回到家中,意猶未盡,重溫先生於1923年在港大的講辭,一看之下,果然沒有記錯,國父如是說“Where did I get my revolutionary ideas? It is entirely in Hong Kong."
可是更教人神傷的是,國父回憶初抵香港所面對的culture shock時,跟家鄉香山所作的比較,即便活在廿一世紀當中的香港人,那種感覺竟然還是似曾所識。"Where and how did I get my revolutionary and modern ideas? I got my idea in this very place; in the Colony of Hong Kong. I am going to tell you how I got these ideas. More than thirty years ago (即1883-1892年左右) I was studying in Hong Kong and spent a great deal of spare time in walking the streets of the Colony (就像大家星期六那走在必列者士街、荷李活道一樣). Hong Kong impressed me a great deal, because there was orderly calm and because there was artistic work being done without interruption. I went to my home in Heungshan twice a year and immediately noticed the great difference. There was disorder instead of order, insecurity instead of security.
以下一段講及貪污的情況,更是可悲。歲月已經溜走百多年,情況不但未要改善,似乎還變本加厲。"among the government officials (指香港的官員) corruption was the exception and purity the rule. It was quite the contrary in China, where corruption among officials was the rule. I thought the Provisional Government would be better and went to Canton. I found that the higher the government the more corrupt it was. Finally I went to Peking, but I found things there one hundred times more corrupt and rotten than areas in Canton, and I was forced to the opinion that, after all, village government was the purest government in China.
讀完以後,還是想起國父遺訓:「革命尚未成功,同志仍須努力」。
伸延閱讀: Sun Yat-sen’s Address at the University of Hong Kong “Why I Became a Revolutionist” ~ Extract from The Hongkong Daily Press, February 20, 1923 ~ (in PDF Format)
於是,真正需要幫助的小市民又要以螳臂擋車,妄圖可以抵擋市區重建的魔爪;真正值得保存的文化歷史地標就此煙消雲散。剩下來的就只是點綴在龐然巨宅後面的一條短街、幾幢舊樓,totally out of place,totally out of context。Asia’s World City果然是一個叫人嘆為觀止的地方。
從舊報章中梳爬永利街事跡,鮮見大事發生。偶有見報者,俱是搶劫、聚賭、爆竊等「小兒科」。位處中環上環之間「環頭環尾」,不遠就是中央警署暨域多利監獄,這一帶還算是治安靖平。其實從前香江生活艱難,當街「老笠」乃係司空見慣,財不可以露眼的民間智慧更是從小學懂。如今《歲月神偷》「落戶」永利街,戲中小弟羅進二(鍾紹圖)把米字旗偷走,也可算是「恰如其分」。說來湊巧,附近取景的幾部電影,也總愛穿插一些盜竊場面。永利街向西走到盡頭,連接老沙路街,旁邊儒林臺幾級石階,橫亙一幅舊時石牆,就是《新難兄難弟》的楚原(梁朝偉)月夜倒回六十年代的「春風街」街頭。儘管此戲多在片場拍攝,當中老父楚帆(梁家輝)義釋小偷墨七(張之亮)之橋段,放回永利街附近的環境脈絡,竟又異常配合,一幕昔日「江湖救急」的故事也變得順理成章。垂直老沙路街和永利街的樓梯街,又是另一電影取景熱點。來到九十年代,《都市情緣》的梁志武(黎明)和 Jo Jo(吳倩蓮),便為了一宗街頭搶劫的誤會,差點錯失一段霧水情緣。沿著樓梯街的梯級往下走,又見到成功擺脫《跟蹤》的悍匪陳重山(梁家輝),來到摩羅上街旁的古玩店交易劫來的贓物。