Under One Roof
From 1929
Although Han Ho and his family seemed well ensconced in Amoy with Grandmother Yu Koon, around 1929 Han Liang also brought them to Shanghai.
Was it Han Liang's idea or Han Ho's? Or Grandmother Yu Koon's? She was said to be a proponent of the traditional ideal that all the generations should live under one roof. That seems plausible. But perhaps she also had other motives.
Han Liang would surely have had concerns that such a move was not going to be easy, and indeed, it seems that Grandmother Yu Koon found little to her liking upon arriving in Shanghai – not Mo-li’s clothes, not her Western ways, not her less than frugal management of the household, and least of all her childless state. Mo-li endeavored to please, but underlining their differences was the simple fact that the two did not share a common language. Unlike the family's other daughter-in-law, Peggy, who was from Amoy albeit raised in England and Denmark, Mo-li did not speak Hokkien.
Was it Han Liang's idea or Han Ho's? Or Grandmother Yu Koon's? She was said to be a proponent of the traditional ideal that all the generations should live under one roof. That seems plausible. But perhaps she also had other motives.
Han Liang would surely have had concerns that such a move was not going to be easy, and indeed, it seems that Grandmother Yu Koon found little to her liking upon arriving in Shanghai – not Mo-li’s clothes, not her Western ways, not her less than frugal management of the household, and least of all her childless state. Mo-li endeavored to please, but underlining their differences was the simple fact that the two did not share a common language. Unlike the family's other daughter-in-law, Peggy, who was from Amoy albeit raised in England and Denmark, Mo-li did not speak Hokkien.
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To smooth the way for Grandmother Yu Koon, it was decided that a companion should be found who could communicate in her dialect. The story of how a maid was procured for Grandmother Yu Koon shows that the branches of the family were in close communication, but had their different points of view. Han Yang generously offered up the services of a young girl (丫頭 yatou), Jin Mei (金妹), who had been purchased to look after his mother, Lin Yiguan, in the face of similar communication challenges when she moved from Amoy.
Jin Mei was clever and had quickly picked up a good amount of Amoy dialect, but Peggy felt that as a Christian family they could not keep this kind of indentured servant. Eventually, her misgivings were overcome. Without Jin Mei, Peggy would probably have been run ragged. After all, she had two children to look after. And so Jin Mei joined the Yuyuen Road household, at least for a time, although Peggy insisted on referring to her as an “adopted daughter” (養女 yang nü). Eventually, Jin Mei would take the Huang surname, and Han Yang’s family would help her marry respectably. |
Wedding photo of former "yatou" Jin Mei Huang (courtesy of H Huang)
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Mo-li's health was not good (courtesy of J Suez)
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The underlying crux of household tensions was that all was not well with Mo-li’s health. Not long after she and Han Liang were married, it had come to light that Mo-li suffered from seizures – terrifying or at least highly embarrassing seizures. For minutes at a time, her usual quiet reserve fell away. It’s assumed that she suffered from epilepsy, a condition that carried great social stigma at the time and for which drug treatments were only just beginning. Somehow, the marriage carried on, but as the years passed, Han Liang and Mo-li’s lack of children became a nagging problem. Perhaps it was Grandmother Yu Koon who pressed to come to Shanghai in order to assess the situation with her own eyes. |
Matters only grew worse when soon after the move, Han Ho’s son Moses, who was about five years old, fell ill and died. Meningitis was the possible cause. The little stream that ran near the Yuyuen Road house and an inattentive amah were blamed. Whatever the case, by the time a doctor was called, it was too late. One can only imagine the further pall that must have fallen over the household when the family's only male heir died.
Mary and her mother Peggy (courtesy of M Gee)
The same conservative attitudes that made Grandmother Yu Koon disapprove of Mo-li now led to Moses' sister, Mary, being practically held hostage at home. Mary was the same age as Mo-li’s niece Julie – daughter of Mo-li's brother Bang – but Grandmother Yu Koon disallowed for Mary everything that was normal for Julie – short dresses, socks, music and dancing lessons, etc. She refused to see her granddaughter trained up as a “sing-song girl" or vulgar entertainer. Despite her fierce efforts to educate her sons, Grandmother Yu Koon still believed that a girl need only know how to write her name and a simple letter.
Mo-li offered some diversion for Mary. She was kind and might invite Mary to her room to play or see her glamorous wardrobe, but the possibility of a seizure was an ever-present specter.
Mo-li offered some diversion for Mary. She was kind and might invite Mary to her room to play or see her glamorous wardrobe, but the possibility of a seizure was an ever-present specter.
Mary and Han Ho outside the Yuyuen Road house (courtesy of M Gee)
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Mo-Li's niece, Julie How, with her mother Rose and #2 Aunt Ruth (courtesy of J Suez)
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Banner caption: In the garden of the Yuyuen Road house (courtesy of M Gee)
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