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A Death in the Family
Last month, my Aunt Ruth died. She was my father’s only sister and his favorite sibling. We called her Guma (姑妈) (father’s sister), just as her children called my father jiujiu (舅舅) (mother’s brother). The Chinese are very particular about family relationships. There are words to distinguish an older brother from a younger one and…
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A Pretty Girl
My father once had a very pretty cousin named May. She came from his mother’s side of the family, jewelers from Wuzhen (乌镇). I’d love to see Wuzhen’s wood-crafted homes and ancient bridges, though I hear that few Chinese still inhabit the place. In my grandmother’s time, though, it was a bustling town. Her father was…
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Welcome to My Shanghai Noir Blog
From 2016 to 2021, I had a weekly blog called Shanghai Noir. I retired that blog during the pandemic but you can still peruse old posts in my Dead Letter Office. Why was I so obsessed with Shanghai? Read on. Shanghai: 2016 In 2016, Shanghai is a sprawling metropolis with an estimated population of over 24.1 million.…