Pouring Night Fragrance

Do you know that there is similar euphemism for “collecting night soil” in Hong Kong?

We use the term 倒夜香 (“pouring night fragrance”).

When flush toilets were not common (or before they were invented), we just…er, “respond to the nature’s call” by using spittoons. Then we had the excretions sealed in some containers and had the cleaners collected them at night. The older generations would probably still remember the days when the cleaners covered their mouths and noses with towels, came pounding on the door and yell倒夜香呀 (“I come to pouring the night fragrance!”) every night.

This is more or less the same for the whole world, even though the name and practice may vary from places to places. As the technologies advance, these kinds of jobs are not needed anymore, especially for modern cities like Hong Kong.

…Or so you would think. What if I tell you that there is still someone responsible for this task in Hong Kong? According to the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department, there are still five places in Hong Kong that require manual collection of excretions, and Mr. Wong is the man for the job. He is the only excretion collector left in the city and has to travel around Hong Kong every night to collect the unwanted. While the job is torturing on different levels, Mr. Wong said that is “better than it seems” as he only has to manage these five spots. Well, at least Mr. Wong is not complaining…

Not all heroes wear capes.

There are some who wear plastics gloves and face masks.

Our comfortable lives owe a lot to these who can…um, bear the unbearable.

They deserve some claps.

Or at least some deodorants.