Yau Yiu-wai, fifth-gen owner of a Hong Kong umbrella store, on shutting shop despite his lifelong obsession
The 73-year-old owner of Sun Nga Shing Umbrella Store in Sham Shui Po recently announced that he would be closing the family business, which dates back to the Qing dynasty
I’M A TRUE HONG KONG BOY. I was born and raised here. I’m 73.
MY FAMILY BUSINESS has a 183-year history. I’m the fifth generation to run it. It started in Guangzhou around the time the Treaty of Nanking was signed (in 1842). My ancestor (who started the business) was stupider than a pig; starting a shop during a war – how would anyone make money that way? He wrote a couplet that reads, “New additions bring prosperity and style; determined colours reveal elegance and grace.” The couplet talks about how prosperous the market was, but it wasn’t true. There was war, and there was no business.
MY FATHER CAME TO HONG KONG during the Japanese occupation. We were poor, and he opened a small stall selling daily necessities. He sold very few umbrellas. Back then, when it rained, people just walked (outside without cover). To make a living, we sold whatever people were willing to buy. You do it for survival. If you try to hold onto the ancestral business and no one shops there, you go out of business and won’t even have money for food.
WHEN I GREW UP AND GOT MARRIED, I revived the brand. We used to own an umbrella factory. Later, as business slowed, we closed it down. I asked some good friends (who worked in the trade) to make me quality umbrellas. I told them, “Don’t bring me anything that isn’t good.” They’d had business dealings with the brand previously, and based on that foundation, they created quality umbrellas for me. We refused to deal with factories that produced cheap, throwaway goods.
I LOVED UMBRELLAS when I was little. When I grew up, I just continued (that passion). Why do I like umbrellas? I’m an artist. The shape of an umbrella is beautiful. When you open one, it forms a dome shape. That gives a sense of infinite greatness. You wouldn’t get that same feeling if the shape were flat.
IN CHINESE, WE CALL THAT DOME SHAPE qióngcāng (the vaulted dome of the sky). Qióng means “infinite” and cāng means “vast”, like the cosmos. Together, qióngcāng describes the boundless universe – vast and expansive. You see that kind of dome in West Lake performances. When you open an umbrella, it takes on that same form. That’s why I love it. If umbrellas weren’t beautiful, people wouldn’t use them in performances; there’d be no reason to write or paint on them. That’s why they’re used in dance, theatre – all kinds of arts.
THE MARKET CHANGED. These days, it’s flooded with ultra-cheap umbrellas. For the sake of our brand we had to uphold our standards. But (holding onto quality in a market that wants cheap goods) means you’re basically “holding a begging bowl” (never making money).