ignited the second one!Who is this man?

    Ken Chan
    brother of Bernard Chan &,
    classmate of Randi Li of various schools in Macau.

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  4. Dear Ken Chan:

    I don't know who that man might have been. It wasn't me! I have never smoked a cigarette in my life (not even one). Now, here is a name in my memory from those times: Jimmy Yip. Do you know that name?

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    Replies
    1. Dear Mr.Patton,
      Glad to see your message from here.
      I cannot recall Jimmy Yip.perhaps he was one or two years ahead of my class.Those great Americans who had taught me were; Mr.& Mrs.Breens,Mr.Bill Palmer,Miss Fong; American Chinese.Thomas;bearded,and Michael T Barry ;Diocese of Rockford,these two gentlemen did not teach me,but they were there.And some others I cannot recall at the moment.
      I had great time in Linson college.
      Mr.Dzau was legendary.He studied in Choate School,West point,and Columbia University.He had been secretary to the New China founder,Dr.Sun Yat Sin.Mr.Dzau died in 1976,I attended his funeral by chance I came back from HK.I was born in HK and bought up in Macau.I live in Hk after leaving Linson in 1971.I visit macau at least twice a year,'cause She is always a place who'd left me with sweet and good old memories.
      Please let me know more of Linson as far as You can recall.
      best regards,
      Ken Chan

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    2. That young American teacher who taught us vocabularies once told us he'd been a pilot of the F4 Phantom jet during the Vietnam War!

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    3. more info.of Linson Dzau

      In Jeep Trash
      news.google.com/newspapers?nid=2512

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    4. Mr.Dzau invited/recruited teachers from the U.S.via some kind of missionary functions.
      By what channel you came to teach.Mr.patton?

      Delete
  5. This web reference provides some fascinating background on Linson Dzau, who was apparently educated at the United States Military Academy!

    http://www.cemconnections.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=148

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  6. Extracted from records that Linson was classmate of General Joseph warren Stilwell.

    General Douglas MacArthur was one year ahead of the class.

    Now I recall Linson always mentioned General George Patton.They might also be classmates in West Point!Are you related to General Patton?

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  7. Gentlemen,

    It is of great interest to me to read what you have all written about Linson Dzau. Linson is known to be the first Chinese student to attend Choate in the history of the school. I am the fourth Chinese student to attend Choate; hence, the interest and linkage. I have been trying to find out more about him. Should you have information and photos of Linson in his later years, I would greatly appreciate your sending them to me.

    Thank you for your assistance.

    Hoi Sang U (U is my family name)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Dear Hoi Sang U: If you look at the comments of other persons who have commented on the posting on which you also commented, you will find some names of people who DO have more information about Linson Dzau. I myself really have very little, but have learned from the comments I have read. Don't hesitate to contact me by direct email, either: gapatton@stanfordalumni.org. Best wishes!

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  8. James Yip is the son of Yip Han(nicknamed Ghost King), once the King of the gambling industry in Macau. Farley Yip, Benny Yip, Debbie Yip are children of business tycoon Teddy Yip.

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  9. I appreciate all the information that has come in as comments on my posting about Linson College and Linson Dzau. And it is nice to get more information about the Yip family and their connection to gambling. The Jimmy Yip I met when I was teaching in Macau was definitely so connected! By the way, I see that Ken Chan asked me a couple of questions to which I apparently did not reply. I am NOT, in any significant way, related to General George Patton. My instincts are also in a different direction, since I was a war resister during the Vietnam War. As for how I got to Linson College, in the summer of 1968: I was there for a summer assignment with Volunteers in Asia, usually called VIA. The program started at Stanford University, where I went to school, and is still going strong!

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  10. Dear All,

    I am glad to see your replies! I wish I could locate Headmaster Dzau's pictures so that I could create a memorial page to honor him on Facebook !

    God bless!

    Randy Li
    wingchunusa.com

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  11. More info .....

    Teddy Yip married a sister of Stanley Ho(Ho Hung Sang), who has been the new King of the gambling industry in Macau up to now.

    Randy Li

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  12. Thanks, Randy Li! I wish I could provide a picture of Linson Dzau, but I don't think I have one. And I do appreciate your keeping me up to date on the families controlling gambling in Macau! As I said in another Two Worlds blog entry, based on my trip to Macau in 2010, I was dismayed by how the character of the place I knew in 1968 has been overwhelmed by the casino industry.

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  13. I was a student at Linson 1971-72. Headmaster told us that if we could wake up (w/o alarm clock) at 2:03 in the morning, he would teach us how to memorize things easily. Of course, nobody could. He kept the habit of jogging in the morning around the block at his old age. He was also a master in English grammar. He could memorize the pages from that red grammar book that most high schools in HK/Macau used. I respect him very much, w a vision to open a good high school in a small place like Macau. I think I have a class photo w him. Not sure if I know how to upload it here.

    Albert Cam (HK)

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    Replies
    1. I am thrilled to see that there continue to be new memories added, adding little additional snippets of information about Linson Dzau and Linson College. I hope there is a writer out there who will, one day, either write a little history; or, perhaps even better, conjure up a little work of "fiction" that can bring that epoch in Macau back to life - and Linzon Dzau, the Yip Family, and all the rest!

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  14. Linson Edward Dzau (Cao Linsheng) (1895-1978); Born in China, Linson Edward Dzau earned a B.S. degree from the U.S. Military Academy (West Point), 1918. His papers are held in the USMA Library. He served as a Secretary to the China delegation to the Washington Conference, Nov. 1921-Feb. 1922. From 1922 to 1926 he was professor of military science and commandant at Tsing Hua University. He later became an advisor to Marshal Chang Tso-lin (Zhang Zuolin) . During the 1930s, he rose to a General in the Chinese Air Force. An alternative source revealed that, like his father, he attended Hartford Public High School in 1911, and then the private Taft School in 1913.3 In his latter years, he founded Linson College in Macau which operated, with many American teachers on staff, during the 1960s and 1970s.

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