9. A Life of Wind and Rain
≪ 8. A Youngster that Left Home | Table of Contents | 9.1. The Golden Age of My Career ≫Author: Nie Bihua Chinese: 聂碧华, Liu Zhonghe’s wife and the glorious translator’s (maternal) grandmother.
I was born into a doctor's This was a practitioner of traditional Chinese medicine rather than a “doctor” as one may imagine in the 21st century. family in 1939, in the midst of our war against Japan. My parents were busy with work, so ever since I was little, my grandmother and I would live with my land-owning aunt. She was pretty much my adopted mother. After marrying into the Nie family for a “spiritual cleanse Chinese: 冲喜, pinyin: chōng xǐ. This is an old superstition wherein people that encountered dire misfortune in their family (e.g. terminal illness) would attempt to “counterbalance” it by intentionally participating in “happier” events, such as marrying someone, in the hopes that it would “wash away” the misfortune. ”, her husband quickly passed away, and she led a lonely life with no children. She first adopted my second uncle’s eldest son, and they led a modest life without worrying about food or clothing. Not long after I was adopted, her adopted son also had a child; since we were close in age (I was only a year older) and because of the patriarchal traditions, I was not a priority for the Nie family. Aside from my grandmother’s tough love, I lacked any parental love, and this shaped my secluded and stubborn personality.
After the national liberation, the landlords were overturned, and my grandmother passed away. My exceptional academics got me into middle school In China, even middle schools and high schools have entrance exams. I imagine that high school admissions are not unlike the undergraduate college admission process and culture in the states. , high school, and college, and I even won a scholarship. I joined the Communist Party in 1960. My academic journey was smooth, and one could say that I was born in an old society, then born again in a new China.
My husband was one of my college professors. He has a warm and gentle personality, and he was talented academically; he cultivated both my cultural and scientific knowledge. Our academic careers had bright futures from the start. Now, in these past few years, we’ve enjoyed the golden age of our marriage, our family has been blessed with fortune, and we have grown old together.
But life is never just blue skies and sunny days, and I’ve trekked through plenty of wind and rain to get here.