May 09 2008
Liu Youyu 刘友渔
Liu Youyu was Yeye’s colleague in Suiyuan 绥远 now Hohhot. When he moved back to Beijing, he became Yeye’s tenant at Canzheng Hutong. Liu was one of four Feng Yuxiang 冯玉祥’s lieutenants that sent to Germany to further study and training. They all came back with German wives, but eventually all of them divorced due to cultrual differences.
Liu and wife Eva had four daughters, Linda (cir 1930 - ), Meidi (cir 1932 - ), Lolo (cir 1935 - ), Lina (cir 1938 - ) and a son Misha (cir 1936 - ). Eva who’s the only child followed Liu to China with her mother. After WWI, Germany was defeated and suffered shortage of food. Eva and her mom survived because they had a farm, the rabbits was their main staple. Her mother said during that difficult period, she often saw people in distance walking toward their house, as they got near, they would laugh hysterically and dropped died - supposedly the symptom of death by starvation.
Eva divorced Liu shortly after her mother passed away. She soon married an Italian Attache in Beijing, Vic. They had one daughter Ada. Vic said before Italy was defeated, they had little news from the outside world, blindly worshiping Mussolini, willingly followed him and would even die for him. Toward the end of the war, when the hot blooded untrained youth like himself were sent to the battlefield to beef up the army. They thought they were fighting for truth and freedom. He felt very lucky that he didn’t die.