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From Sea to Shining SeaCheng-Yun Bao's journey from China, to Taiwan, then to the America in 1997essay written by Jonathan Liu
When people immigrate to the United States, it can be of many reasons-many come in search of jobs and the “American Dream;” others come to escape persecution or a malicious government.1 Some have even been through many countries before reaching the United States. Nevertheless, all immigrants have a story to tell—this is the story of Cheng-Yun Bao. Bao was born to a Kuomintang diplomat in 1938. Her family lived in Shanghai, China, during the time of the Japanese occupation and World War II. She has seen her neighbors killed ruthlessly by Japanese soldiers as a child, and consequently grew up resenting the Japanese. When Bao was six, Bao’s parents sent her out to the countryside to live with her grandparents near Yangzhou out of concern for her safety, while her parents escaped to Hong Kong. Bao was thus forced to stop schooling for the time being. Life in the countryside was much more laid back than that in the city. While her grandparents were tending to their shop, Bao would be “…climbing trees, and stealing birds’ eggs;” basically doing what “a girl shouldn’t be doing at that age.”2 She continued her schooling when she was in third grade, as an education was well valued in her community. When Bao turned sixteen, the communists took over China. Many people were taken from school and put in the fields, and any Kuomintang-affiliated person was harassed and even captured and tortured. At this time, Bao was aware that she could be one of the Red Army’s victims. Fearing for safety once again, Bao’s parents paid many people to smuggle her into Macau, and into Hong Kong. While on the run, Bao braved the risk of getting captured and tortured by the Red Police on suspicion of espionage. Before her voyage to Hong Kong, Bao heard many bad rumors about Hong Kong. Most worrisome to her, the smugglers who brought people into Hong Kong were often extortionists. Bao met a young man from Kowloon while waiting for the smuggler in Guangzhou. They pretended to be siblings, so the smuggler would leave Bao alone, and when they reached Kowloon, they both waited for Bao’s uncle to take Bao into Hong Kong itself. At least, that was what the plan was. After two nights of running from the local police, Bao’s uncle finally came to take her to Hong Kong. There, she met her family-arranged husband. Her husband at the time was an apprentice aboard a ship, was a “good fit” for Bao, and was an honorable man.3 They married a few months later. Life in Hong Kong was difficult, as Bao and her family were constantly avoiding Chinese officials who would deport them as soon as they were found. Bao had to learn Cantonese as well, because since Hong Kong was a British territory, Mandarin Chinese was not required to be taught in schools. “…The people were not as bad as [she] had heard,” because she lived near the Victoria District, where more high-class government officials resided and never ventured out into the “real” Hong Kong.4 Two years later, Bao’s husband was recruited to a ship crew in Taiwan based in Keelung. Bao and her husband relocated to Keelung with Bao pregnant with her first child, Chih-Ching. Under the militarist government, Taiwan was in deep poverty. Much of the new island nation was undeveloped and people traveled long distances to find medical aid or supplies. Bao now had three kids to take care of and her husband, now a ship captain, was out at sea, which proved very difficult for Bao to manage. Moreover, Keelung was “…not a good place to raise children.”5 Many people were addicted to gambling and the police made frequent busts on illegal gambling rings. Bao soon moved her family to Taipei, which was a much safer community. As the capital of Taiwan, the city was a very crowded place, but the people there were especially friendly and warm, and those within the community were always eager to help each other. In fact, when one would ask for directions to get somewhere, the person giving the directions would actually take one to his or her destination. During this time, Bao and her kept many animals, mostly as pets. Her kids, as a result, grew up loving animals. As Bao’s children grew up, so did Taiwan itself. Military experience and high education became increasingly important to the community, although it was not required to enlist into the army. But without joining the Taiwanese military, a job in Taiwan would be extremely difficult to come by. Thus, wanting to give her children a broader spectrum of opportunities both in Taiwan and in the world, Bao sent her children to college in America. At this time, Taiwan was holding elections for a new president. Bao decided to become a campaign manager for a candidate named Chen (Bao doesn’t recall his full name), who according to Bao, “would have made Taiwan a much better place.”6 She accompanied Chen around Taiwan rallying supporters for the candidate, making critical contributions without accepting any money. Chen did not win the election, unfortunately. However, despite the circumstances, Bao was always able to keep everybody’s spirits up. It was 1996 at this time, and all her children have graduated from college. Bao’s sons, Te Hua and Te Fong, returned to Taiwan after attending college in the United states. They later started businesses that took them to mainland China. However, Bao did not follow them back to Taiwan because she was afraid that China would bring many of her bad memories of her great escape back. Her daughter, Chih-Ching, unlike Bao’s sons, decided to stay in America. After Chih-Ching had her second son, Bao decided to immigrate to the United States. Bao felt that since both Chih-Ching and her husband were both working, there would be nobody there to take care of the kids. Therefore, Bao figured “…it was best if she helped take care of [her daughter’s] children.”7 She planned on returning to Taiwan after both children become old enough to take care of themselves. Over the 1960’s, Bao traveled the world with her husband on many of his shipping excursions. They had been to the poorest countries and the wealthiest countries. As a result of her world travels, Bao already retained a vague idea of what America was like when she immigrated. Taiwan had become “…cluttered and crowded, and the people were not as warm and friendly as back when Taiwan was still rural. America, on the contrary, is a more down to earth place.”8 She also expected the people in America to be more refined, as she has seen in many movies before. When Bao flew to Los Angeles in 1997, she spoke no English, was unfamiliar with the local culture, and did not have an American citizenship. In addition, she consistently relied heavily on her daughter and grandson to communicate with non-Chinese speaking people. Encountering a language barrier, Bao mostly associated with other people in the local Chinese community within Irvine, as it was deep poverty. Much of the new island nation was undeveloped and people traveled long distances to find medical aid or supplies. Bao now had three kids to take care of and her husband, now a ship captain, was out at sea, which proved very difficult for Bao to manage. Moreover, Keelung was “…not a good place to raise children.”5 Many people were addicted to gambling and the police made frequent busts on illegal gambling rings. Bao soon moved her family to Taipei, which was a much safer community. As the capital of Taiwan, the city was a very crowded place, but the people there were especially friendly and warm, and those within the community were always eager to help each other. In fact, when one would ask for directions to get somewhere, the person giving the directions would actually take one to his or her destination. During this time, Bao and her kept many animals, mostly as pets. Her kids, as a result, grew up loving animals. As Bao’s children grew up, so did Taiwan itself. Military experience and high education became increasingly important to the community, although it was not required to enlist into the army. But without joining the Taiwanese military, a job in Taiwan would be extremely difficult to come by. Thus, wanting to give her children a broader spectrum of opportunities both in Taiwan and in the world, Bao sent her children to college in America. At this time, Taiwan was holding elections for a new president. Bao decided to become a campaign manager for a candidate named Chen (Bao doesn’t recall his full name), who according to Bao, “would have made Taiwan a much better place.”6 She accompanied Chen around Taiwan rallying supporters for the candidate, making critical contributions without accepting any money. Chen did not win the election, unfortunately. However, despite the circumstances, Bao was always able to keep everybody’s spirits up. It was 1996 at this time, and all her children have graduated from college. Bao’s sons, Te Hua and Te Fong, returned to Taiwan after attending college in the United states. They later started businesses that took them to mainland China. However, Bao did not follow them back to Taiwan because she was afraid that China would bring many of her bad memories of her great escape back. Her daughter, Chih-Ching, unlike Bao’s sons, decided to stay in America. After Chih-Ching had her second son, Bao decided to immigrate to the United States. Bao felt that since both Chih-Ching and her husband were both working, there would be nobody there to take care of the kids. Therefore, Bao figured “…it was best if she helped take care of [her daughter’s] children.”7 She planned on returning to Taiwan after both children become old enough to take care of themselves. Over the 1960’s, Bao traveled the world with her husband on many of his shipping excursions. They had been to the poorest countries and the wealthiest countries. As a result of her world travels, Bao already retained a vague idea of what America was like when she immigrated. Taiwan had become “…cluttered and crowded, and the people were not as warm and friendly as back when Taiwan was still rural. America, on the contrary, is a more down to earth place.”8 She also expected the people in America to be more refined, as she has seen in many movies before. When Bao flew to Los Angeles in 1997, she spoke no English, was unfamiliar with the local culture, and did not have an American citizenship. In addition, she consistently relied heavily on her daughter and grandson to communicate with non-Chinese speaking people. Encountering a language barrier, Bao mostly associated with other people in the local Chinese community within Irvine, as it was of Americans when the Twin Towers was bombed by Al Qaeda on September 11th, 2001. After that fateful day, “I was touched deeply by how people reacted. Almost every car hung an American flag on the window, and I’ve never seen such unity.”12 It took Bao about a year and a half to get her citizenship verified because files were mixed up somewhere in the process. Nonetheless, Cheng was “…proud to be a citizen at last.”13 Since Southern California has one of the largest Chinese communities in the United States, Bao was at home. Other than the fact than the need for a car to travel from place to place and the language barrier, adapting to life in America wasn’t too hard. Moreover, she was able to retain a connection to Chinese culture because of the local Chinese community. She still cooks many Shanghai and Yangzhou style dishes at home, talks to her sons in China over phone and internet, has a strong connection to Buddhism, and even does Tai Chi. It was not too hard for Bao to accept that her grandchildren have become almost fully Americanized, since her older child came to the United states with Bao’s daughter at the age of one. Her second son was born in America. She does believe it to be a shame, though, that her grandchildren are becoming more detached from their ancestral heritage and tradition. As opposed to their peers overseas, Bao’s grandchildren are “…more laid back and individualistic, not that it is a bad thing…”14 Bao encouraged her grandchildren, however, to stay in Chinese school because she knows Chinese will be important in the future, and to keep in contact with their Chinese roots. Today, Bao lives in a retirement home in the Woodbridge community of Irvine, California. She enjoys a healthy, relaxed retirement, tending to her garden, practicing Tai Chi, taking long walks by the creek, and traveling. She has recently visited South Korea, amazed at the amount of change and improvement it has undertaken. Bao states that she would like to see how her home in Yangzhou is today, as she has not returned since she fled to Hong Kong in 1949. She has no regrets about moving to the United States, although “being old, [she does] miss [her] home in Taiwan.”15 Endnotes 1. Bao, Cheng-Yun. Personal Interview. 22 May 2009 3.
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Cheng-Yun Bao was born in Shanghai in 1938 during the Japanese occupation in World War II. She grew up in the countryside by Yanzhou, China, and after the communist takeover of China, fled to Macau at the age of sixteen. From there, she was smuggled into Hong Kong and lived there for two years before relocating to Taiwan with her husband. After her children graduated from college, she immigrated to America and eventually gained US citizenship. She lives today in the Woodbridge community of Irvine, enjoys gardening, practicing Tai Chi, and taking long walks by the creek.