People often criticize my articles for being difficult to understand, but to spare my feelings, they gently say that I write well; it's just that they don't understand the technical aspects, or they're getting old, so they didn't comprehend it. However, there is one old gentleman—who I believe wouldn't mind me calling him that, after all, I'm an middle-aged dude myself, and it would be rude not to address him respectfully as 'old gentleman'—who, despite not understanding technology, not being good at English, and not even owning a computer, has never given up on learning about new trends like blockchain, decentralized publishing, and AI. He is the protagonist of this issue, 77-year-old Raymond.
Twilight of the Brave
Ever since I started promoting LikeCoin, Raymond has been attending various offline gatherings and frequently sent me emails, making numerous suggestions such as expanding application scenarios and local promotions. If it wasn't for Raymond's discomfort with social software like Discord, insisting on using only email, I believe the community discussions would have been much more lively. Although I regret that most of his suggestions couldn't be realized due to LikeCoin's limited resources and narrow positioning, I am grateful for his participation and have read and replied to all his emails over the years.
With the pandemic, I hadn't seen Raymond for years until six months ago, when I met the long-lost Raymond again at a decentralized publishing workshop held by the International Association of Theatre Critics (Hong Kong). Although he couldn't actively participate without a laptop, he patiently listened to the entire session. After the workshop, Raymond and I walked from the Jockey Club Creative Arts Centre to the legendary Yiu Tung Street Dai Pai Dong for a late-night snack.
Speaking of Yiu Tung Street, although it's just a short one-way street, it houses four of the remaining twenty-odd Dai Pai Dongs in Hong Kong. Among them, Cheung Fat Noodle House, known for its handmade fish balls, cuttlefish balls, and soy sauce tossed noodles, has a history of seventy years and has been operating here until it was forced to close due to the nearby new building projects, with its last day of business being just yesterday.
Equally interesting is the Wing Tai Ironwork Engineering behind the legendary Dai Pai Dong and next to So Kee, which has recently become a gathering place for a group of friends in their sixties and seventies. They often form the "Metal Band" on weekends, playing a mix of Chinese and Western music, factory, and old masters, creating a surprisingly harmonious atmosphere that is no less impressive than the band from the movie "Cape No. 7".
Returning to the late-night snack, after a couple of drinks, Raymond shared many stories. I've always known him to be a good writer, but I didn't know he was also a martial artist. He learned Wing Chun from Ip Man's eldest son, Ip Chun, and even self-published a collection of short stories called "Master Ip Man" (titled in Chinese”勇者的黃昏” which refers to twilight of the brave) last year, recounting the deeds of Ip Man after he came to Hong Kong. His attendance at the decentralized publishing workshop was precisely to explore how to use AI to translate his novel into English and then apply blockchain technology to publish it as a bilingual e-book.
I've always been a supporter of creativity, especially writing, and Raymond is not only an old friend but also a central member of the community, so I had no reason to refuse. Even though I don't have the time to translate and publish my own old works into electronic versions, I boldly promised to help publish the electronic version of "Master Ip Man"
Creating an eBook
Months after the late-night meal, I met with Raymond, as well as Phoebe from Liker Land, at the office of the publishing house for "Master Ip Man" – Red Publishing. We planned to discuss the translation and the creation of the epub version. As fate would have it, Hong Kong was struck by a once in five hundred years downpour. Even though the black rainstorm warning was lifted by noon on the day of the meeting, severe flooding affected many areas and the Kwun Tong line was paralyzed. However, the author, publisher, platform, and I, as the assistant, were all eagerly looking forward to completing the project. In an afternoon where classes, work, and markets were suspended, we miraculously gathered at Red Publishing's office in Wan Chai. Not only did we finalize all arrangements, but Raymond also demonstrated Wing Chun moves on the spot, which Red Publishing captured on video to be included with the new edition.
After the meeting, I obtained the text in PDF format, converted it into an editable docx file, removed any formatting and images that weren't useful, and had Microsoft Word regenerate the table of contents. Then I used Calibre to convert the docx into an epub3 format. After two or three checks and revisions of the epub file and re-converting it from docx to epub3, the Traditional Chinese version of "Master Ip Man" epub file was successfully created. Microsoft Word can convert Chinese characters between simplified and traditional with relative accuracy, especially from traditional to simplified, so I could easily finish the Simplified Chinese version of the epub file as well.
More complex was the bilingual Chinese-English edition, but compared to traditional manual translation from scratch, it was just a bit more effort. First, I prepared a VPN and an overseas credit card, registered an OpenAI account and subscribed, and then cloned the bilingual_book_maker from Github. After installing the corresponding Python environment, I could use it in conjunction with GPT. In no time, the text was translated into English and then passed on to Raymond and Red Publishing for review.
The bilingual_book_maker allows users to choose different LLM models, including GPT-3, 4, and even Claude2. Although GPT is more expensive, and GPT-4 is more than ten times more expensive than GPT-3, I still recommend GPT-4. The real cost lies in the manual editing after AI translation; if the AI's output is even slightly better, the savings on manpower in the later stages will definitely exceed the extra cost of GPT-4.
I apologize for the jargon-heavy paragraphs. There's no excuse for the criticism that my articles are hard to understand. I'll stop with the technicalities here. The November reading group will adopt a workshop format, where attendees should come prepared with their major works. I will work with everyone to turn their texts into ebooks, forge them into NFT books, and explain how to sell them on platforms like Liker Land.
Raymond and Master Yip Chun
"The Brave in everyday twilight"
Returning to the novel, "Master Ip Man" starts with the story of Ip Man coming to Hong Kong alone in 1949. Besides the indispensable plots such as starting a martial arts class and punishing the wicked, it also describes a lesser-known romantic involvement.
If you are a fan of the Ip Man movie series starring Donnie Yen and hold the same expectations for the novel, I would advise you not to buy this book. However, if you, like me, do not indulge in the nationalism portrayed in the Yen series, and if you find the portrayal of Ip Man in those movies too heroic, disconnected, faithful and perfect, and instead prefer the Ip Man depicted in "Ip Man: The Final Fight" starring Anthony Wong, then "Master Ip Man" will probably not disappoint you.
I am not a film critic and am not clear on filming techniques. My fondness for "Ip Man: The Final Fight" is simple: it features everyday life elements like rice platters , Dai Pai Dong, Sham Shui Po, and even the Kowloon Walled City; it shows an Ip Man who gets hungry, falls ill, shows weakness, and whose heart changes. In this movie, I see Hong Kong, I see people, I see the people of Hong Kong.
I've never asked Raymond about his opinion on "Ip Man: The Final Fight," or even if he has seen the movie. But the similar feeling that "Master Ip Man" gives me is that regardless of whether Ip Man was a great man, he must first be a person. He fled from war, lost his job during economic downturns, suffered hunger amid social turmoil, and needed support in his lonely later years. Although Raymond emphasizes that this is a work of fiction, his light and subtle touch endows the Ip Man in the story with a sense of reality.
The novel’s research is quite extensive; Raymond clearly did his homework. Otherwise, he must have been very familiar with Hong Kong in the 50s and 60s, with a deep impression. In terms of setting, almost the entire book takes place in Sham Shui Po, Ip Man's footsteps closely mirroring the path Raymond and I took from the Jockey Club Creative Arts Centre on Pak Tin Street to the legendary food stalls on Yiu Tung Street. The book mentions the early 1950s when Ip Man first met a close female friend:
"On a bitterly cold winter night, when the moon was dim and stars scarce, the fierce north wind howled, with only a few pedestrians on the dark streets; on the sidewalk, a vendor had set up two folding tables for business, a wanton noodle stall that operated from a mobile wooden cart at night. The vendor was working under the bright lights, and at this moment, Ip Man was waiting for the delicious food, rubbing his hands together and breathing out mist into the air."
Could it be that the wanton noodle stall is none other than the Long Hair Noodle House, which had recently opened on Yiu Tung Street?
Raymond and I, captured at the legendary You Tung Street Dai Pai Dong. Behind us is the famed Cheung Fat Noodle House.
I hope this doesn't infuriate Raymond, but after reading the novel, what sticks in my mind isn't the martial arts or nationalism, but the street food stalls and Sham Shui Po. However, that's precisely why I like "Master Ip Man".
Instead of an Ip Man who's adept in kung fu, taking down ten opponents single-handedly, what we need more are those everyday heroes, each steadfast at their post, writing every piece of text well, cooking every bowl of noodles to perfection, and playing every piece of music beautifully.
Extended Reading
Warmth is Not Exclusive to Paper—How I Sold 1,000 E-Books with "Human AI"
Entering the Literary World in Old Age: Establishing a Web3 Publishing House in Pursuit of Freedom
web3dom - of web3 and freedom is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.
