Apr 14 2007
Clansmen
Beijing, circa 1962
My maternal family at birth. I refer to them often in this blog. (Work in progress .. will update soon)
From left to right -
Back row:
Mom and Dad
Jiujiu 舅舅: mom’s older brother
Xiaoyi 小姨: mom’s younger sister
Front row:
Nainai 奶奶: Yeye’s last concubine
Myself
Yeye 爷爷: my maternal grandfather
Popo 婆婆: my maternal grandmother
Not yet in the picture:
Jiumu 舅母: Jiujiu’s wife
Xiaoyifu 小姨父: Xiaoyi’s husband
Note:
The woman I addressed as Nainai in this blog was my maternal grandfather’s concubine. Popo was living alone when I was born. To differentiate the two women - one was living with him and one married to him - the family decided to let my biologic maternal grandmother be Popo and the concubine be Nainai. Altered grandfather to Yeye who should had been Gonggong thus making them as a pair. Another reason for this was the fact that my paternal grandfather has long passed away and my paternal grandmother was exiled to Taipei. In the 1960s, it was as close as deceased due to the political tension between the Taiwan Strait. It’s bit confusing I know. But that’s the way I grew up - don’t want to change a thing.