Things remained relatively unchanged until the Three Kingdom period (三國時代). In 222 AD, one of the Kingdoms, Wu (吳), established Wuyee County (武夷縣) which approximately where present Xinhui is situated. The name was changed to Xinyee (新夷) in 280 AD. Sine the word yee (夷) means barbarians then it is not difficult to conclude this part of China was not exactly civilized. In actual fact the northerner, the inhabitants north of the Yangtze, commonly referred the inhabitants across the river and beyond as Southern Barbarians (南蠻子).

The name Xinhui (新會) first appeared in 420 when Xinhui Quon (新會郡) which initially contained three and later increased to twelve counties was established. It covered a large area including the entire present Xinhui, Taishan (台山), Heshan (鶴山), Kaiping (開平), Shunde (順德), southeast portion of both Xinxing (新興) and Gaoming (高明), eastern portion of Enping (恩平), northeastern and eastern portions of Zhongshan (中山).

The next major change came in 590 AD when it and six other counties were placed under the jurisdiction of Feng Zhou (封州). The next year it was renamed E Zhou ((允州)) which two years later was changed to Gong Zhou (岡州). Gong Zhou was also the name of town where the Xinhui administration was located. Many historians believe it is located at the southwest corner of present day Xinxing. During the ensuring 130 years, there were many flip-flops on Gong Zhou. Finally, Gong Zhou was abolished and the land was divided into two counties, Xinhui and Yeening (義寧), under the jurisdiction of Guangzhou (廣州). Xinhui’s boundaries were finally established and remained unchanged until 1152.

From 1152-1732 the following counties were established by partitioned land from Xinhui. The first, in 1152, to be established was Huengshan (香山) which was renamed in the 20th century to Zhongshan (中山). It is the birthday place of the father of modern China, Dr. Sun Yat-sen. Following the Chinese tradition of not using the country’s chief executive’s (prime minister) personal name but the county of origin. Thus to the Chinese he is generally known as Sun Zhongshan (孫中山). Three other counties were established in fairly rapid fashion: Shunde (1452), Enping (1478) and Xinning (新寧)(1499). The final two partitions took place during the Qing Dynasty (清朝), Kaiping (1649) and Heshan (1732).

Xinhui will always be remembered as where, Yamen (崖門), the army of the Southern Sung Dynasty (南宋), in 1279, made its last stand against the invading all-conquering Mongolian army. The prime minister, Luk Shiufu (陸秀夫), determining that both himself and the emperor should never be captured, strapped the eight year-old child onto his back and jumped off the cliff into the water below.

The story doesn’t end here. Legend has it that days later a monk found the body of a young boy in a yellow robe (traditionally yellow is the colour reserved for the royal family) floating in the open sea. The body was sheltered by birds. After collecting the body and upon close examination the monk discovered the royal seal (玉璽) which confirmed the body was that of the boy emperor. Quietly the monk buried the body and it wasn’t till years later before words of this grave got out. Now each Qing Ming (清明) the Chiu (Zhao) Association in Hong Kong visits grave and pays its respect. The legend and photo of the grave are provided by Henry Chiu.

Another legend is that this child emperor hung his robe on a lychee tree before the fatal event. From then onward, lychees from the area all have a green strip and the sweetest (掛綠荔枝).

Not long after getting married and before my sister, Lin Feng (琳鳳) was born, Dad bought Mom a servant girl for company. Soontoi (順彩) was five years old at the time. Well, as Mom said “It was a full time job looking after her. Good thing I just wanted her for company.” In a way, Mom should be thankful for the practical hands-on experience in child care. It was normal then for people to be married in their mid-teens. An unmarried eighteen-year-old girl was considered an old maid and a real cause for concern. Soontoi stayed with us for about ten years before she was married so none of us children got to know her really well.

At regular intervals Dad, in Canada, would sent money home. This was the family’s only source of income. After the States declared war on Japan, the fighting on the Pacific closed the shipping lanes, and the family suffered terribly. However, there were many families in this similar situation. Many sold or pawned their valuables such as clothing and furnishing while others hired themselves out as helpers during harvest and coolies the rest of the time. Mom chose the latter route and with help from her younger brother, Sui Wen Zhao (趙遂文), the family managed to cope. With this suffering fresh in mind, it was not a surprise when upon Dad’s return after WWII that they went and bought some farm land.

Don’t have much recollection of the rice fields because they were surrounded by fields of others. But I still have memories of the plot by the hill because the crops grew there were different. It wasn’t (still is?) suitable for rice, lack of water. So Mom planted peanuts and yams. A treat was roasted freshly harvested yam wrapped in tin foil on a cold winter day.

After giving birth to two daughters, at the rather advanced age of 46, Mom gave birth to a baby boy, Kevin. It was a difficult birth. It was only through the heroic effort of Lai Siu Sang, a nurse, that this joyous occasion remained so. In appreciation, they got their son to treat her as an adopted mother.

The move to Guangzhou and later to Hong Kong must have been very difficult for Mom. First she would have to learn or at least understand a new dialect, which, though somewhat similar to the one she spoke had enough differences to make understanding a problem. And for the first time in her life she had to learn to recognize street names. However, this was child-play when compared to the adjustments she later would have to undergo in Canada.

Somehow Mom got the notion, or somebody had told her that there are no coconuts in Canada. So while in Hong Kong waiting for our visa to Canada, Mom would make coconut congee, a rather sweet concoction, a lot. At the time, it seemed like daily. In actual fact, I’m sure it was only every other day. She would have it ready as an after-school snack. Really a treat to look forward to.

On November 20, 1957, we set sail for San Francisco aboard the President Cleveland. Mom became sea-sick almost as soon as we set foot on the ship. She hardly ate during the whole trip. It was a wonder that she survived the 18-day trans-Pacific journey. From San Francisco we took the overnight train to Vancouver. The two days stop-over in Vancouver rejuvenated her.

We boarded the Trans-continental which departed from downtown Vancouver’s CP Station. For four days, our eastward journey to Montreal took us over the Rockies, crossed the snow-covered Prairies and hilly central Canada. Prior to departure, we purchased some Chinese barbecue goods for the trip. Again Mom suffered from motion sickness, but compared to the ocean crossing this was nothing.

In the spring of 1958, she went to work at Wong Wing Food to earn some money to send back to my sister, Lin Feng, who was still in China. Because of the Great Leap Forward, China at the time was in the midst of a famine. Mom got Dad to bring home chicken feet which the restaurant would discard anyway. She would dry them and shipped it back to China. For a time, inside the house there were chicken feet hanging from everything and everywhere.

Packaging and shipping the dried chicken feet was something to remember. Either Canada Post or China had a weight limit on parcels going to China. I remember we were trying to get as close to twenty pounds as possible but had to remained under the limit. It was quite a challenge using a hand scale. One of us would lift it up and another would get on all fours to read the weight. Wording the declaration was extremely important. A wrong word could result in the parcel being discarded or confiscated by the Chinese authorities.

Guangzhou, Guangdong

Guangzhou, Guangdong, China

Guangzhou, Guangdong, China

Taken at Guangzhou, Guangdong