Dragon Head and Phoenix Tail [Chinese]

By: Ma, Jia Hui

In 1936, the flames of World War II added drama to an already turbulent era. Caught between the British colonial government, China's civil strife, and Japan's invasion, Hong Kong Island was gripped by fear. Those who sided with the British were branded traitors, while those who yielded to Japanese threats were labeled collaborators. Even those who supported China's two major parties faced uncertain fates. Hong Kongers, trapped in this powerless emotional limbo, silently awaited the future. Ma Ka-fai, who began writing novels at age fifty-one, grew up in the 1970s, spending his childhood in Wan Chai. He self-deprecatingly describes his upbringing in a neighborhood teeming with madmen, prostitutes, and triad members. In his youth, he would eat breakfast at a dai pai dong before class, with gangsters engaged in violent altercations right behind him. This upbringing not only immersed him in the world of underworld sentiment but also instilled in him a deep conviction that he should tell the stories of his generation for the people of Wan Chai.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: Chinese
• ISBN: 6267748308
• ISBN13: 9786267748305
• Release Date: December 2025
• Publisher: Xin Jing Dian Wen Hua