Let it be, without forcing it;
English
01
ENGLISH EDITION

Let it be,without forcing it;

Memoirs of a Chinese restaurateur in Portugal, read through life’s changes and the I Ching.

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If you can make ‘creation’ as natural as breathing, it is not because intention is absent; it is because all intention has already dissolved into the breath.
Sam Wang
02 · SERIAL READING

Two parts, twelve moments.

A life told through choices, losses and changes rather than a résumé.

CHAPTER I

Necessity brings change.

From arriving in Lisbon to the Madrid expansion, family, and the pandemic.

CHAPTER II

Change opens the way.

A new digital beginning with XIAOXIONG®.

03 · LIFE NOTES

The city passes.
Memory remains.

Photographs and short texts about Lisbon, restaurants, architecture, and the moments that do not fit inside the chapters.

90 translated notes · English edition
67 / 90
Kimi’s framed certificate of honour and gold medal in his father’s office
Kimi’s framed certificate of honour and gold medal in his father’s office
27 · 08 · 2026 · Lisbon · Office · Sam Wang
LIFE NOTE

Certificate

Our third child took part, through his Chinese school, in the seventh Global Chinese Recitation Competition and won the gold prize in the children’s category. Along with the medal came a certificate of honour.

I found a frame, mounted the certificate carefully, and placed it on the shelf in my office.

“Do not let the time pass idly, until the young head turns white and only sorrow remains.” — Yue Fei, Man Jiang Hong

When the applause began, I remembered the first time I stepped onto a stage and froze with nerves.

Back then, I could hardly have imagined that, many years later, I would sit in an audience applauding my own son.

Kimi, you make your dad proud;

not only because of this certificate, but because you stepped onto the stage your father once feared to face.

I CHING READINGOpen another reading
I CHING READING · Author’s interpretation
Hexagram 1

Qian · The Creative

Classic text · interpretive translation
Heaven moves with vigour; the noble one strives without ceasing. — Zhou Yi · Qian, Image

Qian’s initiative appears in stepping onto the stage. The father’s memory of fear reveals courage beyond the medal; two journeys illuminate each other without becoming one.

Paternal pride carries affection. The award belongs to the child, who need not repair his father’s old fear. Applause recognises the step taken and leaves the next open.

Reading in briefApplause recognises the step; the path remains his.
MUSIC VIDEO CHOSEN FOR THIS STORY

Let the Applause Begin · 掌声响起来

Fong Fei-fei · 1080p HD

My third child is on stage, and I am in the audience. The applause brings back my own first time on stage;

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READER ECHOES

What stays with you here?

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Author 04
RESTAURANTS · ARCHITECTURE · HISTORY · I CHING

Half a lifetime
of notes

Hello, I’m Wang Sanxiong — Sam 🤝

The book’s epigraph is my motto, and the starting point for how I understand life, restaurants, and entrepreneurship.

I am a Chinese immigrant living in Portugal, originally from Qingtian, Zhejiang, and a restaurant owner. I love architecture and the history behind it; I love the I Ching, and use Eastern wisdom to interpret the stories hidden behind history.

A battle for small and medium-sized restaurants to reclaim their own customer channels;
The second half of life should be more exciting than the first — that is only reasonable;

【XIAOXIONG®】

XIAOXIONG®; it is not an advertisement in this book. It is proof that, in the second half of life, I am still willing to change.

FOUNDER OF XIAOXIONGWang Sanxiong · Sam Wang
Read this ongoing practice →Chinese original →