Our Grandparents' Stories
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jedamum:
not specifically a \"samsui woman\", as in those who cannot marry. She was just an ordinary construction worker. She always told me about the days she mixed cement lol. Now she's still alive, around 93 years old (in the old days, people don't really record their date of birth).
i read on and..meaning your grandma is a samsui woman?? she sure is a tough cookie.
yeah she's super tough, all her children n grandchildren got whipped by her too LOL
In contrast, my grandfather's first wife was very indulgent to the children....and voila, a generation of underachievers were \"made\". -
My paternal grandfather was a sailor and went to India and of course Singapore. One day, he decided to immigrate to Singapore and brought along my grandmother and my dad who was about 5 or 6. Before this, must tell a story within a story. You see, my dad was not their biological child. He was a love child of one of my grandfather's so called brothers - in those days, (according to my grandmother) if you bear the same surname you must acknowledge each other as brothers. My grandfather was considered the eldest cos of his age (I think) and this brother came to him for help. This brother had an affair with a woman and his wife refused to allow him to take the woman as his concubine (which was allowed during those times). So this brother bo bian and asked my grandfather to adopt the child, who was my dad. So, this so called brother was actually my biological paternal grandfather. The woman left after giving away my dad and nothing was heard about her from then on.
My grandfather's so called brother and his family also came to Singapore. His wife had 7 or 9 sons (I can't remember) and a baby girl when the war broke out. My biological grandfather asked my paternal grandfather to run to Bukit Timah Reserve to hide from the Japanese but after discussing with my grandmother, my paternal grandfather decided to stay put in Chinatown. So, my biological grandfather took along all his sons and left his wife and daughter behind as he thought that the baby girl's cries would put their lives in danger. One of the reasons that my biological grandfather asked my paternal grandfather along was cos he wanted my dad to be with him. However, as my paternal grandfather refused to join him, my dad was naturally left behind also. In the end, my paternal grandfather received news that his so called brother and all his sons were killed by the Japanese. This brother's wife and daughter survived the war together with my paternal grandfather's family. This is really ren sian bu ru tian sian (hope I get the Chinese correct - can anybody teach me how to write Chinese words here? :please: :please:)
I can't imagine what if my biological grandmother allowed my biological grandfather to marry his mistress. :nailbite: My biological grandfather would have then decided my dad's fate and I won't be here.
heng ah. Anyway, I believe that God has a hand in our fate. 
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My maternal greatgrandmother married twice when her first husband died from some disease. She married his best friend as during those times it’s not safe for woman to bring up a family alone.
And back in those days, it’s quite common to adopt, especially when they know it’s a girl.
As a result, my greatgrandmother had a daughter and an adopted daughter from her first marriage and 4 sons and another adopted daughter from her second. My grandmother is the eldest and her own flesh and blood. She worked as a seamstress, while her 2nd husband toiled away to bring up the family.
My mum told me those when I asked about my grandma, and how my youngest grand-aunt got her name as ‘Hurry up’ (direct hokkien translation).
One day, while my greatgrandmother was sewing her customer’s clothes, her pregnant friend came to inform her that she’s giving birth like 2 days later. They will be giving away this baby regardless of their gender since they already have like 5 children, and it’s on first come first served basis.
The day came and my greatgrandmother was busy finishing up her client’s clothes when she suddenly remembered that the baby might be due that day. She put down all her stuff, ran across the streets and was panting away when she reached her friend’s house. The baby was just newly borned and my greatgrandmother was obviously the first to reach, so naturally she got to adopt the baby girl. And just few seconds after her, another Indian childless couple was panting and hoping to be able to adopt the baby too.
Well, my greatgrandmother told my grand-aunt that if she hadn’t ‘hurried’, she would have well been adopted by an another family.
My greatgrandmother lived to a ripe old age and had very filial children, even from her adopted. She even got to take care of my youngest brother who are like her greatgrandchildren. She’s real traditional, wearning a light-blue half-cheongsam top and black silky pants and she always carried a bun. And though she’s very very old, you can see from her face that she must have been a beauty when she was young cos of her delicate features and blue eyes. -
Wah, just stumbled on this thread and love! Going through slowly …
Very interesting story, Winth. But how come you great grandmother has blue eyes? -
Blobbi:
I dunno actually. But it's definitely blue cos I love to stare into her eyes when I was little.Wah, just stumbled on this thread and love! Going through slowly ...
Very interesting story, Winth. But how come you great grandmother has blue eyes?
If only I had such genes for my eyes... -
winth:
Blue eyes is a recessive gene. It is apparently most common in northern European populations, although i suspect some north Indians have it, as they were descended from the soldiers of Alexander The Great when he conquered north India.
If only I had such genes for my eyes... -
Ok, here's mine.
My mother's side was super loaded. Yap, chauffer, servants etc. When my uncle got married, my PIL (who are part of the teochew clan but didn't know my family then) remember the dowry that was put on display. My greatgrandfather was the one who made all the money although he didn't have much of an education. He was just another dirt poor coolie that stepped off the boat when he first arrived. I remember all those grand portraits of him in Manchu official gear, not because his family was of the official class, but because he went back to China after he made his fortune, \"bought\" a title, and brought over a young wife for my grandfather. This grandmother was 15, very elegant, and an \"educated\" lady, while my grandfather was only 13 at the time. I was told that he was made to marry early because he, uh, peed in bed often, and marriage (sex. more like it) was the way to cure this. Anyway, after my greatgrandfather's death, the money was split up among his many brothers and his son. So today, the only signs of wealth is with my very wealthy second cousins (they're still famous in Singapore).
My father's side is a lot more mixed and scattered. A lot of talk about mad geniuses, aiyo, and one skeleton in the closet where one mad genius grand uncle who may have, gulp, murdered his wife. :shock: All this is hearsay hah, and anyway, no more evidence already, I'm sure. -
After reading a few of the stories, remind me of this song by JJ, introduced to me by dd. 林俊杰 - 会有那么一天.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CXm7264nJko
一九四三世界大战
阿嬷年轻的时候
爷爷爱他那么多
他们感情很深
但是爷爷身负重任
就在离乡的那夜
给了阿嬷一个吻
轻声说到
# 我要离去别再哭泣
不要伤心请你相信我
要等待我的爱
陪你永不离开
因为会有那么一天
我们牵著手在草原
听鸟儿歌唱的声音
听我说声我爱你
夕阳西下鸟儿回家
阿嬷躺在病床上
呼吸有一点散漫
眼神却很温柔
看著爷爷湿透的眼
握著他粗糙的手
阿嬷的泪水开始流
轻声说道 # -
My maternity grandma's story. During the WWII time, she was at the age of teens. In order to escape the cruel hands of the Japs, she had to marry someone as quickly as possible. Ended up, any man who was willing to marry her and she did. The man, my grandpa, I never had a chance to see him, died of TB before I was born. According to my mum, he was a gambler and womansier. My grandma was the only source of income to the family, she washed and iron cloths for the rich (hand wash hor and for whole day). There was no sort of maternity leave. I was told, after giving birth, the next day, she got back to her washing job. They had 7 children ... (amazing !! :shock: ) and my grandfather would beat her everyday for money. Grandma is still around today.
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interesting thread, this.
i never had a chance to meet my maternal grandparents, who died in the years following the war, according to my mum…
my paternal grandfather went to borneo from china to work. after saving some money he went back to china to marry my grandmother and brought her to borneo, where they started a family (had 5 kids but one did not survive). Then the Japs invaded China and my granddad’s father was killed by the Japs. My granddad was apparently so infuriated that he channelled his anger into helping to fight the Japs - by soliciting for donations to contribute to the Tan Kah Kee Anti-Jap War Fund.
He apparently told my grandma to take care of the family, and then for the next few years went around SEA selling melon seeds to raise fund for the movement.
My grandma sold all sorts of things (rojak, veggies, soy sauce, etc.) to feed the family, and they took the very last boat from Borneo to Singapore when the Japs were nearing Borneo. My grandma always said that if they missed that boat, all of us would not be around today…
Even when they reached SG, life was tough as it was war time. Luckily one of the same-surname friends from China took care of my grandma by helping to arrange lodging and sometimes gave food/money. (this is the reason why my grandma asked my parents and uncles/aunties to go pray and make offerings to this ‘granduncle’ every year after his passing.
In the meantime, my grandpa was going round SEA with his trademark gannysack with the words of the movement getting pple to contribute; and would be reunited with the family only now and then. He would also have to go into hiding when he’s ‘in town’ as the Japs were obviously hunting him down.
In any case, my grandma was again pregnant during the war years, and one day, my grandpa went home and told my grandma that he has found a childless couple who would like to adopt the baby, so he had agreed to sell the (then still unborn, and whose gender was not known yet) baby to the couple for $80, and the full amount would go to the fund raising. My grandma cried when she heard that, but understood my grandpa’s slogan of 国家: 先有国 ，才有家 (the Chinese phrase of country, made up of the characters ‘nation’ first, followed by ‘home’ behind it), and so agreed with him.
So my grandpa wrote a letter to the couple saying that the baby will henceforth follow the foster parents’ surname, there will be no dispute in future, etc… My 5th uncle was therefore sold off as a baby, and the ‘parents’ went back to China after the war.
My grandpa reportedly raised more than $10,000 in those years, which was an astronomical sum when most pple (incl. their family) did not even have enough to eat. My father told us how they would go and dig for plants and tree trunks to eat…
The full amount was handed over to the ant-Jap-war Movement, and my grandma would tell us with pride that my grandpa had issued proper receipts for every single cent donated…
after the war, my grandpa was given some certificate for his efforts and accolades by the govt and according to my grandma, he didn’t have to pay any fare when he took bus.
The family continued to live a poor life after the war, and conditions only improved later when the whole nation progressed.
The year i was born (1969) also marked a milestone for my grandparents because after years of searching, they finally traced down the whereabouts of my 5th uncle in China, with the help of the authorities there. They took a long sea journey back to China to meet my grown-up uncle, whom they last saw 20+ yr ago when he was an infant. He looked remarkably similar to my grandpa… For years after that, my grandpa would save whatever money he could, and send it back to my 5th uncle - probably to make up for selling him away…
My grandpa was sick for some years in his later years and passed away more than 25 yr ago…
My grandma celebrated her 100th birthday 4 yr ago, and while grumpy now, is still remarkably healthy for her age.
Hope I didn’t bore anyone with this long post…
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