Having Lived
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Summary
In one book, Chua Lam’s “authenticity” is captured in full, offering a taste of his true temperament, true attitude, and true wisdom.
In these pages, Chua Lam talks about life, writing, money, women, and life and death—every word open and candid, like a heart-to-heart with an old friend.
What kind of life do you want to live? Chua Lam shows you what his life has been like.
Chua Lam says: When people get old, they love to reminisce, so I might as well write a little more about the past.
He calls this book “a collection of happy memories.”
In the book, Chua Lam looks back on his life, including his childhood in Chaozhou and Singapore; his student years in Japan; the chance circumstances that led Mr. Six to recognize his talent and bring him to work at Shaw Brothers; and his life after settling in Hong Kong. In the book, readers can see Chua Lam living in different countries because of his film work, during which he met countless friends and had all kinds of amusing talks and anecdotes with them.
The essays in the book cover a wide range of subjects. They are short and punchy, written with wit and humor, and each one reflects Chua Lam’s open-minded outlook on life and his wise philosophy of living.
Editor's review
Who it's for
A good fit for
- Readers in midlife transition who feel confused about the meaning of life
- Loyal readers who appreciate Chua Lam and his writing and want to understand how his thinking evolved in later years
- People anxious about old age who hope to gain open-minded life wisdom
- Literature lovers who enjoy plain, humorous essay writing with philosophical depth
Not a good fit for
- Readers expecting Chua Lam’s classic food and travel writing or his romantic anecdotes
- Pragmatists looking for specific health-preservation techniques or anti-aging secrets
Reading tips
- Read in a leisurely mood; do not rush. It is best to dip into a few pieces each day and savor them.
- As you read, reflect in light of your own life experience; many of the insights in the book require a certain amount of lived experience to resonate.
- Try putting the attitudes toward living mentioned in the book—such as “do it now” and “live to the fullest”—into daily practice.
About the publisher
Hunan Literature and Art Publishing House is a publisher known for its literary titles, with a catalogue spanning foreign literature, world classics, classical Chinese literature, essays and miscellaneous writings, and mystery and detective fiction. Judging from the more than 1,100 books in the database, the press publishes foreign classics such as Crime and Punishment, Snow Country, The Complete Sherlock Holmes and Letter from an Unknown Woman, as well as Chinese classical and modern literary works including Lu Xun's Wandering and A Madman's Diary and Wu Jingzi's The Scholars. In terms of translators and authors, translations by Cao Guowei and Tan Jinghua appear in its foreign literature titles, and the authors involved include Dostoevsky, Kawabata Yasunari, Conan Doyle and Zweig. Its publishing character lies in introducing Chinese and foreign literary classics side by side, balancing popular and serious works and attending to both readability and literary value. Public information is limited; the above is a brief overview based solely on the books in the database.
Contents
- 版权信息
- 序
- 童年
- 少年
- 留学
- 邵氏
- 定居香港
- 嘉禾
- 电视台
- 写作与旅游
- 微博与网店
- 书法
- 谊亲与点心店
- 疫情
- 如今
FAQ
How is this book different from Chua Lam’s earlier works (such as Better to Live Willfully)?
Is the content too heavy, dealing with aging and death?
Is it too early for young people to read this book?
Comments
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About the author
Chua Lam (18 August 1941 – 25 June 2025) was a Singapore-born Hong Kong writer, food critic, film producer and television host whose ancestral home was Chaozhou, Guangdong. He studied in Japan in his early years and worked for many years at Shaw Brothers and Golden Harvest, producing numerous films starring Jackie Chan; he later became known for his food columns and culinary programmes, and was regarded, together with Jin Yong, Ni Kuang and James Wong, as one of the "Four Talents of Hong Kong". His writing consists mainly of essays and miscellany, touching also on culture, inspirational growth and foreign literature. Centred on food, travel and everyday human relations, his clear, easy-going style draws out the pleasures of life and worldly wisdom from a single meal. Representative works include Life's Big Matter: Eating and Drinking, Matters of the Heart, Solved on the Tongue and The World Is Fun. Forty-nine of his works are held in our collection.
