Adeline Yen Mah
Adeline yen mah var en uønsket datter av en velstående kinesisk familie. Henne har skrevet 2 autobiografier; Falling Leaves, og Chinese Cinderella. Dette er på en måte en forkortelse av bøkerne.
Born in 1937 in Tianjin, China, Adeline Yen Mah was the youngest child of an affluent Chinese family. Her mother died two weeks after her birth, and was therefore considered to be a source of bad luck by her family. Her mother had said to Adeline's aunt Baba shortly before her death "I've run out of time. After I'm gone, please help look after our little friend here who will never know her mother" And so she did.
After her death, Joseph, Adeline's father, met seventeen-year-old Jeanne Virginie Prosperi, the daughter of a French father and a Chinese mother. Joseph was enchanted by her looks, and during the 1930's, everything western was considerer superior to anything Chinese. A young, beautiful and aducated European wife was the ultimate status symbol. Joseph started to buy more and more expensive gifts to her, and they spent more and more time together. The wedding ceremony held place at Notre-Dame des Victoires Catholic church. Since Adeline's elder sister and brothers frequently spoke of their own dead mother, whom they called mother, their grandmother told them to refer to Jeanne as Niang, another term for mother. Niang gave all the 5 children European names, and overnight, Adeline's sister, Jun-Pei became Lydia, her brothers Zi-jie, Zi-lin, and Zi-jun were named Gregory, Edgar, and James. Adeline was at birth named Jun-ling by her mother, but Niang named her Adeline.
In 1939 Tianjin was drowned in a great flood, and caused Joseph, which I from now will refer to as Father, to construct a high wooden platform connecting his two houses. Niang had just given birth to Adeline's half-brother, Franklin. Niang had little sympathy for all the difficulty the servants faced. The Cook was expected to reach the market every morning and return home with groceries, on a little raft nailed together with planks. When Ye Ye, Adeline's grandfather, who lived with Father, Niang and all their children along with aunt Ba Ba and Grandmother, pointed out the dangers of these shopping expeditions, Niang simply replied that the cook was a good swimmer, and did not see fit to arrange for a rowing boat to be put at his disposal. Adeline's half-sister Susan was born in November 1941, the youngest of their generation.
Adeline's own memories of Tianjin are rather vague. Early photographs show a solemn little girl with clenched fists and pressed lips. She enjoyed school and looked forward to going there. Adeline and Lydia where pulled there and back daily in Grandmother's black rickshaw.
Lydia was, according to Adeline, an imposing, rather intimidating figure. Lydia liked to excersice her authority and frequently asked Adeline "Who made you?" To this, she would reply "God make me" This made Lydia ask "Why did God make you?" Adeline would not reply and Lydia would therefore call her stupid and slap her. Adeline's eldest brother, Gregory had a sunny personality and the ability to turn ordinary occasions into merry parties.
Being the eldest son in China ment that he was the favourite of Father, as well of Grandmother and Grandfather Ye Ye. Edgar was the sibling Adeline feared most. He bullied Adeline and James and used them as punchbags to vent their frustration. He was a deeply insecure but possesed enough fortitute to maintain a passing grade. James, Adeline's third elder brother was her hero and only friend. They used to play together for hours and develop a closeness, confiding to one another their dreams and fears.
Of Niang's two children, she openly favoured Franklin. In physical appearence he was the same image as Niang. He was handsome boy with round eyes and a pert upturned nose. Susan was at this time just a baby, but was still considered special.
Adeline always felt more comfortable with her friends at school than at home, where she was considered inferior and insignificant, partly because the bad luck she had brought by causing the death of their mother. At St Joseph's, the school Adeline attended, marks where added together every Friday, and the girl with the highest total recieved a silver medal which she could wear pinned on her breast pocket for the entire week. Father immideatly noticed when she wore the medal, and was the only time he showed pride in her. He would teasingly say "Something is so shiny on your dress. It's blinding me! Now what could that be? Or "Isnt't the left side of your chest heavier?" Soon Adeline was wearing the medal almost continuosly. At prizegiving at the end of 1941, when Adeline was 4 years old, her name was mentioned for winning the scholarship medal for more weeks than any other student in the school. She would then feel triump and pride, but no one from her family attended, not even Father.
At the beginning of 1942, the Japanese were taking closer looks at Father's books, demanding that his business would be merged with a Japanese company. Father could be nominally in charge, but profits would be split 50/50. This was an order. Refusal would have led to confiscation of assests, or jail. One day, Father took a letter to the post office and never returned home. Ye Ye went to the local police office and reported his son missing. He placed advertisements in the newspapers offering a reward for knowledge about Fathers whereabouts. Without Father, his company, Joseph Yen & Company, floundered, and business dwindled. The Japanese soon lost interest.
Father had made his way down to that time Japanese-occupied Shanghai under another name. He bought what was to become their family home on Avenue Joffre. Soon afterwards he sent for Niang and Franklin, who travelled with a couple of trusted employees of Father, and joined him there. The rest of the family was stranded in Tianjin. Aunt Baba ran the house, and encouraged the children to invite friends home to play, something which Niang would never have tolerated. Meal times were very informal and the adults talked and played mah-jong late into the evening. A chauffeur was hired and on Sundays, and Aunt Baba, and the rest of the family except Father, Niang and Franklin, where driven to various restaurants to try out different cuisines. Father was keen on the rest of the family joining him in Shanghai. After dinner one hot day, 2 July 1943, when they where planning next days meal with the cook, Grandmother developed a headache. She went to her room and Aunt Baba sat by and narrated a story. Grandmother removed her shoes, stockings and bindings from her tiny damaged feet before laying them in warm water ro relieve the constant ache.
At the age of three, Grandmother 's feet were bound tightly with a long cloth bandage, forcing the four toes under the soles so that only the big toe protruded. This bandage was tigthened daily for a number of years, squeezing the toes inwards and arresting the foots growth in order to achieve the tiny feet so prized by Chinese men. This was a symbol of their family's wealth, aswell as their ubservience. This caused pain through all of Grandmothers life.
After Grandmother had laid her feet in the water, Aunt Baba went to take her own bath. Not long afterwards Ye Ye hammered on the door. Grandmother was twitching , froathing at her mouth. Doctors were called, but it was already too late. Gradmother never regained consciousness, and died from a massive stroke.
Grandmother's body was placed in a coffin in the livingroom. Her photograph sat on top and the coffin was decorated by white flowers, candles, fruits and banners made of white silk. Siz buddhist monks came to keep watch. The children were told to sleep on the floor in the same room to keep her company. Next day there was a grand funeral. The funeral marked the end of an era. The carefree years of childhood were soon to be over.
One day in August 1943, Lydia, Gregory, Edgar and Adeline were taken to the railwaystation with their bags. They stood by the platform with the placard "To Shanghai" In a first-class compartment marked "Soft Beds" they found Father dressed in black. His eyes were red, he had been crying. He had come to escort them to Shanghai. Ye Ye, aunt Baba and Susan would remain in Tianjin for two more months to observe the traditional Buddhist hundred-day mourning period for Grandmother. James who suffered from measles was to stay behind and travel with them later. When Father, Lydia, Gregory, Edgar and Adeline arrived in Shanghai, Father took them to the house he had purchased. The house was situated deep in the heart of the French Concession. The house had three floors. Upstairs on the first floor, Father and Niang occupied the best room. James nick-named their bedroom the "Holy of Holies". Franklin and Susan's room was also located on the same floor. The other children along with Aunt Baba and Ye Ye shared the second floor. Aunt Baba and Adeline shared the same room, while Ye Ye got his own, Gregory, Edgar and James shared another. It was understood that the second-class residents where not allowed to set foot in "Holy of Holies" However, they, the first-class (and first-floor) residents roamed their quarters at will. Later Lydia was given a room on the first floor, and went over to "their side".
Adeline's new school, Sheng Xin (Sacred Heart) primary school was one and a half miles away from home. On the first day, the cook took Adeline on his handlebars on his bike on the way to the market. In Ye Ye and aunt Baba's absence, no one remembered to pick her up. When school was finished, all the other first graders were greeted by their mothers at the gate. Adeline hesitantly strode into the streets of Shanghai. Luckily, a lady from a restuanrant asked her "Are you meeting your mother here?" Too terrified to answer, she lowered her head. "Come in" She said, and she followed. She spotted a phone, and dialled her home number. Father answered the phone. He was quite calm and he soon came and fethced her up with his car. She learned from this experience to rely on herself. She learnt how to read a map by Gregory, and never got lost again.
Two months later, Ye Ye, aunt Baba, James and Susan arrived from Tianjin. Niang had been seperated from her daughter since the spring of 1942, when Susan was just a couple of months old. She was dressed in pretty clothes by aunt Baba for the occasion. To Susan, Niang was a complete stranger. When Niang attempted to pick her up, she wriggled and resisted with all her might. Finally she burst into tears screaming "I don't want you! Aunt Baba! Aunt Baba!"
Niang slapped her, only causing Susan to cry louder. Niang then began a vicious beating of her daughter, slapping her little cheeks, ears and head. Everyone in the room cowered. No one dared to stop this tortue. Not Father, not Ye Ye or Aunt Baba. Suddenly forgetting who she was and where she was, Adeline blurted out "Don't beat her anymore. She's only a baby!" This interrupded Niang's frenzy, but instead she now became the target of her fury.
Niang turned around and glared fiercely at Adeline. Aunt Baba gave her a warning look to say no more. When Grandmother had gone, Niang was alone in total control. "Get out!" she screamed. "Get out of my sight at once! How dare you open your mouth?" As Adeline hurried out trhough the door, Niang shouted out "I shall never forget or forgive your insolence! Never! Never! Never!" This was how the family was reunited in Shanghai during October 1943.
The children were not given tram fare, but begged Ye Ye for the fare, and were all given a small sum every evening. The children were in habit of asking Ye Ye for some pocket money, and he would often slip in an extra coin in to see the joy in their eyes. One day the topic of pocket money came to Father and Niang. He asked the children what they needed pocket money for. "First there is the matter of the tram fare to and from school" Lydia answered.
"Tram fare?" Niang asked. "Who gave you permission to ride the tram?" She continued.
"It's so far to St John's" Gregory said. "If we had to walk, it would take us all morning. No sooner we would get there we'd have to start back home again. We might as well not go to school at all, and just go for a long walk everyday for exercie" "Don't talk nonsense" Father exclaimed. "You're always exaggerating. Walking is good for your health" Gregory then muttered under his breath "I hate walking, especially in the early morning. It's a waste of time" "Are you contradicting your father?" Niang thundered. "Your father works day and night to support all of you in this house. If he decides you should walk to school, then you will walk to school. Do you hear?" Lydia finally told that Ye Ye had been giving them tram fares now for two months. Niang got furious! "We're going to teach you some facts of life... We're not saying you will get tram fares, but we want each of you to come to us individually . Apologize for your past behaviour. Admit that you have been spoilt. Turn over a new leaf. Come to us and beg for your tram fare and we might just give it to you, but you have to learn that a tram fare is not a birth right. We'll only give it if you show enough repetance" All the children held their breath. Niang had become the matriarch of the family. Through the years Adeline lived in Shanghai, she could never make herself go to Niang and beg for her tram fare.
Niang's new strategy was to divide and rule. After Lydia was given a brand new very own writing desk and a new room, she became on Niang's side. Lydia excelled in English, but performed rather poorly in maths and science. Father asked her to helt Gregory with his English homework. Their English lessons became shouting matches. Lydia slapped Gregory. He stood up and gripped her healthy right arm (Her left was semi-paralysed) "If you do that again, I'm going to knock you down with my fist. Now get out of my room!"
Lydia went to report to Niang. When Father came home Gregory was told to stand in a corner and face the wall for 30 minutes. Undeniably, Lydia had become a member of Niang's élite world.
Aunt Baba was always like a mother to Adeline. Now they drew even closer. She paid the greatest attention to everything about her; her appearance, health, personality and most of all to her education. Aunt Baba checked Adeline's homework every evening and was determined that she one day would gain a college degree- the ticket to escape, independence and limitless achievement. Nothing ever seemed to please Father and Niang, nor any of her siblings, but Adeline never ceased to believe that if she tried hard enough, one day, the family would be proud of her. At school she gained the nickname "geinous" because she became top in every subject, but art.
One day, when one of Father's colleagues came to visit, brought a gift in a large box which they found seven little ducklings. As usual, Franklin and Susan chose first, then Lydia, Gregory, Edgar and James took their pick, and last it was Adeline's turn. She was left with the smallest and weakest little bird. She fell in love with it and named it Precious Little Treasure, or PLT for short. PLT soon meant everything for Adeline. She used to race home from school to take PLT in her hands and cuddle with her. She even used to do her homework with PLT. Aunt Baba made Adeline believe that she was brilliant. She recieved an A in all subjects except art, where she got a B+. One day, after Jackie, Father's favoutite pet had recieved obedience courses, he wanted to test him. He asked Gregory to run up and pick up one of the 7 ducklings. Adeline knew PLT was doomed. She was put on the lawn not many metres away from Jackie. In one powerful leap, he attacked PLT. Adeline felt heartbroken. PLT died early next morning.
Adeline, and the other children were not allowed to have either guests or go out after school. When she was 10, one of her class mates har invited her to go to her birthday party, which happened on a special holiday for the nuns at the Sacred Heart school. Since Niang did not know that they had the day off, Adeline thought she could avoid detection if she planned carefully. However, it did not turn that way, and Adeline got caught. Niang got furious and told her "You're not only a thief and a liar, but a manipulate as well. The problem is that you have bad blood from your mother. Nothing will come of you! I don't think you deserve to be housed and fed here! I think you belong in an orphanage! Actually, Adeline had not stolen anything, but had a silver dollar she had saved up to buy her friend a birthday party. When Father came home, she got punished.
Another incident like this happened two days later, when Adeline had become the class president, after had topping the class for the past four years, her friends decided to secretly follow her home and give her a surprise celebration party. Five minutes after Adeline had entered the house, the doorbell rang. The maid opened the door and told Adeline that a crowd of her friends from school had come to see her, and that Niang was home, as well as Father. Adeline went down and greeted her friends. They were so happy and exited to notice her silence. They surrounded her shouting out their congratulations full of joy and laughter. At that moment, the maid told Adeline that Niang wanted to see her. She went up the stairs and entered Niang and Fathers bedroom. As she tried to close the door, Niang replied with grotesque sweetness "Leave the door open. There are noe secrets in our home" "Who are these hooligans downstairs in the living room?" Niang demanded loudly seething with anger. "They are my friends" she replied. "Who invited them?" "No one did. I was elected as class president, and they decided to celebrate it" "Is this party your idea?" Niang asked her. "No"
Adeline replied
"Come here!" she screamed. She slapped her face so hard that she was knocked off balance. "You're lying" she continued. "You planned it, didn't you, to show off our house to your penniless classmates. You thought we would not be home" "No Niang, I didn't" She could not hold her tears anymore. "Your father works so hard for all of you. He comes to have a nap and there's not a moment of peace. This is intolerable! You know very well that you're not allowed to invite any of your friends home. How dare you invite them into the living-room?" "I've already told you that I didn't invite them! My friends know that I'm not allowed to go to their homes after school, so they probably decided to come here. They did not know it is fobidden" Niang slapped her again, this time with the back of her hand across her other cheek. "Liar! You planned it all to show off! I'll teach you to be so sneaky! You go downstairs right now and tell those hooligans to leave our house this minute. And tell them never to come again. Never! Never! Never! They are not welcome!" Adeline went down to her friends. They had heard it all. Adeline told them that her father wanted to sleep, and asked them to leave. She collected her presents and mounted the stairs. Father summoned Adeline in to their bedroom. "Your Niang and I," Father began, "Are very upset at your behaviour and your attitude. You invited your little friends here this afternoon, didn't you?" She silently shook her head in denial. "Put them on the bed" Father ordered. "Open them" Adeline did as told and opened the presents. She had to trow it all in the wastepaper basket. "Why should your friends come here and give you gifts?" Niang asked. "I suppose because we won the election today. Im now class president. We worked hard at it..."
"Stop bragging!" Niang screamed. "How dare you!" No matter what a big shot you think you are, you are nothing without your father. Nothing! Nothing! Nothing! Father then said quietly "Your Niang and I are very upset that you tried to turn all your friends against us and plotted for them to come here to insult us" "But I did nothing of that sort" Adeline silently replied.
"Stop contradicting your father! You are getting altogether too cenceited! What are you? A princess of some sort that all your classmates should come here to pay your tribute?" This discussion continued on for a little while longer, Niang accusing Adeline of lying. Adeline apologized at last to Niang, but was aware of the fact that she would not stay in that house for very long.
Adeline's elder sister, Lydia did not do well in school. With her handicapped left arm, her prospects were not promising. Father and Niang feared for her future. They decided to arrange an early marriage. On their next visit to Tianjin they took Lydia and introduced her to Samuel Sung. He was already 31 years old, three years older than Niang. According to Lydia, Niang practically forced her to marry him. Since it would be difficult to get a job with her crippeled left arm, there was no point in wasting money on college education. They had a big wedding in 1948 with over five hundred guests, all Chinese. As promised, Lydia was given a dowry of 20 000 US dollars, an enormous sum in those days. She and Samuel moved directly to Tianjin after the wedding and lived with Samuel's parents. Adeline was not to see them again for thirty-one years.
Father thought Adeline had become very rebellious lately, and wanted to send her away. "Her presence is just like a thorn in their side. She annoys them by simply being around. They're sending her away because they want to be rid of her" Those were the words Ye Ye said to Aunt Baba not long before she got sent away as a boarder at St Joseph's in Tianjin.
In December 1948 Father, Niang, Franklin, and Susan left from Shanghai to Hong Kong due to the Cultural Revolution. Gregory educated from middle school in 1950, and under Father's instructions, he and Edgar went to Tianjin by train and got some western-style suits, made by their uncle Pierre. Thereafter they went by boat to Hong Kong. Three weeks later they were sent to England for further studies. James remained at school back in Shanghai for another year, and left in July 1951. A special pass was needed to get into Hong Kong which James and uncle Frederick, whom he travelled with, lacked. They were finally smuggled across in a leaky boat in the dead of the night. Luck was with them and sailed peacefully into Hong Kong harbour. Back in Shanghai aunt Baba was now left alone with the three maids.
Father and Niang took Adeline to Tianjin in September 1948 at the height of the Civil War. Tianjin's population swelled by 10 per cent within a matter of months. Against this backdrop Niang enrolled Adeline at St Joseph's. There were only about a hundred pupils left. Adeline was one of four boarders; the rest were day girls. Over the next few weeks, the number of girls dwindled, and soon all the girls were gathered in one classroom, ranging in age from seven to eighteen. No Chinese was spoken, nor taught at St Joseph's while Adeline attended. This upset her. Chinese had been the language of instruction at her primary school in Shanghai. English was a second language, and French was never taught. Adeline wrote long letters, begging for a few kind words from home. Day after day she waited for her name when mail was distributed. No letter ever came. Adeline did not know of her parents' instructions to the nuns that she was to recieve no visitors, no phone calls and no mail. Meanwhile the Communists were sweeping past the Great Wall and heading towards Beijing and Tianjin, Adeline was stuck behind convent gates. Many students and their families fled to Taiwan and Hong Kong, and formal classes were abandoned. They spent their time reading English books of their choice. During an informal conversation in class one day, the teacher asked us each to name one favourite book. Everyone laughed when Adeline told that her favourite was the dictionary. The teacher also asked them what they would wish for if they could have one wish granted. Adeline wanted most of all to recieve a letter adresses to her. Just one letter. From anyone.
More and more girls left the school as the Communist armies approached. At St Joseph's girls simply failed to appear at class. The nuns were advised by their superiors in France to leave Tianjin and save themselves from persecution. Adeline spent every Sunday and every holiday by herself in the school. All other boarders would go home to their families. Adeline was not to accept any inviations from her friends, and the nuns did not know what to do with her. She just sat in the library reading books and wandering from classroom to classroom like a ghost.
There were no more classes, and every day was a "free" day.
Suddenly one morning Niang's elder sister, Reine, appeared in the lobby of her school. Adeline was overjoyed because she had had no visitors since her admission. Though Adeline hardly knew her, she wept when she saw her. She was preparing to leave Tianjin with her husband and two children when she remembered that Adeline was stranded at St Joseph's.
On her own initiative without consulting anyone, Reine took Adeline out of school.
Reine, her husband Jean Schilling, and their two children boarded a ship for Hong Kong with Adeline a few days later.
Father, Niang, Ye Ye, Franklin and Susan were living in a rented second-floor flat in Kowloon, Hong Kong. Niang took the Schilling family sightseeing in their chaffeur-driven car every day. Adeline was left behind with Ye Ye and the servants. Politely, Niang would ask Ye Ye if he wished to accompany them. He always declined. Adeline was never invited, and it was automatically assumed that the excursions did not include her. Secretly Adeline was pleased. She liked to be with her grandfather Ye Ye. At Sunday breakfast, Niang suggested that they all had lunch at the luxurious Repulse Bay Hotel on Hong Kong Island. Everyone piled into Father's large car, except Adeline. She was the only one left behind, standing forlornly at the kerb with the servants. Victor, Reine and Jean's son spoke up.
"It's not fair, Maman" he said in French to his mother. "Why does Adeline never get to go anywhere with us?" Niang replied in French that she did not get to go because the car was too crowded. "What about yesterday, and the day before, and the day before that?" Victor demanded in French. "Get in the car, Victor!" Reine ordered. "It's just not fair" Victor persisted. "Why is she always the one left behind?" "Because that's the way it is" Niang replied rather sharply in French. "You either come with us now or you can stay home with her" "In that case, I think I'll keep Adeline company" Victor climbed out of the car and stood by Adeline's side as the car drove away. Adeline never forgot his chivalry.
Two days after the departure of the Schilling family, Niang ordered Adeline to pack her belongings. She was being taken away.When Adeline was admitted at the Sacred Heart Convent School and Orphanage there were 66 boarders. Throughout the years she spent there, she never overcame the fear of being transferred to the orphanage section. She would then cost her father nothing.
Ye Ye was a devout buddhist and spoke neither English nor Cantonese. He had no friends, and could hardly communicate with the maids. His only pleasures were his meals, his cigar, and writing and recieving letters from aunt Baba. In his last years he developed diabetes.
Ye Ye had a sweet tooth, so it was hard for him to be deprived one of his few pleasures.
Ye Ye died on March 27th 1952 from the complications of his diabetes. At the funeral, Adeline wept, and Niang whispered angrily "What are you crying about?" She turned to Father. "I do think Adeline is getting uglier and uglier as she grows older and taller. Just look at her!" When Ye Ye died Father was too busy to inform aunt Baba himself. Instead, she recieved a second-hand letter written by one of Father's employees.
After the funeral, she went to the house. Niang called Adeline into the living room and told her that she should spend more time grooming herself. "No man wants an ugly bride. Your father has seven children to support. Thank goodness Lydia is married off. However, there are still six left. It is not too early to be thinking of your future. What plans do you have?" Adeline muttered something about attending university like her brothers, preferably in England. "Your father," Niang interrupted, "does not have an endless supply of money. We have decided that you should learn shorthand and typing and find yourself a job" Adeline was determined to attend college. Back in the convent school, she wrote letters to Father and Niang, begging them to allow her to go to London, enclosing report cards filled with with prizes and awards. One Saturday a month later, a nun came and told Adeline that a car was waiting for her. Adeline did not know that she had been nominated first-prize winner of a play-competition she had entered seven months earlier. The review board wrote to the Hong Kong educational department which released it to the newspapers. The competition was open to students all over the English-speaking world, and yet, a Chinese was nominated first-prize.
Father had sent for Adeline after having read a newspaper article about her. He was really proud of her at that time. He wanted to talk about her future. "Father, please let me go to England to study. Please let me go to university" "Well, I do believe you have potential" He replied "Tell me about your career plans. what subjects do you wish to pursue?" Adeline then said boldly "I think I'll study literature. I shall become a writer." Father did not like that idea. Instead, he wanted Adeline to go to England with James to study medicine. In August 1952 they sailed together on the P & O SS Canton to England. When they arrived in Southampton they took a train bound for London.
After Adeline and James left for England, Franklin dominated the household. Niang indulged his every wish and gave him large sums of pocket money, while Susan got nothing. One day, when Franklin was thirteen, returning home from a birthday party, the chaffeur drove past a strawberry field. Franklin ordered him to stop the car and went out and bought two large boxes. On the way home, he ate every single strawberry. A few days later, he developed a sore throat and a fever. Father and Niang were not home, so he put on his roller skates and went outside under the hot sun. When he got home he had a severe headache. When Niang came back, three hours later, Franklin was delirious and made strange sounds. He was soon admitted to hospital. Franklin had polio, which he had probably got from those unwashed strawberry he had eaten earlier that day. Niang practically lived in the hospital room, and one day when Franklin seemed to appear better, Niang went to a ball which was to be the social event of the year. Later that evening, Franklin died. Whatever love Niang was capable of perished with her son. Father started taking Susan everywhere, proud of his daughter. This aggravated Niang.
Father had enrolled Adeline at Rye St Antony, a Catholic boarding school in Oxford. At the age of 17, she was admitted to University College in Bloomsbury where Edgar was enrolled. It was a wonderful period of Adeline's life, the world of science was opening to her. One of Adeline's lecturers was the 34 year old German Karl Decker. He lived for his work, spending 14 hour days in the lab, including Saturdays and some Sundays. Karl was Adeline's first love, her teacher and a good friend. Although Karl encouraged Adeline to go out with Chinese boys her age, things did not work out very well, and she would go back to Karl. In 1963 she left from England to Hong Kong.
Adeline had been offered a job as an assistant lecturer in the Internal Medecine Department. Father did not like this, and wanted her to consider obsterics and gynaecology instead. Adeline had forgotten that Father had already skretched out her career 11 years ago. The salary was insultingly low, and the job was only offered because Adeline was Father's daughter. Father would lose face if she rejected his offer, and all she wanted was that Father would be proud of her. It obviously meant a lot to him for her to work for his friend. Needless to say, she accepted his offer.
Adeline's work was physically demanding, but not intellectually challenging. Sexual discrimination was blatant. Male doctors earned 25 per cent more than female doctors of the same rank. Adeline was not at all popular. Her colleagues resented her because she was not Cantonese, and her degree was from London, and not Hong Kong.
Adeline was determined to get out of Hong Kong, and applied a several number of hospitals in America. Most of the replies suggested a starting date in July the following year. However, the Presbyterian Hospital in Philadelphia accepted her to begin a residency in obsterics immediatly. Not long afterwards she left to Philadelphia.
Martin, an American friend she had met while working in Hongkong, came to meet her at the ariport and drove her to his house. There Adeline met Byron. Adeline and Byron went very well together, and just six weeks after they met, they got married in the City Hall in
New York.
Two weeks after their wedding, when Adeline was doing his laundry, she found a letter from Chase Manhattan bank in his pocket saying his account was cancelled because it was overdrawn. When she telephoned him at the engineering firm he claimed he worked, she was informed that he only came on a part-time basis. Byron's main job was that of a waiter in a Chinese restaurant. Adeline decided to confront him, because he had not been entirely truthful at the cinema. "There is nothing to discuss" he scowled. "Besides, I married you, didn't I? What else do you want?" "I want to understand you, just as I hope you'll try to understand me." "I don't feel like talking now. Can we watch the movie?" Byron replied. "Can we talk after the movie?" "No! I want you to understand that when I say no I mean no. There's nothin further to discuss" "What's this, a dictatorship? Are we husband and wife, or master and slave?" He then left his jacket and gloves in the cinema, rose up and left.
Adeline decided to humour him and play the submissive Chinese wife. The alternative would be a divorce. Adeline could not admit her failure to Father and Niang. She made up her mind to save her marriage, whatever the cost.
In 1965 they moved to Long Beach, California, and by October, Adeline was pregnant. Adeline applied and was accepted at Orange County General Hospital, University of California, Irvine. They bought a house in Fountain Valley, and were overjoyed by setting down their roots in America. Although Adeline felt like a total stranger with Byron, she never made a big deal of the issues they had. He was gone for many days at times without informing her, and got often agressive towards her. Although their marriage was a sham, they seemed like a nice family on the outside. Labour pains began on June 8th 1966. That night, their son Roger was born.
In October 1970, Father and Niang were on a world trip and decided to pay a visit to Adeline and Byron. They brought six suitcases, and Niang insited on staying in Universal City, a hotel owned by their rich American friends, the Jules Steins. After having eaten dinner at a fancy restaurant, when Adeline was driver Father and Niang back to their hotel, Father asked Adeline if she knew who had paid the dinner at the restaurant. Adeline did not know, somewhat defensively she answered "I really don't know. Does it matter?" "Sometimes," he advised "it is wise to pay attention to money matters. At present your career is just starting to take off. You're young and healthy. The whole world is at your feet. If you are careful, you have the opportunity to build up a large fortune. But it won't always be like that. One day you will become old and feeble. Be sure you are prepared when that day arrives. You must arrange things so that you have control over your own money. Trust on one. People change and their feelings change also" Niang nodded in agreement "This husband of yours... Is he all right? I mean, is he perpahs a little cracked in the head?" "The block you showed us two days ago" Father said, "The one you are thinking of buying. Whose name will be on the deed as the legal owner?" "I have put both names down as the buyers, Father" Adeline answered truthfully. "What you are doing is unwise and will lead to complications" Father advised. "When Byron was in Hong Kong, he and his father had told us they had bought a property in Kowloon. Is your name on the deed there?" Adeline was shocked. "I don't think so, Father. Byron never asked me to sign any papers" "Then why are you putting his name on your apartments when he has not contributed one cent towards your purchase? Don't be so naive, Adeline! Don't think you are above these money matters, because you are not. Consult a good lawyer and make sure the property is in your name and your name alone. Do you hear?" Father said. As they approached the hotel, Niang added "There is something not quite right about that husband of yours. Remember, no matter what happens, your parents will always be your parents. Listen to your father and do what he says." Those were the kindest words Niang ever said to Adeline.
A few days later, Adeline got divorce papers and showed them to Byron. He offered not to contest the suit if Adeline signed over half her share of the Fountain Valley house, and if she promised not to make demands for child support. After the divorce, Byron never wrote nor saw his son again.
In 1965, Gregory married a Chinese girl named Matilda. Her parents were overjoyed when she married into the Yen family. At that time, Father was one of Hong Kong's moneyed elite, and Gregory being the oldest, his heir apparent. Father made Gregory manager of his Nigerian enamelware factory and Gregory and Matilda moved to Nigeria. Matilda got pregnant and they moved to Canada. Gregory suggested that James took over the factory temporarily, and so he did. Father and Niang moved to Monte Carlo in 1966 when the Red Guards came, and returned in 1967.
James married Louise Lam in 1966 in Maryland at the home of her uncle. James was ordered not to invite any siblings by Niang. After Gregory and Matilda left for Canada, James became Father's right hand man. Edgar married an American girl of German descent who was 20 years younger. Their marriage was an unhappy one, and they had no children.
Susan graduated from college in America in 1964, and returned to Hong Kong. She worked as a teacher at Maryknoll Convent School. Gregory introduced Tony Liang, graduate of Massachussetts Institute of Technology, to Susan. They decided to get married the same year.
Neither Father nor Niang attended the wedding, and their children weren't even informed. Susan recieved no dowry nor any jewellery. On a Sunday dinner at Niang's and Father's house, Niang started to cry over Franklin's death, and said she wished it would have been Susan instead. This was more than Susan could endure. "Franklin was a sadistic monster and I'm glad he's dead! Even though you are my mother, I think you are vicious and vindictive. You love no one but yourself. You certainly don't care for me, and you never have." Susan exploded out. Niang slapped Susan again and again. "Get out! Get out now! Don't ever come back! As far as I am concerned, you are dead! Dead!" Niang screamed. With this, Susan ran out. She got disowned in 1973. The following letter did not include Lydia because she was already disowned in 1951.
Dear Gregory, Edgar, James and Adeline,
We wish to inform all four of you that Susan is no longer part of the Yen family. You are not to speak, write, associate with her ever again. Should you disobey our instructions, you too will be disinherited.
Affedionately yours.
Father and Mother
Adeline's career continued to flourish after her divorce in 1971. Her friend Alcenith understood the emptiness in her life and arranged for a blind date with Professor Robert Mah, her son's Chinese-American friend who taught at the UCLA. Adeline had never encountered anyone so caring. Adeline wrote to her parents asking for their permission to marry Bob. They married soon afterwards. Two years later they had a daughter, Ann. They moved into a home on Huntington Beach which they fell in love with at first sight.
Throughout the sixties and early seventies, Father's businesses remained very profitable. He developed several apartment complexes and large residental houses in Hong Kong which he sold sucsesfully. He owned two tons of gold safely stored in Swiss bank vaults. In 1977 Niang sent a letter to Adeline. A Hong Kong physician advised Father to go to Stanford University for medical consultaiton. Father and Niang were to stay at Adeline and Bob's home. When Father crossed the threshold and gave a small gasp of pleasure at the glorious view of the harbour, his eyes filled with pride. This was too much for Niang. "Go in and sit down, Joseph" She said irritably. "What are you staring at? It's only Adeline's house"
After Father had taken various tests, including a CAT scan, they were to recieve the results by mail. Adeline and Bob offered to pay the medical fees, which were very high, trying to please Niang. At San Fransisco airport, Niang wandered off looking for postcards. To take Father's mind away from illness, Adeline asked him about his past. "When was the happiest time of your life? He thought for a while. "When I was a young man in Tianjin," He replied. "and you were very small. I started my own company and it was doing well. I began to export walnuts and drove from field to field inspecting the quality of the kernels. I used to start off at dawn and, before I knew it, it was dark again and time to hurry home for supper. I would be famished and suddenly realize I had eating nothing all day. That was a very happy time for me" "Tell me about Adeline," Bob said "What was she like as a little girl?" "She was a bookworm who excelled in her studies," Father answered in a smile "I got so used to her being top of the class that when she came in second, I would reproach her" His chest swelled with pride as Adeline's eyes filled with tears. "I remember once she even won a writing competition open to all the English-speaking schools in the world..." His voice trailed off. Bob and Adeline looked around to see Niang standing directly behind them. They remained mute when she asked them what they had been talking about.
Father suffered from generalized brain atrophy due to Alzheimer's disease. CAT scans revealed that his brain had already shrunk to two thirds of its normal size. Adeline's relationship with Niang improved drastically after that visit. Adeline and Bob had paid over 50 000 US dollars , maybe that had touched her? Niang held a gala seventieth birthday celebration party for Father in Hong Kong later that year. Father was admitted to the Hong Kong Sanatorium in 1982. In May 1988 Father died. When solicitor read out the first page of Father's will he announced that there was no money in estate. Niang had transferred all his cash and belongings to her own private account. Two days later Adeline left for home to Los Angeles.
Adeline called Niang in July 1989, but her maid Ah Fong answered. She said that Niang was in the Hong Kong Sanatorium. She dialled her room at the Sanatorium. "Oh, hello, Adeline!" She sounded so cool and polite. "How nice of you to call! How did you get my number?"
"Ah Fong gave it to me. How are you feeling? What happened? Would you like me to fly over?" Adeline replied. Niang told her that she was feeling fine and could go home in a couple of days. There was no need for Adeline to fly over. Besides, she had no time to "entertain" her.
James flew down to Hong Kong and checked on Niang. She had developed cancer of the colon and needed surgery. Niang didn't want Adeline to come down just yet, so she stayed home. However, a few days after her operation, she invited Adeline's whole family to
Hong Kong for a Christmas visit. She sounded friendly and Adeline's family spent a happy Christmas with Niang in Hong Kong.
During the next eight months she called quite often to discuss her plans of emigrating to America before 1997. Edgar had helped her get a green card and she had recently bought a condominium in San Fransisco. One day in August when Adeline called Niang, Ah Fong informed her that Niang was back in hospital. She was admitted to the Baptist Hospital in Kowloon. When Adeline called her, she confessed she was feeling dreadful, and then to Adeline's amazement added "I wish you would come here and take me to America." Niang was dying, and in no condition to go anywhere. Niang's estate had dwindled since the 1970's when Niang and Father was considered one of the richest in Hong Kong. James revealed that the real worth was about 30 million dollars. On Sunday 9th of September, Niang died, four o'clock in the morning.
Niang's funeral was set for 17 September 1990. Niang had no real friends. Mr Lu, Father's faitful chief financial officer sat beside Bob. He told him that Adeline maybe would not get anything from Niang's will. "I don't believe you!" Adeline cried out. "Just three weeks ago, she was begging me to take her to my home in America! Surely, she must have some feeling for me to wish to die in my home?" Mr. Lu shook his head. "Her request may have arisen from ulterior motives designed to turn all your siblings against you. She had a green card and was a permanent resident of the United States. The US government would have imposed death duties on her estate if she had died in America. You would have been blamed for taking her to your home to die." Adeline began to shiver and found it hard to breathe. Adeline did not attend the will reading, as Mr. Lu had advised, but read a copy which James brought her.
Gregory and Edgar each got 20 per cent, James 50 per cent, and Lydia 10 per cent. Susan didn't get anything, neither did Adeline.
On the next day, Adeline and Bob woke up at 5 p.m.. Having slept the afternoon away they rushed over to Magnolia Mansions and looked for Father's will. After a while, Bob found it. His will was signed on May 2. 1974, long before his illness. Father had divided his estate into seven shares. Adeline recieved one share, so did Gregory and Edgar, James recieved two, and two shares to his grandchildren with the last name of Yen. No share was left for Susan. Father also wrote in the will the following sentence "I further would like to record that no share of my estate is to go to my daughter, Lydia Yen Sung." "In the end, Niang's will doesn't matter. Whatever happens, this, my father's will, is what is important to me" Adeline told Bob while hugging him.
In 1994 aunt Baba called Adeline, asking for her to come visit her in Shanghai. There she watched aunt Baba fall in a coma from which she never woke up. She had lived for 89 years, and did not even consider surgery or even hospitalization. As aunt Baba said; "I have had a goon run of eigthy-nine years. It is time to accept the end. Since there is no hope for a cure, why prolong the agony of dying?" Life had come to a full circle. As the Chinese proverb says:
"Falling leaves return to their roots."
Adeline gave up medecine after writing Falling Leaves, and became a full-time writer. She is happily married with Bob, and have two children. Roger and Ann. She has written three books: Chinese Cinderella, Falling Leaves, and Watching the tree. Chinese Cinderella is an autobiography from her childhood for children. Falling Leaves an autobiography through her whole life. It was sold over a million copies worldwide and is a New York Times bestseller. Watching the Tree is Adeline's letter of reply to everyone who has written to her and the world at large.
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