Young Writer's Awards | Reimagining the story of Judge Pao

In January 2023, dozens of primary and middle school students submitted their stories and cover art for the competition – with the contest overall receiving over 1000 submissions from schools across Hong Kong, Macau, and the mainland of China. Impressively, despite the tough competition, a handful of Pao School students were shortlisted and received letters complimenting their work.

This year, the theme of the competition “New Tales of Judge Pao”, focused on the story of Judge Pao – also known as Pao Zheng, Lord Pao, and Justice Pao. Judge Pao (999-1062) was a historical figure and government official who was known for his qualities such as unparalleled honesty, fairness, and integrity. The enduring story of Judge Pao has immortalised his legacy as a personification of justice in Chinese popular culture and, over the centuries, his story has been told through various art forms, such as plays, books, films, and visual art. Interestingly, Judge Pao has a special connection to Pao School, as the school’s namesake Sir YK Pao is his 29th-generation descendant.

Alison created cover art for the competition, which took her about a week to complete after making various changes. She explains that, in books and movies powerful people often have a sun around their heads, so she decided to put include this in her depiction of Judge Pao. In addition, she used the motif of a dragon and the black and gold colouring of his clothes to be reminiscent of ancient Chinese royalty.

Emily spent about a month working on her story and was lucky to travel to Hong Kong for the awards ceremony. Her submission told the story of a young boy, who was down on his luck and had resorted to thievery. After a dream of Judge Pao giving punishment for his actions, the boy decided to change his ways. When Emily was writing, she chose to take the point of view of the thief, as she felt it was a more unique way to approach the challenge.

Jennifer, in her story, decided to write the story of Judge Pao from youth to adulthood – exploring his motivations and reasons for becoming a just and fair man. One of the core themes of the story is his love for his mother, who is falsely accused of murder, which inspires his journey to become a judge. During the writing process, Jennifer decided to combine some of the elements she most enjoyed reading about to create this story.

Emily: I took part because, when I was younger, I wanted to be a writer, to write a story or draw a comic book or something. I wanted other people to see my stories.

Jennifer: Since I've never taken part in a significant writing contest, I just wanted to try it out because I like to attempt new things.

Alison: I like expressing what I think about a character or what I am thinking about at that moment.

Jennifer: Personally, I enjoy reading a lot in my free time since I enjoy the feeling of being swept away into a fantasy world. When I’m writing my own stories, I can create my own world and become immersed in the world that I created myself.

Jennifer: When I was writing my story, I was unwell, and it was tough for me to focus and attempt to write an attention-grabbing story. However, I overcame the challenge with the motivation from my parents, who kept encouraging me throughout the time I was writing this piece.

Emily: The first challenge was that I didn't know who Judge Pao was, and what he did. So, I researched about him and read some of his stories. Also, one of our music teachers told us a story about him when we were learning about Peking Opera.