The text of the stele in Classical Chinese
辛丑之春，香港灣仔街坊福利會理事監事諸君子以灣仔地方三英里，人口二十餘，廣厦櫛比紅塵十丈，顧乏清勝愒遊之所，為坊眾健康計，乃倡晨操聘拳師，供盌茗，設太極拳班於山半，坊眾欣然從之。朝斯夕斯以習以遊，更議建亭以蔽風日，既蒙政府賛許，撥地復得名譽會長謝舜良君慨然捐資，理事馮其燦君設計劃圖，鳩工庀材以蕆其事。晨操者、便焉往來者利焉。亭建於灣仔峽道與寶雲之交，顏曰寶雲，紀其地也。紅楹綠瓦，曲檻飛甍，俯瞰東港，遠矚九龍。極浦浮煙，増(層)巒聳翠。春草烟熅，導和納煖；夏風泠泠，滌煩遣慮；秋月皎皎，動人遐思；冬樹猶榮，寒意尚薄；四時之景不同，亦樂與眾共也。至若風雨如晦，雞鳴不已，乾愓之占見焉；白雲在天，滄波無極，憂樂之志存焉；海山渟峙，舸艦津迷，東南之美萃焉；樓閣參差，霓鐙(燈)簇錦，蓬萊之勝宛焉。靈秀所鍾，遊觀所接，斯亭備矣。諸君子蜚聲南國，舊業海隅，懷飢溺之心，本解推之義，服務人羣，美利天下。兹亭之建其權輿也歟。
番禺莫儉溥記，順德黃維琩書，番禺馮康侯篆額。
香港灣仔街坊福利會會長何耀光;
理事長李運源，副理事長利樹源、霍永楷;
監事長袁翔雲，副監事長何日、高廉，立石。
歲次辛丑，西曆一九六一年十二月穀旦。
Bowen Pavilion, situated on a hillside of Hong Kong Island, looks very ordinary at the first sight but it contains a hidden treasure! Adjacent to the pavilion was a stele engraved with 498 Chinese characters telling the story of Bowen Pavilion. The characters were elegantly written by renowned scholar and calligrapher Professor Wong Wai Cheong (黄維琩) in 1961. The title in seal script was written by celebrated seal engraving master Fung Kong Hou (馮康侯). The text was composed by distinguished scholar Mok Kin Foo (莫儉溥) [1].
The text of the stele, with a rough English translation, is as follows. The translation does not do justice to the beauty of the original Chinese text.
The Story of Bowen Pavilion
In 1961, Wan Chai was a densely populated district with a population of 200,000. Residents were living in high-rise buildings with limited space for living and recreations. Directors and Supervisors of Hong Kong Wan Chai Kai-fong (neighbourhood) Welfare Association in the Spring of Xin Chou (辛丑1961) organized gentle physical exercises programs to promote the health of the general public. They hired Tai Chi instructors, offered water and tea, and set up Tai Chi lessons at the mid-level of the mountain. The programs were well received by the general public. People came in the mornings and in the evenings. The Kai-fong Association also proposed to build a pavilion to provide shelter from the wind and the sun. The government allocated the land. The honorary chairman Mr Tse Shun Leung graciously donated the money. The director Fung Kee Chan designed the pavilion. The pavilion was completed by competent builders with fine materials. People coming for the morning exercises and the public found the pavilion beneficial.
The pavilion was located at the intersection of Wan Chi Gap Road and Bowen Road [2]. This is how the pavilion got its name. The pavilion commands a panorama of the eastern part of Hong Kong harbour and Kowloon. In spring the green vegetation on the mountains afar looks misty. The summer breezes blow away worries and anxieties. The autumn moon implores wonder and imagination. The winter season is mild and trees remain luxurious. The scenes of the four seasons are not the same but people enjoy themselves with the picturesque scenes.
The scenes changes within the day. On rainy and windy days, the sky is dark but cocks still croak as usual [3]. On sunny days with white clouds in the blue sky, ships and boats in the blue sea, people share the joy and sorrow with one another [4]. This is indeed a beautiful place in south-eastern part of China. At night the scene of the colourful neon signs and the lights from buildings of various heights makes the city look like a wonderland.
The Directors and Supervisors of Wan Chai Kai-fong Welfare Association are famous and highly respectable people. Many run well-established businesses. They are highly compassionate and care for the welfare of the needy and under privileged people making the community a better place [5]. The building of this pavilion is a starting point for many more future projects for the community.
Notes:
[1] The author of the text, Mr Mok Kin Foo (莫儉溥), was the Headmaster of Dunmei School (敦梅學校) who made great contributions to education in Hong Kong especially during 1950s and 1960s when there was a great influx of refugee from China. The School was found by his father, Mr Mok Dunmei (莫敦梅先生). 莫儉溥校長繼承父業, 明德育才, 桃李滿門, 春風化雨。
Professor Wong Wai Cheong (黄維琩) migrated to Hong Kong in 1950s. Both of them are classical Chinese scholars and educators in colleges and high schools.
[2] Bowen Road was named after Sir George F. Bowen, Governor of Hong Kong from 1883 to 1887.
[3] This phrase ‘風雨如晦，雞鳴不已’ comes from The Classic of Poetry (詩經 Shijing). The sky was dark and the cock croaks. This is a metaphor saying that, when the situation is turbulent and society is dark, people with condescending ideals still voice out the social injustice.
“風雨如晦，雞鳴不已”這兩句詩出自《詩經·鄭風·風雨》，是一首優美的愛情詩。它描寫一個女子在風雨交加、天色陰沉、雞鳴不已的時刻，更加強烈地思念她的丈夫。思而不見，使她痛苦、淒涼、悵惘。正在此時，久別的丈夫突然回到了家裏，自然使女子喜出望外。
釋義:天色昏暗猶如晦日的夜晚。後比喻局勢動盪，社會黑暗。
[4] 原文這句 ‘憂樂之志存焉’ 有范仲淹《岳陽樓記》的 ‘先下憂而憂，後天下之樂而樂’ 的情懷。
[5] 原文這句 ‘懷飢溺之心’ 出處《孟子·離婁下》’禹思天下有溺者，由己溺之也；稷思天下有飢者，由己飢之也；是以如是其急也。’ 己飢己溺: 別人挨餓、落水就象自己挨餓、落水一樣。舊時形容在位者關心民眾疾苦。也比喻對別人的痛苦深表同情，並將解除別人的痛苦為己任。
Acknowledgments
I would like to thank Professor CHAN Yiu Nan (陳耀南教授) most heartily for explaining the Classical Chinese text of the stele to me. Without his teaching and his encouragement, this webpage has never been written.
Bibliography
https://m.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.1842212862765263.1073742235.1397609913892229&type=3 (阡陌灣仔 (十) – 寶雲道灣坊亭)
https://baike.baidu.hk/item/%E9%A2%A8%E9%9B%A8%E5%A6%82%E6%99%A6
https://www.newton.com.tw/wiki/%E5%B7%B1%E9%A3%A2%E5%B7%B1%E6%BA%BA
https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E6%95%A6%E6%A2%85%E5%AD%B8%E6%A0%A1 (敦梅學校Dunmei School)
Album of The Story of Bowen Pavilion (寶雲亭記册頁)
This album was created by ‘cut and paste’ of the enlarged photocopy of the ink rubbing. As the quality of the image of the rubbing is not too good, some of the characters are blurry, but we can still appreciate the elegance of Professor Wong’s writings.
Patrick Siu Chinese Calligraphy & Landscape Painting 蕭燿漢談書畫 