Journal #5809

I translated my grandmother's biography from Chinese to English last night:

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A Brief Biography of Chang Yu-Ming Yuan

Mrs. Chang Yu-Ming Yuan was born on July 24th, 1919 in the district of Yong Nan, in the city of Wu Hu, in the province of An Hui. She was the third child in the family. Both of her older brothers died from measles, so her mother went back to her hometown and the entire family focused their attention on her during the birth and postnatal period. Being the center of attention of her doting family, she thrived and grew up to be a healthy child. She had three younger brother and two younger sisters.

Her maternal grandfather was a high-ranking official in the court, and her grandmother was the matriarch of a large and prominent family. Influenced by the compassion and fairness of her grandmother's attitude, the family became a role model household.

As she grew older, she returned to her parents, who owned the Heng Tai Sheng bakery with seven satellite stores in town. She learned respect for the elders in this large family.

She demonstrated her quick wit and physical fitness early in her academic career. She was the girl scout leader in high school. She was the foundation of the human pyramid during the scout convention, and she also carried the heavy camping equipment for her troop. Such tough training during the school years allowed her to tolerate the difficulties of the war-torn China.

When the Japanese invaded, she left her hometown with her cousins and became refugees. As she parted with her grief-stricken mother, she comforted her mother by saying "I will study hard, and I will return to take care of you." Her mother told her "Wherever you go, you must treat everyone with respect. When people praise your character, I would feel comforted."

Unexpectedly, this farewell was forever. She never saw her mother again. Her mother's parting words became her mantra. She excelled academically and later received her degree in education.

As the war continued, General Sun Li Ren recruited her to become the teacher for the troop's family. It was there where she met her future husband, Mr. Yuan Zi Lin, who was the general's personal secretary. They were married on March 10th, 1941 in the city of Dou Yun. The general himself officiated the wedding.

Beside teaching, she handled all the house chores. As the battle front swept through the city of Kung Ming, Cheng Dou, Chang Chun, and Song Hua Jian, she migrated with her family cross country, until the family moved to Taiwan in the winter of 1947.

To better focus on parenting her four children, she quit her job as a teacher. A few years later, she gave birth to two more daughters. The hectic family life was made harder by the harsh living condition of early Taiwan. Life without refrigeration and natural gas for cooking meant waking up before dawn to prepare the day's meals for the entire family. While taking care of the infants, dropping off older children at school, and shopping for groceries, she never complained and she raised her children into successful adults.

In 1985, she immigrated to the United States to be with her children, most of whom already reside in Southern California. Her favorite job was taking care of her grandchildren. Her greatest reward was seeing her grandchildren becoming adults and starting their own families.

Even in her senior years, her drive for self-improvement continued to motivate her. Despite her advanced age, her memory remained sharp. In 2004, when she was already 85 years old, she passed the citizenship exam and became an American citizen.

In her golden years, she continued to have a busy social life at her senior apartment complex. She attended Christian fellowship twice a week, and she helped countless new immigrants to ease their transition into their new country.

She returned to God's embrace on May 10th, 2009, Mother's Day. She awaits another family reunion and enjoys eternal bliss.