Page 20 - KCMAGAZINE 20230717

Yo East - Yo West
He halted midway and gestured towards the grand piano resting
in the middle of the Western-styled ballroom.
Written by Tan Wei Han

“A Steinway & Sons. Made in Germany. Brought it home on
“Discs on a string, is that what this is? Rotating axes controlled by the wielder, sometimes the
a ship across the Indian Ocean to Malacca.” He sat himself down,
string doesn't even have to be stuck onto the discs yet they don't fall off. What kind of magic, sorcery or
casually. Deft fingers danced upon the black and ivory keys, strumming
trick is this?”
the sinews of my heart. Nocturne in C-sharp minor resounded in my
ears, strings of melancholia melting into my soul. The final notes rang,
“A pair of sticks connected with a string, a pair of bowls connected at their base. What
hauntingly. His lashes lifted; he tilted his head towards me. “Frédéric
contraption is this, and how are they able to perform so gracefully?”
Chopin, Polish composer of the Romantic era. His music is beautiful, is

it not?”
These questions have once baffled me, yet now I'm totally entranced by the marvellous world of
yo-yos, might it be Western or Eastern.
I nodded. “Such timelessness,” I whispered.

Yo-yos are actually an embodiment of a whole society, both East and West. While both types
“Indeed.”
have no direct connection to each other in their history, they both act as social anchors to bring people
together.
He sat up straighter. A firm gaze was what I held.

Even when I was just a little boy, I was thoroughly impressed by all the spectacular diabolo
“Times have changed, yet beauty lives on. In a few days, I
performances. I always thought this art was only for the chosen and required immense practice to master.
shall leave on a ship. Set sail to America. Ah Hua, I've been told of
Well, I got half of it right, it does require immense practice but everyone can get the hang of it. It isn't just
your ambition. Making and selling your own embroidery. I'm a man
some kind of fancy martial art, it is a tradition and also a precious fragment of our past.
of modern times, and I, like you, believe that societal beliefs should
suppress no female ambition. Follow me to the new world, where a
The dazzling performance from a coordinated team of ten blew my mind. It was the first time I
new life awaits you. I have a fabric business to run, and you have your
saw such a special form of art. The Eastern yo-yo, also known as a diabolo, is truly a marvel of physics.
embroidery to work on there. The ladies there would love your work.”
"How in the world could someone not only balance such an object on a string but also catch it flawlessly
every time?" Well, it turns out the trick to it is the spin it generates and so on but let's not get into that.
“What of my parents?”
This performance is essentially different from other so-called traditional practices. Mastering the diabolo
is a culture that is slowly but surely dying out unless something is to be done. Fewer practitioners and the
“I've paid off your father's debts. They will leave with us if they
lack of new blood are the basis of this crisis.
want.”

“Why me?”

“You have talent. You have ambition. Something I have

personal conviction in. Dreams as such must never come to nought.”

That night, I returned to the Foo mansion, watching its fallen

bricks and worn-off red paint. I tilted my face towards the moon,
watching the soft yin fade out... Into dazzling yang.

17 Photo by Goh Li Lian 18