Kyle Seto K.H.
Member
living in Singapore now and love to meet and learn more about my family name... Seto
Posts: 4
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Post by Kyle Seto K.H. on Oct 5, 2015 9:32:45 GMT -5
Hi Douglas, I just wanted to share with you about how the gentry class during the cultural revolution was treated. My grandmother faced the same and was beaten by people in the village. The sad thing is that these same people, if they trace the family tree would have been brothers and sisters in just a handful of generations ago. So I have very little love for the people residing from that village. Of course there are always good people and there is one family that my family continues to have a very good relationships with. This family still lives in the village and I have to say, one of the more successful family. I guess this is what you call karma.
Cheers, Kyle
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Post by douglaslam on Oct 5, 2015 20:57:45 GMT -5
Very well put Kyle. Similar thing happened to my mother especially during the Cultural Revolution. Thus, on my earlier trips to China, my mother would give me clear instructions to treat a little old lady well. She was a dimuitive, illiterate peasant woman, but she would not abandon my mother who was cast as a pariah in the village under that monster Mao. To this day, this woman's son is one of my preferred travel companions locally.
At this very moment I am in China. I heard of a similar story yesterday from a 86 year old man from Sydney whom I know well for decades. His mother, too, suffered terribly during Mao's purge of the landlords of the '50s. Again, a woman cared not what everybody thought, and stuck with my friend's mother. My friend would send money to that woman in gratitude, right to the end of her life. It is a very inspiring, moving human story.
AS I am covering familiar old grounds, I have nothing to post until Sunday, 11 October when a big group of about 16 Australians is arriving by fast ferry from Hong Kong. I am liaising with people to make sure this roots journey is going to be a smooth and memorable one. Surprises are still springing up as I had found out yesterday. What supposed to be the original family home was indeed wrong. I was shown the " new found' true family home to the party. The clan register or zupu reveals adoption, name dupication and other surprising links to the group which would be difficult for the non-Chinese speakers to fully comprehend or be explained.
It is raining dogs and cats for days as a result of a typhoon which skirting past this area. I got off the bus one day with my overnight bag and backpack. I nearly slipped and fell in the flooded street. That would have been disastrous because my passport would get saturated. Luckily, only the banknotes that I carried got wet, but I could still read the phone numbers because I was carrying things for other people. I had the good sense to put my clothing in plastic bags thus not having all my clothes soiled by the heavy downpour.
I do have photos to upload, but I could not open " add attachment." What did I do wrong?
My mobile phone No. is: country code 86 + 130 76782297. Please feel free to call me. Tyuti 1668, are you in China? Let's meet up for lunch or dinner.
Douglas
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Post by helen on Oct 6, 2015 2:32:52 GMT -5
We all have family ill treated - suffered because they were landlords. Sad stories - family against family sometimes. Their children were sent away to the countryside. sad history - that has yet to be documented properly.
Heard about the typhoon. Sorry it is wet for you. We leave on 27 October. Will miss you again.
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Post by lolly on Oct 9, 2015 20:46:30 GMT -5
Saw the news of the Guangdong typhoon and thought of you. Hope you are well and truly out of the zone where the storm hit. You will be getting very excited about the arrival of your "group". Hope all goes very well for all of you. Lolly
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Post by douglaslam on Oct 10, 2015 1:38:29 GMT -5
Helen, I don't fly out of China until 4 Nov. Perhaps we can find time and have lunch or dinner together.
Doug Joe, I haven't called our friend in LTW, not yet.
Lolly, the typhoon did not hit us directly but it brought torrential rain for days. I nearly slipped on a flooded street when getting off a bus. Even so, my overnight bag was wet through. The wads of banknotes I was carrying for other people were wet through. Luckily, the telephone numbers were OK. Yes, I also play courier for other people. I haven't called Suzie yet.
My group of 17-strong Aussies will be arriving by fast ferry from Hong Kong tomorrow. I have chartered a bus to pick them up. I am looking at hiring a bus for our sightseeing purpose. On a visit to my group's village, my contact told me the true ancestral home was somewhere else. There are twists and turns in this family tale of victim to the White Australia Policy early in the century, paper daughter, adoption in the village, name duplication and so on so forth. It would make a good TV mini series.
I also pay a visit to member andrewAU's Wong village. I found his family link, a man who had the same great-grandfather as andrewAU. I cannot work the attachment, therefore no photos on this post. I have had to wait until I am back in Sydney.
Douglas
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Post by helen on Oct 10, 2015 4:16:16 GMT -5
Hi Douglas I won't be south until 11 November, Will miss my family as I will only be there to visit the Cha Academy. Then straight to Zhongshan.
I hope your meeting tomorrow goes well.
Re the photos - do you have your laptop on you? Can you reply, add attachment at the top right hand, just below your name?
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Post by helen on Nov 15, 2015 20:28:16 GMT -5
Proud of the youth in your hometown - Zhongshan 11 November 2015
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