Adrift by David T. K. Wong

Author:David T. K. Wong
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9789814655149
Publisher: Epigram Books
Published: 2016-09-22T04:00:00+00:00

My grandmother’s casual remark at the grocery shop about my starting school was soon put into practice. She took me to Chinatown one day and enrolled me in a Chinese primary school for boys. It was a small private establishment, with only between 20 and 30 pupils but with a notorious reputation for being strict on discipline.

Before the first week was out, I found myself in hot water. I cannot now remember what I had done or what rules I had broken. It could not have been anything more serious than what I had done back at kindergarten in Canton. It was entirely possible I had been more fidgety and less attentive than I should have been in that new environment. In any case, I got marked down for punishment.

The school had its own system for dishing it out. Its ethos belonged to that distant era when offenders were still put on display in stockades. Saturday was designated a day for punishments. Accordingly, on that morning, all students were required to be present to witness justice being delivered.

Those selected for punishment had to turn up in the company of a parent or guardian, to whom the reason for the punishment and its severity would be explained.

Punishments were dispensed by way of a rattan cane. Strokes were delivered upon the calves of an offender. The number varied according to the school’s view of the severity of each offence. The headmaster had laid down that he himself would inflict all punishments, to maintain a uniform standard of execution.

In order to prevent anyone from jumping about or hiding behind a parent or guardian while punishment was being meted out, an offender must first mount a small square stool with three legs. It stood about 16 inches tall and was a devilishly cunning device. It ensured that any attempt to dance about or to evade the cane would send the culprit tumbling onto the floor. Experience had also probably determined that its height was the most convenient for delivering strokes on little boys.

Objections by parents or guardians were entertained but only on the basis that the student concerned would then be forthwith and permanently removed from the school.

I had never been caned or beaten by anyone before, so I was not particularly frightened at first. It transpired I was not the only one destined for punishment that morning. There were two others. The one who went before me had been marked down for three strokes.

I watched as he mounted the stool. He let out an almighty yelp when the first stroke struck home. I noticed that he merely jiggled his legs a little and kept both feet planted squarely on the stool. He had evidently been caned before and knew the danger of lifting either leg. He continued to cry out on the subsequent strokes but he managed to endure all three without tears. His mouth merely became distorted, while his nostrils quivered.

Then it was my turn. Having seen punishment inflicted, I was filled with apprehension.

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