The koi, or Japanese carp, is a propitious ornamental fish that can live to more than 50 years. In a pool of koi with single colour, the one in silvery white with red-orangey patch stands out. Dubbed the ‘Lynx-Eyed Calligrapher’, Professor Wan Wing-sum was skilled in micro-calligraphy, cramming 3,000 characters into a square-inch space of square – a feat he had honed since the age of 12, and at the age of 19 was hailed to have mastered the Lingnan Style. For this prowess, he was awarded the Gold Medal of Arts by China’s Ministry of Education. He had shown in more than 100 exhibitions all over the world, including Malaysia, since his first solo in his birthplace in Hong Kong in 1938, His demonstration on calligraphy was recorded in films by Warner Brothers when he visited Hollywood in the 1950s.