[quote author="biscuitninja" date=1238459910][quote author="bkshopr" date=1238458375][quote author="SoCal78" date=1238049042]Wow, bix. So your dad was 70 when you were born.</blockquote>
My dad was 65 when I was born and he was born when my grand father was 60. My grandfather was recruited by the white guys during the 1850s when they went to Canton to seek out tiny China men to dig tunnels in the gold mine here in Northern Ca.
All of his friends from China did not survive the collapse of the mine tunnel. He then made a career change because he was scared and way underpaid for his dangerous job.
He found ways to make much more money. He took care the miners laundry and operated a food stand by cooking awful food like Chop Suey and Egg Fu Young. He returned to China as a very wealthy man but he lied about how he made all his fortune. He told relatives that he dug up gold bars in the Golden Mountain ( America in Chinese language).
My family lost all the fortune during the Japanese invasion of China and the Civil war between Mao and Shiek. Currency was deflated to zero.
This is the reason why immigrants believe in the value of gold.</blockquote>
A wonderful story! No my dad was 31 when I was born, my maternal grandfather was MUCH older than I was. I wish I would have listened to the lessons he had to offer more.
-bix</blockquote>
I was the youngest of 8 boys and almost 40 years apart from my next brother. 6 of my brothers have passed away. During the 1930's when the Japanese invaded and raped China. The brothers were scattered through out China for survival. My father was afraid the bombing might kill all his heirs if he had left them all in one city. My brothers grew up not knowing each other. The cities where they settled were Shanghai, Nanjing, Canton, Hong Kong, Chung King, Beijing, and Hunan. I have only met 2 brothers. The surviving brother in Shanghai I have met just once and the other deceased brother I met twice.
Families in war torn countries were rarely reunited. The China that we are witnessing today is so opposite from the turmoil that only occurred 60 years ago. We are blessed in our generation for not having to going through the difficult journeys that many of our ancestors had to endure.
My mother at the age of 12 during the Japanese invasion walked from cities to cities seeking refuge and safety. She walked thousand of miles. She witnessed gang rapes of women and children and executions of the victims. Countless of headless corpses rotting along the roads. The trauma she experienced during her youth still haunt her today.
