Laid to Rest
1933
In June, Han Liang and Han Ho buried their mother in the Hungjao Cemetery (紅橋公墓 Hongqiao).
Mo-li moved out. It was agreed that she would return to her family home and that Han Liang would provide for her for life. One imagines that he felt he discharged his obligations honorably, and that is certainly the point of view of Mo-li’s descendants. Still, it’s said that at the time Shanghai tongues wagged.
Zing Wei officially moved in, and soon became “Auntie Grace”, as Mary was told to call her.
The exact sequence of those events is not known, but we have these four dates:
Mo-li moved out. It was agreed that she would return to her family home and that Han Liang would provide for her for life. One imagines that he felt he discharged his obligations honorably, and that is certainly the point of view of Mo-li’s descendants. Still, it’s said that at the time Shanghai tongues wagged.
Zing Wei officially moved in, and soon became “Auntie Grace”, as Mary was told to call her.
The exact sequence of those events is not known, but we have these four dates:
- June 1933 – the date on Grandmother Yu Koon's tombstone.
- July 1, 1933 – the date Han Liang reported to Princeton many years later as his and Zing Wei's marriage date.
- September 21, 1933 – the date when Peggy and Han Ho’s third child was born – a daughter, Lulu (椒齡 Jiaoling).
- May 21, 1934 – the date when Zing Wei’s and Han Liang’s first child was born, also a daughter, May (思勤 Siqin), her English name presumably inspired by the month of her birth.
A photo from this time period is said to be Han Liang’s and Zing Wei’s wedding photo. The distinctive door of the American Community Church is recognizable as the backdrop. They stand side-by-side with Peggy and Han Ho.
We know nothing about what kind of ceremony or celebration Han Liang and Zing Wei might have held on July 1, if any at all. White gown weddings were common in society circles, but it was also perfectly normal to mark the occasion with much simpler gatherings. One thing is certain: given the heavy clothing that all four are wearing, the date of this photo is not July 1. Their clothes are more suitable for late autumn. Let us guess it was Sunday, October 29, a more suitable time for a photo – about a month after Peggy would have given birth to Lulu, assuming that the traditional post-partum month of confinement was observed before this public appearance, and by which time Zing Wei would have been several months' pregnant with May.
Even assuming the subjects of the photo took a traditional view that such a formal occasion required solemn faces, the four look particularly joyless. Perhaps the photo was less about celebration of the marriage and more about acceptance of a fait accompli and a public display of family unity. Still, the location is somewhat surprising. Han Liang was never known to be a practicing Christian, Zing Wei only intermittently so. Han Ho and Peggy were the churchgoers, as were the members of the How family. The American Community Church was their church, and posing in front of it would appear to have been a way to demonstrate their buy-in to the new arrangements.
Even assuming the subjects of the photo took a traditional view that such a formal occasion required solemn faces, the four look particularly joyless. Perhaps the photo was less about celebration of the marriage and more about acceptance of a fait accompli and a public display of family unity. Still, the location is somewhat surprising. Han Liang was never known to be a practicing Christian, Zing Wei only intermittently so. Han Ho and Peggy were the churchgoers, as were the members of the How family. The American Community Church was their church, and posing in front of it would appear to have been a way to demonstrate their buy-in to the new arrangements.
This shows Grandmother Yu Koon's gravesite after it was rebuilt many years later. It reads: “Madam You, mother of the Huang family. Laid to rest June 1933. Monument rebuilt July 1962. By her sons Han Liang & Han Ho.” The location was Plot D344 of Shanghai’s Hungjao Cemetery (虹橋路紅橋公墓 Hongqiao Lu, Hongqiao Gongmu).
POSTSCRIPT
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Mo-li returned to live with her mother, her #5 sister Rhoda (夏璐雅 Xia Luya) and her sister’s son Julian Suez (史濟良 Shi Jiliang), who was born that year.
In due course, Han Ho, Peggy and their two girls also moved on to their own home. Mo-li didn’t hide away. In addition to attending the American Community Church, she is said to have even traveled as far as Berlin to attend the Olympics in 1936. |
Mary reports that in future years she and her parents would often see Mo-li and other members of the How family at church. But the two families were more than merely members of the same congregation. In the years to come, Mo-li's sister Ruth would become Mary's mentor, while while Mo-li's nephew Julian would be a friend of Lulu, with both of them singing in the church choir.
Follow up on their stories at: |
