If you grew up in a Chinese family, you’ve probably seen one of these tearaway calendars at home – or at your local Chinese restaurant or convenience store. Heck, you might’ve even used their paper-thin sheets to line the dinner table for miscellaneous food scraps like fish and chicken bones (guilty!).
However, if you’ve never bothered to read the calendar’s predictions (or simply couldn’t due to language barriers), that ubiquitous Chinese calendar is now available in English thanks to the work of writer-designer duo, Jason Soy and Sally Fung.
Through their new project, Back On The Boat, Soy and Fung are on a mission to connect Asians to their roots, with the YutLik calendar being the first project under the brand. Last year, YutLik grew their Instagram presence by posting daily snaps from the calendar and even made a push to print physical copies of the calendar in 2022 via Kickstarter.
We spoke to Sally and Jason to find out more about what inspired them to create YutLik, how accurate the predictions really are, and what they have coming up in the pipeline:
Please introduce yourselves!
J: Hi! We’re Jason and Sally. From 9 to 5, we work separately as writer and art director. From 5-9pm, we’re a team creating projects to help Asians reconnect with their roots and heritage. We work under the name Back on the Boat.
What kind of #ricefolk are you?
S: I’m Chinese.
J: I’m also Chinese.
How did you end up in Canada?
S: My family and I were part of the immigration wave to Canada in the early 1990s. My grandpa lived through the war in Hong Kong and he was worried about the political instability of Hong Kong post-handover, so he convinced my parents to immigrate to somewhere that’s a bit more stable. My parents debated between the US, Australia and Canada, and ultimately chose Canada.
J: I was born just north of Toronto but my brother and parents immigrated to Canada in the late-’80s. My family comes from Chiuchow, but like most Chinese families growing up in the ’90s, we spoke a lot of Cantonese. My parents came to Toronto with the hope of an easier and more prosperous life for my brother. It wasn’t always easy, but I’m incredibly proud of the life my parents built for us and our extended family.
Please explain what YutLik is for a total newbie?
S: YutLik is an English version of the traditional wall calendar that you normally see in Chinese restaurants, behind the cashier at your Chinatown convenience store, or your grandparents’ place.
Where did the inspo for Yut Lik come from?
J: While Sally is fluent in Chinese, I am not. That was sort of the spark for the idea, to help Asians like myself reconnect with their heritage by providing them with a Chinese auspicious calendar they can read.
S: We both work in advertising, which means a lot of our projects are tailored to Western — specifically North American — audiences. We wanted an outlet to create projects that better represented our experiences and stories. As we discussed ways to reconnect with our roots, we reminisced about the calendars that hung at our ye ye and poh poh’s places and how fun they were to rip daily and read the predictions.
J: Again, I couldn’t read the predictions, so I just had fun ripping.
How accurate are the predictions on the calendar?
S: Really depends on how much you listen to your grandparents. The predictions are based on the Chinese almanac calendar, so we’re not making them up. Our goal isn’t to deem what’s right or wrong, but rather to share the authentic YutLik experience with our followers and audience.
J: I can’t speak for the accuracy of the predictions, but I do avoid doing things on certain days if YutLik advises against it. I’d rather not take the risk, you know?
Most importantly, do you mind if we use it for scraps and bones during mealtime?
J: We don’t mind at all. We’re all about reusing.
What other products are you planning down the line for @backontheboat?
S: There are lots of things on our list that we want to do. A soup book — deep diving into the 熱 (heaty) and 涼 (cool) properties of Chinese food — and a bilingual Chinese chess set to name a few. We’re really digging deep into our childhoods to bring back some of those nostalgic things and reintroduce them to our friends that may have forgotten about them.
What are some of your favourite Asian-owned or Asian hot spots in your hometown?
J: My family’s been going to Richmond Court Restaurant for nearly two decades now, so I definitely got to give them a shoutout. When I’m craving a big bowl of noodles, Deer Garden Signatures really hits the spot. Not a shop, but I’m a huge fan of Ness Lee‘s artwork, so be sure to support her as well.
S: For me, I’m a huge fan of GoTamago‘s work and shop. Lichia’s artwork is beautiful and was an inspiration for me in starting Back on the Boat to begin with.
Wong’s Ice Cream is another favourite. They feature unique Asian flavours like White Rabbit or Black Sesame Salted Egg, but I believe they’re closing and starting a new adventure soon! Lastly Chop Chop. Whenever I want some home cooked food and dumplings that taste like home, that’s my go to.
Okay #ricefolk, what’s your favourite rice dish?
S: I’m not a good Asian. I’m not a fan of white rice. I’ll take any soup noodles over rice.
J: I’ll take soup noodles over rice as well, but I love cooking and eating Mapo Tofu with white rice.
Yutlik has already sold out of their hard copy calendars for 2022 👏👏👏 – be sure to follow them on Instagram @yutlik.calendar for daily calendar snaps and predictions!
For more info, visit yutlik.club!