RED BOAT TROUPES AND CANTONESE ... - University of Georgia

to find a person who had “slept” on Red Boats and was still alive. From the Association’s
members and from Mr. Wong’s writing which I had read in the library, I knew he was interested
in spreading the legacy of Cantonese opera. My desire to interview him was so intense that I
was chauffeured to the Chinese herbal store on the busy Pander Street of Vancouver Chinatown
which I had been told was a contact place for him.
The store was crowded with customers. One of the storekeepers told me that Mr. Wong
was having dim sum at a nearby restaurant. I took little time to look for him at the restaurant— I
asked a headwaiter where the gentleman was, and was pointed to the two tables next to the
windows where Mr. Wong was having lunch with his students. When I was about 30 feet away
from those two tables, one elderly gentleman noticed my presence and stood up. He was the
only person to notice my approach. The scene was a little shocking, for I had neither given him
any information on my visit, nor had he ever seen me before. I introduced myself and asked if I
could interview him. He was delighted and told me to wait for him at the herbal store that
afternoon and he would take me to his apartment.
Figure 14. Mr. Wong Toa at his residence in Vancouver at the interview in 2007.
81