James Poy Wong 黃培正

"Let’s come back: [...] Let us all bring our hearts back! It is the time."

"Let's Come Back!" - 1973

回来吧！

回来吧！是时候了。

回来吧！所有关心华侨社会的人们，我们都回来吧。

回来吧，你们那些二三十年前为了生活而离开了华埠，到外间去求学，续而争取职位，或者是去经营小生意，进而扩大事业，或者是转换小生意，终于获得固定饭碗的人们。你们现在都已成家立业，都有了自己的房屋，都已把儿女养大成人，对生计都已不成问题，而负担也渐渐减轻了，你们都回来吧。

回来吧，你们那些在美国长大的年青人。 你们或者是因为语言的阻隔，或者是对中国文化的抛弃，或者是抱着自骄的心理，总之，是独自走得远了。 但是你们在外间的优良表现和成就，并没有完全得到外人的平等待遇，更说不上尊敬，心理难免有点创伤。是的，你们有些曾经立心要把华埠不良的习俗更改，却到处受自己人奚落，终于气愤地离开，现在都回来吧。

回来吧，你们那些站在华埠边沿的老兄们。 不是我们广东人的乡亲观念深，把你们派出门外，你们也曾有过不可原谅的优越感，使我们无法诚恳的接近。 现在我们所遭遇到的文化危机，有天也是你们自己的难题。 你们生活的小圈子是无法把那些大问题解决的，我们到底是亲兄弟，为了共同的利益，你们都回来吧。

回来吧，你们那些从来没有离开过华埠的人们。 几十年来的外力攻击，你们始终保持不动，把固有的习俗和组织维持着，不让华埠的机构崩溃和散落。 我们承认你们的容忍力。 但是，祖宗传下来的形式虽然是维护了，先人进取的精神却给你们窒息了。你们的身虽然在华埠里，但是你们的心却和别人一样地走开了。现在不必看着华埠不良的现象而摇头，而太息着今不如昔，还是 回来吧。

回来吧！

你们那些清早在华埠漫步，看见满街垃圾，污泥，唾液，想到从前中国的沟渠黑水，乌蝇蚊虫，而有所思的人们。

你们那些在夜晚走路，看见了街巷萧条，提心吊胆，想到从前中国门窗铁闸而有所思的人们。

你们那些看见了都板街上陈旧的低楼矮宇，想到一家四，五口挤在一个房间住睡的情形而有所思的人们。

你们那些知道有人肯出高价来购买不合法规的残旧公寓，再收贵租来供银期，想到同样的高价可以建筑新的楼宇而有所思的人们。

你们那些看见华埠一方面这样落力推销东洋货，一方面又像妓女般招来游客而有所思的人们。

你们那些想到自己不愿意帮衬自己人，让利润外流而有所思的人们。

你们那些想到中国人能够替外人经营大事业，管理大财政，计画大工程，专门人才拥挤，却无法产生华人大企业而有所思的人们。

你们那些看见中国人能够出任教育要职，教授外国人学中文，但是我们的子弟却连中国言语也不懂而有所思的人们。

你们那些看见一部分华侨想学中文，一部分想学英文，一部分想学国语，一部分想学广东话，却无法互相帮助而有所思的人们。

你们那些还记得大光，新大陆，服务等书局曾经在这里出版过书籍，现在我们能够印刷的不过是菜单而有所思的人们。

你们那些看见旧侨对新客，不尽是漠不关心，不肯互相提携，还要互相奚落欺辱而有所思的人们。

你们那些看见进行破坏青年人的正义的保钓运动，社会福利活动，和民族自尊宣扬而有所思的人们。

你们那些看见了成千上万的喜庆排场，但谋上进的子弟们的教育费却无着落而有所思的人们。

你们那些看见赛美如此踊跃，真正学习艺术的反被冷落而有所思的人们。

所有有所思的人们都回来吧！让我们回来合力解决一些不能再拖延的社会问题。 让我们共同摸索出一条康庄的道路来，好让我们的子孙能够继续提高他们的生命价值和我们优秀的传统。

回来吧，所有关心华侨生命的人们，让我们都把我们的心带回来吧！是时候了。

Let's Come Back!

Let’s come back! It is the time.

Let’s come back! For all who are concerned about the overseas Chinese community. Let us all come back.

Let’s come back: all of you who left Chinatown to pursue education twenty to thirty years ago and then became professional, or started a small business and grew it into a larger enterprise, or changed jobs and finally secured a steady livelihood. Now you all have families and careers, own your own houses, have raised your children into adulthood, and your livelihoods have been secured as your responsibilities have lessened. All of you, let’s come back.

Let’s come back: you young people who were raised in America. Perhaps it is due to your experience of language barrier, your rejection of Chinese culture, or your embrace of a sense of pride; all in all, by yourself you all have gone far away. But your excellent showing and accomplishments outside of Chinatown have not been fully treated as equal by westerners, let alone being respected, and you felt hurt in your spirit. Yes, some of you have determined to reform the bad customs of Chinatown, but everywhere you were being ridiculed by your own people, so you finally indignantly went away. You all, let’s come back now.

Let’s come back, our Northern brothers who have stood at the border of Chinatown. It is not us Cantonese having a rooted conception of our own local kinship and pushing you out of here, but you have had an unforgivable sense of superiority complex that prevented us from sincerely getting close. The cultural crisis we encounter now will also be your own problem someday. Your living in a small circle will never be able to solve these immense problems. After all we are close brothers, and for the sake of our common benefits, all of you: let’s come back.

Let’s come back, all of you who have never left Chinatown. After several tens of years being attacked by outside forces, you did not waver throughout the ordeal. You all have maintained the inherent customs and organizations, preventing the structures from collapsing or scattered. We acknowledge your ability of endurance. Yet, while the inherited structure from our ancestors is safeguarded, the progressive spirit of our forefathers has been stifled by you. Your bodies are in Chinatown, but your hearts have gone away just like the others. So now you won’t have to look at the ill phenomenon in Chinatown and shake your heads, lamenting the new is worse than the old. It is better for you: let’s come back. Let’s come back!

All of you who are strolling in the early morning in Chinatown, looking at the streets full of garbage, filthy mud, and spittle that remind you of the stained water filled with flies and mosquitoes in the channels of old China, and have some thoughts provoked in you.

All of you who are walking at night in Chinatown, seeing the desolate alleys and feeling like having your heart in your mouth that reminds you of the iron gates on the doors and windows in old China, and have some thoughts provoked in you. All of you who are looking at the timeworn, low buildings on DuPont Street, thinking of a family of four or five people crammed, living and sleeping in a small room, and have some thoughts provoked in you.

All of you who know of someone willing to pay a high price for a decapitated apartment house without complying with regulations, who would then collect high rents to pay a mortgage thinking that the same high cost would be able to build a new building, and have some thoughts provoked in you.

All of you who see Chinatown striving so hard to sell Japanese products, while behaving like a prostitute luring in tourists, and have some thoughts provoked in you.

All of you who think of our own people not patronizing our own businesses, who are concerned about letting our profits flowing out of Chinatown, and have some thoughts provoked in you.

All of you who think that the Chinese can operate big enterprises for westerners, manage their huge finances, design great engineering projects, possess enormous numbers of professionals, but are unable to develop considerable Chinese enterprises, and have some thoughts provoked in you.

All of you who see the Chinese can be appointed to important posts in education, teach foreigners to learn Chinese language, but our own sons and daughters don’t even know the Chinese language, and have some thoughts provoked in you. All of you who see that some overseas Chinese want to learn Chinese, some want to learn English, some want to learn Mandarin, some want to learn Cantonese, but they are unable to help each other, and have some thoughts provoked in you. All of you who still remember those bookstores—— Great Light, New Continent, and Service——had published books right here and all we can publish now are just menus, and have some thoughts provoked in you.

All of you who see the old overseas Chinese not caring about the newcomers, unwilling to give guidance and support to each other, and would moreover ridicule and humiliate each other, and have some thoughts provoked in you. All of you who see the continued sabotage of the young people’s righteous movements in protecting Diao Yu Tai Island, the activity to secure social benefits, and the propagation of ethnic self-respect, and have some thoughts provoked in you.

All of you who have seen thousands of extravagant celebrations, but careless of the sons and daughters having no educational fund to advance their studies, and have some thoughts provoked in you.

All of you who see the people being so enthusiastically watching the beauty contest, while the real arts are being left out in the cold, and have some thoughts provoked in you.

All of you who have some thoughts provoked in you. Let's come back! Let us all return and work together to solve the social problems that we can no longer delay. Let us together explore a hopeful path on which our descendants would be able to continue elevating their value of lives and our magnificent traditions.

Let’s come back: all of you who are concerned about the lives of our overseas Chinese. Let us all bring our hearts back! It is the time.