Romance calls for (note 1) fashion king

Columnist, socialite (社交圈名人) and fashionista (note 2) David Tang Wing-cheung says he will try his hand in an area where men usually fear to tread (note 3)- writing a romance novel (愛情小說).

Tang, best known as the founder of the Shanghai Tang fashion chain, regularly contributes an "agony (苦惱) uncle" column to the weekend Financial Times and used to write an English column for a Chinese-language newspaper. "My ambition (野心) and plan is to write a novel - a huge romance and love story - some day," Tang, 56, told The Standard.

He also plans to encourage aspiring writers in Hong Kong to chase their dreams (note 4). Tang will moderate two open forums (公開討論會) at Hong Kong Book Fair later this week. One of the speakers is Nicholas Coleridge, author of 15 books and a vice president of Conde Nast International overseeing (管理) dozens of magazines, including Vogue. He wrote 2,000 words every week and published a novel within a span of (note 5) two years.

"It is possible for those who have got day jobs (有工作) to realize that in fact you can also become authors," he said. "It's not an exclusive (孤高的) profession if you want to write a book." Joining Coleridge at the open forums - "How and What and Why do Writers Write?" - on Friday and Saturday will be critic (文學批評家) and essayist (散文作家) Adrian Anthony Gill, food writer Tom Parker Bowles, son of the Duchess of Cornwall, and historian David Starkey.

Tang said he will make the occasion funny and inspiring (有啟發性). "My aim is to make people laugh as much as possible. Last year there was a lot of laughter, so this year, it will be the same." Last year's event attracted a full hall (滿座) of more than 1,300 participants in the Convention and Exhibition Centre.

From good to better English:

(note 1) call for=召喚。Call a meeting=召集會議。Have nothing to call one's own=什麼也沒有；一無所長。Call a spade a spade=是什麼說什麼，直言。This disease calls for prompt treatment=這病必須急救。

(note 2) fashionista=fashion fanatic in Italian (對時裝入迷的人)。Fanatic=狂熱的，入迷的。

(note 3) fear to tread=不敢踩踏、嘗試。Victor loves to tread in Bob Dylan's steps=Victor愛仿效歌星Bob Dylan。Tread lightly [warily]=小心處理。Bo Bo treads on her boss’s toes= Bo Bo踩痛他老闆的腳趾；比喻得罪老闆。Tread on the heels of =事件接連發生。Tread water=原地踏步。

(note 4) chase their dreams=追尋理想。Chase=追趕，追擊，追隨，追逐。 chase a wild goose=作徒勞的搜索[無益的舉動]。chase away=趕走。cut to the chase=說話轉入正題。

(note 5) within a span of=相隔。the span of Zhao Ziyang’s life =趙紫陽的一生。the span of memory=記憶所及。Chris Patten’s political life spans half a century=彭定康的政治生涯長達半個世紀。

Victor’s View: Similar to what David Tang has in mind (writing a romance novel), I’d love to write a memoir and tell the young people that they must have dreams. Dreams do come true, if you work on them.

(Victor Fung Keung, director of HK Baptist University’s M.A. in international journalism program, has published 4 books on English-enhancement [the latest, titled <<學會演說、改變你的人生>>, was published on July 18] and plans to write 6 more by the end of 2012. Write to him: deanfungenglish@gmail.com)