Source: My UM

It is not exactly the kind of place you would expect to find on a college campus. But you might want to visit it if your inner child is still alive. In a corner in Lui Che Woo College, you will find toy models of famous cartoon characters such as Gundam, Deception, Megatron, and Bumblebee, which take turns gracing the cabinet. Part of the collection of the college’s associate master, Prof Tam Sik Chung, these toys never fail to stop passers-by in their tracks and bring a surprised smile to their faces. A devoted toy collector, Prof Tam started this hobby because of the inexplicable nostalgia he felt for his childhood when he started working after graduation from college. ‘Time flies quickly. When I started working, I felt this urgency to hold on to memories of my younger days, so I started collecting toys I used to play with in my childhood. They represent the most beautiful memory of my life,’ he says.

 

Turning Trash to Treasure

Enter Prof Tam’s office, and you will find a world of toys more fascinating than the display in the cabinet. Exquisite toy models of all the main characters from Saint Seiya, the lightsaber and helmets from Star Wars, Thor with his iron hammer, and Captain America with his shield—you name it, Prof Tam has got it in this mini-toy museum. As a child, Tam was full of curiosity about toys. But coming from a family of limited means, he couldn’t afford to buy new toys. So he would go treasure-hunting in old warehouses. What he found were usually fragmented pieces of old toys which were considered worthless garbage in other people’s eyes. But he saw endless possibilities for creativity.

Even to this day, friends who know his knack for turning trash to treasure often give their unwanted old toys to him. Once, he received two broken toy planes from a friend. He took the good parts from each plane and re-assembled them into a new one. He had an epiphany from that experience, and consequently changed his mind about quitting his job as the associate master of the college. ‘I have been working as the college associate master for more than a year now, and I have been wanting to quit my job every four months, because it is very tiring and I have to deal with different students every day,’ he says. ‘But I am still here, because the experience of re-assembling the toy plane taught me that once you put the parts in the right place, they will turn from trash to treasure. Students have infinite potential to be tapped. As long as we help them discover their strengths and talents, they will be able to achieve their potential. Watching my students progress a little bit every day gives me a great sense of satisfaction.’

 

‘Toy players are the most devoted people.’

In addition to the role of the associate master of the college and that of a professor in the Department of Mathematics, Prof Tam has a third role—first-generation toy speculator. It is not unusual for him to buy a toy at MOP 30 and re-sell it later at MOP 400. But what he really enjoys is collecting toys for its own sake. ‘Toy lovers tend to be simple at heart. They are usually very devoted to people and things they like. They are the ones with childlike innocence.’ According to Prof Tam, collecting toys is not as easy as it seems. Being a toy speculator involves a lot of buying and selling, and in the process, one is exposed to a wide spectrum of life experiences.

Prof Tam also loves Chinese culture and has been practicing calligraphy for many years. His calligraphy works are displayed in his office and home. As early as 2005, he and his students in the Department of Computer and Information Science jointly developed a Chinese calligraphy system and a Chinese greetings system, hoping to introduce the public to the beauty of Chinese culture. To Prof Tam, Chinese calligraphy holds infinite appeal. ‘The soft hairs of a calligraphy brush are where the magic lies,’ he says. ‘How do you maneuver the soft hairs on the brush to write characters of different styles to express different emotions, moods, and aesthetic appeal? These are the draw of calligraphy.’

Prof Tam may be an indulgent toy collector, but he is an even more indulgent father. His daughter, Brook Tam, an undergraduate student in the Faculty of Law majoring in the bilingual bachelor of law programme, grew up playing with her father’s toys. ‘My dad often says that toy lovers are the most devoted people. I want to be as devoted with my studies as he is with his toys. In the same way he re-assembles the parts of old toys to make new toys, I will re-assemble the knowledge I learn, cautiously and patiently. I believe in doing so I will harvest a treasure trove that will benefit me for life,’ she says.

 

Sharing the Toy, Sharing the Joy

Those who don’t know Prof Tam well may think that he is the serious type. But ask the students, and they will tell you that this professor is really just a child inside. Tao Deben, a second-year student in the Faculty of Business Administration, recalls his first impression of Prof Tam, ‘A 55-year-old math professor who loves toy models of cartoon characters! I thought to myself, a professor with such a childlike hobby must be very easy to get along with.’ Tao says the associate master never puts on airs and treats the students like his friends. Sam Tong, a first-year student majoring in biomedical sciences, says Prof Tam is the type with an eye for the big picture, and is always happy to help students solve problems. ‘He displays the toys he collected in the college, which brings him closer to us and makes the place feel more like a home,’ he says.

Prof Tam believes that joy becomes more complete when shared with others. That’s why he decided to display his toys in the college in the first place. Sometimes he even gives his favorite toys to students or donates them to a museum. ‘Some students’ eyes would light up at the sight of the toys. Sometimes I would give the toys to them, but I won’t make it conditional on their getting good grades, because I want the toys to be innocent gifts. When I see them happy, that makes me happy too,’ he says.

Many people may feel that collecting toys is a waste of time and money, to which Prof Tam replies, ‘As long as you are not so addicted to your hobby that you lose sight of your life’s goals, it should be fine. The bottom line is you know what you are doing.’