The Concubine's Children: The Story of a Chinese Family Living On Two Sides Of The Globe

One of my favourite topics is 20th-century Chinese social history. The author tells the life stories of her maternal grandmother (the concubine), her mother, and herself. From the 1920s to the 1990s it's a story of poverty, the Chinese in Canadian history, and the plight of Chinese women. I'm quite familiar with this time in Chinese history but was sometimes shocked at how the Canadian government treated Chinese immigrants. We often hear of the Japanese treatment in internment camps during WWII but the Chinese discrimination during the first 60 years of the century was truly brutal. A fascinating comparison of life for the Chinese in Canada versus life in China. The treatment of women in China up to the Communist regime is startling. A show more fine read of both Chinese and Canadian history through the eyes of one Chinese family. show less

This is a family biography, the story of a family split by an ocean and by different ways of life. It’s a sad tale of prejudice, war, and brutality, as well as of love.

Chan Sam had a wife and land in southern China in the 1920s, but word was that one could make enough money at ‘Gold Mountain’- Canada or the USA- for a person to set themselves up for life. So Chan Sam went to Canada to make his fortune. He didn’t like being alone- there were very, very few women in the Chinatowns at the time. He acquired a concubine from China: a 17 year old May-ying, who was basically sold. Chan didn’t have the money to pay for her, so he made a deal with a tea house owner: the girl would be Chan’s concubine, but during the days and show more evenings she would work at the tea house to pay off her own purchase price. That’s not an auspicious start for a relationship.

As time went on, May-ying had two baby girls. Chan wanted them educated in China, and between the two of them they had made enough money to go home for a while. When Chan Sam and May-ying returned to Canada, her daughters remained in China with Chan’s wife. They returned just in time for May-ying’s third child to be born on Canadian soil. It wasn’t the hoped for son that would have given her some prestige in the family, but another daughter- worthless in her eyes. In time, Chan Sam returned to China without May-ying to try and sire a son on his wife. This left the young May-ying in the unenviable position of financially supporting not just herself and her daughter, but Chan Sam, his wife in China, and her two daughters over there. Not to mention the costs of the mansion (by rural Chinese village standards) that Chan Sam was building in his village. That’s a lot to expect of a young woman. Even after Chan Sam returned to Canada, but had separated from May-ying, he showed up every week to collect the money she had earned. Not that he was lazy; he did back breaking work in the shingle mills and at any other job he could find. Employment was severely limited for the Chinese in North America.

May-ying was a badly damaged person. She sought solace in alcohol and gambling, and abused her daughter both physically and emotionally. I was horrified by the way she treated her, but the circumstances of May-ying’s life might have broken anyone. Thankfully, the daughter, who took the English name Winnie, had the inner reserves to survive, concentrating on school and getting away from home. She succeeded in doing so, through hard work and marriage, and brought up a great family. The author is Winnie’s second daughter.

After 50 years, the Canadian sister and the Chinese sister finally managed to meet in a 4 day visit that brought tears to my eyes. But what really hit an emotional chord was the way the Chinese family viewed May-ying: basically ignoring the money she’d sent for years, they saw her only as a very bad wife who brought only misery to Chan Sam. They were only given half the story.

It’s a very sad story of the miserable lives the Chinese in North America lived during the first half of the 20th century thanks to prejudice, and an even sadder one that as bad as those lives were, they were considered worth while because monetarily it was even worse in China. I’ve read a number of books about the Chinese in North America, and this one is the grimmest. But it’s a story I couldn’t put down and stayed up half the night reading. show less

A really well written and moving family memoir. Engrossing, thought provoking and true to life depictions of the hard times suffered by Chinese immigrants in Canada. Peopled with flawed, unlikeable, superstitious and stubborn characters. The scenes of early life in Vancouver, the first family in China and the many sacrifices of the Canadian second family were fascinating and heartbreaking. Also interesting was the Communist Revolution and its result on the family members. So well researched and thoroughly revealing, I rate it 5 stars.

A story about the Chinese experience in Canada, specifically British Columbia, from the 1920s forward, interspersed with life in China as emigrants try to make a life in Canada while retaining their links to family and values and ways of life in the old country. Basically the story of how Hing (Winnie) came to grips with the history of her father and mother, and finally met the family that for years she had never known in China. Well written, and interesting for its descriptions of Chinese communities in BC, principally Vancouver and on the Island, Nanaimo. Canadians have little to be proud of in this aspect of our history for its discrimination not only tolerated, but actively abetted by the governments. In the end, though, I found it show more a bit too much of a sameness, and I did not finish the book. show less

This is a biography of three generations of a Chinese-Canadian family. Chan Sam came to Canada and left his Chinese wife at home, but soon brought a beautiful younger Chinese woman to Canada as his concubine: May-ying. May-ying gave Chan Sam 3 daughters; before the 3rd one (Hing) came along, the other two had been taken back to China to live with Chan Sam’s Chinese wife. Hing, the daughter who stayed in Canada, was mostly neglected by her drinking, gambling mother. Hing’s daughter, Denise, is the author of the book. The book does focus mostly on May-ying, but it also tells the story of the family in China, as well. I can’t recall the phrase in the book, but something along the lines of a split family.

I thought this was very good. show more It covers a good portion of the 20th century, so it also includes a bit of history of how Chinese people were treated in Canada, and North America, in general, over that century. The story was interesting, and it did primarily focus on the most interesting person, in my opinion, May-ying. There was also a nice set of photos included – photos of those in both Canada and China. show less

This is a well written, moving book about a family separated on two continents. It's a biography of Chan Sam and his family. He lives in B.C. with his concubine and one of their children. In China are his wife, their son and two of his daughters by his concubine. This is a family' s story, but also a story of Canada in the 1930s and 40s. It talks of immigration rules, prejudices, racism, the Depression. The author (Chan Sam's grand-daughter) has done a wonderful job of situating well-drawn characters in their proper historical setting. This will be of interest to history buffs as well as anyone who likes a good family story.

I'm always fascinated to see peoples' full life stories. This book could have only included teen/young woman May-ying and what her life was like; or it could have just included her later adulthood; or her somewhat terrifying turn as the author's fearsome Grandmother. But instead we watch May-ying, the titular concubine, and see how she progresses from one stage of like to another, ultimately bringing a better understanding of what a person's whole life looks like. I learned so much about Chinese history and culture, about the founding of British Columbia, the original Chinatowns, and specifically so much about this one convoluted family tree. Recommended.