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
43 / 90
A PCP billboard shows a street demonstration behind a slogan about wages, pensions and public services; a passer-by wearing sunglasses walks in front of it
A PCP billboard shows a street demonstration behind a slogan about wages, pensions and public services; a passer-by wearing sunglasses walks in front of it
08 · 09 · 2026 · A Lisbon street · Sam Wang
LIFE NOTE

Politics

An outdoor billboard for the Portuguese Communist Party (PCP).

‘MELHORES SALÁRIOS, PENSÕES, SERVIÇOS PÚBLICOS.’ —Better wages, pensions and public services.

The billboard’s background shows a crowd in a street demonstration.

‘Can a demonstration really solve the problems?’

A passer-by in sunglasses happens to walk past;

I CHING READINGOpen another reading
I CHING READING · Author’s interpretation
Hexagram 20

Guan · Contemplation

Classic text · interpretive translation
Wind passes over the earth: Contemplation. The ancient kings travelled through the regions, observed the people and established teaching.

Guan asks for attention to living conditions. The poster gathers wages, pensions and public services; between making demands and resolving them lie organisation, negotiation and implementation.

A poster does not establish a demonstration’s effectiveness, and the passer-by declares no position. The reading calls for concrete observation of consequences, without treating enthusiasm or indifference as evidence.

Reading in briefDemands deserve a hearing; outcomes require examination.
MUSIC VIDEO CHOSEN FOR THIS STORY

Half a Catty, Eight Taels · 半斤八兩

Sam Hui · 許冠傑 · 2160p · 4K

The billboard speaks of wages; ‘半斤八兩’ sings of working life. Sam Hui’s everyday voice brings the word politics back to the month’s earnings and the daily business of living;

Quality adapts to your connection. You can select HD in the player settings.Player not working? Open the original video ↗
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 →