| *I have been losing my memory for the last few years, and consequently, there may be inaccuracies in the following accounts. Family members are urged to make corrections and suggestions for improvements. I was born in Canton(Guangzhou) on January 18, 1932(l) to a traditional Chinese family where three or more generations lived under one roof. My Great Grand Father(曾祖) had three sons. He assigned second names for the male heirs in the next eight generations as: 敦(Dun, virtuousness), 厚(Hou magnanimity ) 傳(Chuen, Passing through), 家(Chia, family), 詩(poems),書(books), 繼 (Continue), 世 (generations). There are no records on when Great Grand Father 曾祖 moved from Zhejiang 浙江 to Canton(Guangzhou) 廣州 or where his three sons were born. My grandfather (born 7-14-1867; d xx-xx- 1939), Dun-Min 陶敦勉, was the youngest son. He studied English as well as Chinese Classics and served as a mid-level local official until after the revolution that established the Republic of China in 1912. In his retirement, he continued his passion in reading Chinese Classics, calligraphy, collection of art works and antique, horticulture, and bonsai. I remember one of the chores for me, when I was about five, was preparing ink by grinding ink sticks with a small amount of water in an ink bowl for his calligraphy. To conserve resources, Grandfather wrote on the same pieces of paper two to three times before discarding. Grandfather married my Grandmother, Yang Ching-An 楊靜安(born 9-8-1869; d xx-xx- 1947) who had three daughters and one son, To Hou-Pui 陶厚培 (born 2-24-1903; d 11-28-1955) who is the youngest for grandmother. Grandmother was a daughter of a well-to-do salt merchant. She had bound feet and was illiterate. Grandfather had two more wives lived in the same peaceful household. 2 nd Grandmother, Jak Kwok-Jen 翟國珍(born xx-xx- 18xx; d xx-xx- 195x), was literate and helped grandfather managing his rental properties in Hong Kong and Kowloon. She had a daughter, Ming-Dao, 明道 (born xx-xx- 190x; d xx-xx- 195x) who married to Wong Lap-Jan 王立贊 son of a Peking (Beijing) general. 3 d Grandmother, Tang Yuit-Shiu 鄧月笑(b xx-xx-1904; d 7-18-1969) had no children and was illiterate. She was a gifted connoisseur and served Grandfather from his private kitchen and on occasion banquets for big gatherings. My three older aunts, Ming-Hok 明學(born 189x) married to Lee Cheong-sing 李祥聲, a Chung-Shan county official; Ming-Je 明智(Dates to be added), married to a Sun Yat Shan University Mathematics Professor Chan Pei-Jing 陳沛京; and Ming-Yip 明業(Dates to be added), married to a country land owner-farmer, Mak Jig-Wai 麥植槐. They had several children. Being the sole male heir, Father was not spoiled by my grandparents. My Parents were married in Shanghai in 1923. Mother, Shen Ken-Yue 沈謹如(born, 8-22-1902; d, 1-1-1972) was the second daughter of a Ching dynasty court official who later supported the 1911 revolution and the Republic proclaimed in 1912. Mother had bound feet too but was liberated when she was a toddler. Mother was born in Shu-Chou (蘇州) and followed Grandfather Shen's appointments to various provinces in China and was thus fluent in many dialects except Cantonese. After their wedding in Shanghai, My parents returned to Canton and integrated into To's family. Perhaps for relieving mother language difficulties, the Shen family allowed mother to bring with her to Canton a wet nurse and her son and daughter-in-law. They seem to have learned the Cantonese dialect without too much difficulty. Soon after my parents return to Canton, Father enrolled in a law school and Mother went to a teacher's school for women. After their graduation, they became civil employees. Mother's decision to work outside home was a rare one for her time. Furthermore, there was not much household work to be done since several servants took care of their individual assigned chores. The birth of Big Sister, Wei-Ping (惠平), the first grandchild (paternal), in 1927 must have been an excitement for Grand Father and the family. After Wei-Ping, my brothers and I were born within less than 5 years. I have little recollection of life in Canton before the Japanese invasion army marched south toward Canton. I learned from Grandma Yuit-Shiu that, after I was born, Mother had a daughters and a son who died in their infancy and another daughter didn’t live beyond a toddler. Superstitions had that because of my heavy feet, I trampled my younger siblings. The remedy was beating of my shoes. Perhaps because of Mother’s work, brother Kam and me were nursed by our wet nurses. Sister Ping was fed cow’s milk. Brother Lim was nursed by Mother herself and was the favorite of Grandma. My kindergarten education was probably short because I didn’t like strangers and would not stop crying when my courier left. In 1937, the family fled the Japanese to safety in Hong Kong where Grandpa had properties. In 1938, I was sent to a girl’s primary school within easy walking distance. The same year, Ching was born. Grandpa named her Kong-Sang (港生), for her Hong Kong birth and was very fond of the new grand daughter. After a long illness, Grandpa died in 1939. He was bed-ridden for months and was attended to by both English and Chinese physicians at home. Funeral services were also performed at home with Buddish and Taos chanting. After the funeral, the casket was brought down from the upper floor via a bamboo scarfolding and steps onto the street to lead the procession. The desire of the family to have Grandpa buried in Canton necessitated the temporary xxxxxxxxxx of the casket at a xxxxxxxxxxx. |