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
04 / 90
The oceanarium over the water, with grey walls, glass façades, an extending roof, masts and cables; two distant cable cars appear on the left.
The oceanarium over the water, with grey walls, glass façades, an extending roof, masts and cables; two distant cable cars appear on the left.
06 · 10 · 2026 · Parque das Nações · Lisbon Oceanarium · Sam Wang
LIFE NOTE

Oceanarium

The oceanarium in Parque das Nações stands over the water. On either side of the building, the staggered grey walls are missing the words “Oceanário de Lisboa”.

The roof extends outwards; slender masts and cables rise against blue sky and white clouds. The darkness behind the glass and the light on the water each occupy their own space.

“In the distance, two cable cars glide towards the end of the line;”

🚠🚠……

I CHING READINGOpen another reading
I CHING READING · Author’s interpretation
Hexagram 22

Bi · Adornment

Classic text · interpretive translation
White adornment, no blame. — Zhou Yi · Bi, top line (nine)

Bi considers adornment and substance. “White adornment, no blame” offers a way to read the building without its name: grey walls, glass, roof and cables still form a recognisable outline. Words help identify it; architecture also expresses itself. This does not make signage useless, nor can the photograph tell us why it is absent.

The note moves from the missing words to the cable cars still travelling in the distance. A change in signage catches the author’s eye while daily life around it continues. Read through Bi, the distinction worth making is whether the building itself has changed, or the way we recognise it.

Reading in briefThe name helps us identify it; the outline also speaks.
MUSIC VIDEO CHOSEN FOR THIS STORY

Boundless Sea and Sky · 海阔天空

Beyond

Beyond’s “Boundless Sea and Sky” accompanies the blue sky and water before us. The music keeps the distant cable cars company without imposing a conclusion on this everyday scene.

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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 →