I can’t believe my book comes out in two months! If you want to guarantee yourself a signed preorder copy, please order from Yu and Me books directly with this link: https://www.yuandmebooks.com/preorder/p/but-what-will-people-say-signed I had a client tell me about this idea for a
I connected more with my dad when he shared the Cheng kinship book with me. It's an abridged version and a photocopy of the real thing, which details several generations of Chengs (men, of course). I knew that many of my ancestors worked for the imperial government, which meant that they had to pass exams. And this means my family is a family of scholars. One guy even represented China in several countries, travelling to Japan, the United States and Peru over a course of several years. I suppose he was a diplomat? And going to that many places in the 19th century was such a privilege and likely really strenuous (whereas today, he'd just hop on a plane and get there in less than a day)! I just wished I was able to learn more about the women, but, of course, there's very little information. I'm actually not even sure where to start! I know both my grandmothers' family names but I only know ONE great-grandmother's (my paternal grandfather's mom). I don't know my paternal grandmother's mother's name because my dad doesn't know. I don't even think he ever met her - communism closed the border between Hong Kong (then a British colony) and the mainland, where my grandmother was from. My grandfather was at least a second generation Hong Konger. I probably SHOULD know my maternal grandmother's mom's family name, but I never asked. And I probably should ask my mom. She should also know my other maternal great-grandmother's family name too. I really want to piece things together, but it can be tough when records are destroyed due to revolutions and crazy government schemes (the Cultural Revolution was the BIGGEST Cancel Culture Campaign in the last 60-70 years).
I connected more with my dad when he shared the Cheng kinship book with me. It's an abridged version and a photocopy of the real thing, which details several generations of Chengs (men, of course). I knew that many of my ancestors worked for the imperial government, which meant that they had to pass exams. And this means my family is a family of scholars. One guy even represented China in several countries, travelling to Japan, the United States and Peru over a course of several years. I suppose he was a diplomat? And going to that many places in the 19th century was such a privilege and likely really strenuous (whereas today, he'd just hop on a plane and get there in less than a day)! I just wished I was able to learn more about the women, but, of course, there's very little information. I'm actually not even sure where to start! I know both my grandmothers' family names but I only know ONE great-grandmother's (my paternal grandfather's mom). I don't know my paternal grandmother's mother's name because my dad doesn't know. I don't even think he ever met her - communism closed the border between Hong Kong (then a British colony) and the mainland, where my grandmother was from. My grandfather was at least a second generation Hong Konger. I probably SHOULD know my maternal grandmother's mom's family name, but I never asked. And I probably should ask my mom. She should also know my other maternal great-grandmother's family name too. I really want to piece things together, but it can be tough when records are destroyed due to revolutions and crazy government schemes (the Cultural Revolution was the BIGGEST Cancel Culture Campaign in the last 60-70 years).