Lesson #002: Tsang Tsou Choi (Emperor of Kowloon)
By Professor Dceve
May 20, 2008

Move over "Bozo Texino", "Herby" and "Colossus of Roads"... Tsang Tsou Choi, aka "Emperor of Kowloon" was the world's oldest graffiti artist residing in Hong Kong. Unfortunately, he died last year (2007) of a heart attack at the age of 86.  He definitely did not leave this earth without making his mark...



Tsang traveled to Hong Kong at the age of 16 as a poor worker and was barely literate at the time. He began to mark the streets of Hong Kong with his distinctive graffiti at the age of 35 (talk about a late start). He claimed that he had studied his ancestral tree and discovered that most of the land of Kowloon belonged to his ancestors (his grandfather, in particular.)



Tsang was arrested many times for vandalism, but his only known prison time was in the '60s when he smashed a window at a post office with a rock and did 18 months locked away. He walked with crutches for many years after a rubbish container fell on him injuring his legs permantly. His family disowned him, saying he was mentally unbalanced and a public nuisance and his wife had grown tired of his obsession and left him.

Although his graffiti was persistently covered by paint, he often returned to re-vandalize sites as soon as the paint dried. At the height of his graffiti career, his obsessive marking of territory made his graffiti an ever present aspect of the streets of Hong Kong. The graffiti has been spotted at many places on the streets of Hong Kong, ranging from lampposts, utilities boxes, pillars, pavements, street furniture, and building walls, to an occasional car. The contents of his calligraphic graffiti usually include his name, his title (Emperor or King of Kowloon, Hong Kong, or China), his family tree – a variable list of about 20 individuals, the names of illustrious emperors, and the exclamation, "Down with the Queen of England!"

After the news about his death has been broadcasted on television and newspapers dedicate pages about his past, many people went to take pictures of his art works, especially the one in Tsim Sha Tsui's Star Ferry Pier because of the convinence of the location. Many worried that the government will clean up his remaining public art works. The government promised that they will not be erasing his works. Additionally, they will analyze ways of how to preserve his works (which I find amusing since many people considered him a nuisance when he was alive...)

only do graffiti with no shirt on in front of cops...







As for Hong Kong, we'll see you later this year...



SMART CREW USASIA