Lam Yue Fau, a Hakka native of Fui Yong Ma On, Guangdong province, was born in 1930. He has no siblings. In 1950, in the wake of the Liberation, it was hard to make a living in Mainland China, so his father encouraged him to move to Hong Kong. During his career he has worked in the military, drove a taxi, and also ran his own food and catering business.

林悅阜，客家人，1930年出生，籍貫廣東惠陽馬鞍。家中獨子。1950年解放後內地生活困難，父親要他到香港謀生。曾在軍部工作 ，9後來曾當計程車司機，經營伙食生意。

In the 1930s Lam Yuk Sing (deceased) moved from Leung Fa village to Ma On to teach martial arts. Lam Yuk Sing was the famous master Lam Hap’s son. He taught Lam Gar Gau kung fu, which has a well-known couplet, “teachings from Hoi Fung bear an amazing career, arts from Wah Sau derive real knowledge”. Lam Yuk Sing also travelled to single-surname Hakka villages in Bo Luo and Ho Yun to teach martial arts. Back then it was necessary to pass through Ma On and then Leung Fa village when travelling from Fui Yong to Fuichiu. Nowadays it takes about thirty-five minutes to go from one village to the other by car. At the time Master Lam Yuk Sing lived in a shed next to the ancestral temple in Ma On, and his every need was attended to by his students (most of whom studied martial arts with him), who took turns to care for the master, such as preparing hot water in the morning and evening, etc. From the age of eight Lam Yue Fau started martial arts training with other young villagers, which routinely took place in the village martial arts school after dinner. Training consisted of kung fu and Hakka lion dance (called dau ngau si). This was in the early period of the Japanese occupation. His father and two uncles, Lam Kau Yong and Lam Yam Yeung, also practiced martial arts. His fourth uncle Lam Yam Yeung, in particular, was a very good martial artist. There was a gas lamp in each of the four corners in the martial arts school, and kung fu practice provided the main entertainment outside of agricultural work.

一九三零年代林玉成（已故）已經從梁化村到馬鞍教武。林玉成是林合的兒子，教的功夫就是林家拳，家傳有一對聯“學自海豐成妙業，藝從華首得真傳”。林玉成會到博羅、河源等同姓的客家村教武。當時由惠陽到惠州，先途經馬鞍之後就是梁化村，按現時車程兩村相隔三十五分鐘。林玉成師傅授武時居住在馬鞍村祠堂旁的棚屋，由徒弟們（大部份村中男丁）尊師重道，每周輪流服侍師傅，如早上要煮水給他洗臉，晚上煮水給他洗澡。林悅阜八歲時開始跟其他村民一起每天晚上，吃完晚飯後就到拳館練拳、舞獅（鬥牛獅/客家獅），那時正好是日本侵略初期。他的爸爸和兩位叔叔也一起練武功，二叔林裘勇，四叔林蔭楊，功夫學得最好的是四叔林蔭楊。拳館四個牆角各掛了一盞煤氣燈照明，練功夫成了農耕生活之餘的娛樂活動。

In 1949 the People’s Republic of China was founded. Every month hundreds of thousands of refugees rushed to Hong Kong. By the mid-1950s Hong Kong’s population reached 2.2 million. By 1956 Hong Kong became one of the most densely populated cities in the world. Lam Yue Fau fled to Hong Kong with his father in 1950, and took lodgings in Tung Tau village across from San Po Kong, where his grandfather raised pigs. In 1951 Tung Tau village caught fire so the family moved to Wong Tai Sin.

1949年，中華人民共和國成立，難民以每月十萬人的速度逃亡到香港。到一九五零年代中期，香港人口激增至二百二十萬。直至1956年，香港成了世界上人口密度最高的地方之一。10林悅阜跟父親於1950年偷渡到香港，居住在新蒲崗對面東頭村，因為爺爺在那裡養豬啊。1951年東頭村木屋大火，又搬到黃大仙住。

Before retirement Lam Yue Fou worked in the military. In 1960 the old military base on Argyle Street was gradually being phased out, so he opened a food business in Wong Tai Sing market, selling potatoes, tomatoes, etc. In 1967 riots ran amok in Hong Kong and the city was thrown into chaos, so Lam Yue Fau changed to driving a taxi. At the same time he started to teach his colleagues kung fu. In the morning he practiced on Tsz Wan Shan, and in the evening he practiced in Wong Tai Sin Morse Park. In the post-Reform period, Lam Yue Fou frequently went back to his native village. During the 80s he brough Hakka unicorns and music instruments from Hong Kong back to Mainland China. In 1990 he became fully retired. In the following decade he taught kung fu in Shatin Pass Kwun Yam Shan Tsuen.

林悅阜退休前在軍部工作，1960年代亞皆老軍營逐步關閉。他就在黃大仙街市經營伙食生意，同時買賣土豆，番茄等等。1967年暴動那年11，市區非常混亂，林悅阜改為去駕駛計程車。他開始教同行的朋友練功夫，到慈雲山上面練功夫，夜間下班後到黃大仙摩士公園練功。中國改革開放後，林悅阜常常回家鄉，1980年代他曾經從香港買了客家麒麟頭，樂器等帶回去。後來1990年他完全退休了，在沙田坳觀音山村教了十多年功夫，就是村中的客家人跟他學功夫。

Lam Yue Fou does not view himself as a professional martial art teacher, but only teaching martial arts to friends and interested young people. He is eighty-six years old this year and most of his martial art friends from his early years are no longer around. His present students come from different walks of life – policemen, bus drivers, firemen, etc. – he teaches whoever is interested to learn.

林悅阜認為自己不是以授武維持生活，只是有緣教一些朋友及有興趣習武的年青人。他已經八十六歲了，早期練武的朋友大部分都不在人世了。現在的徒弟有些做警員，有些巴士司機，有做消防員，只要願意學他就教。