Yes that’s right! Both jingkids editors – Mina Yan and myself – were born in the zodiac year of the Rabbit and so we thought we would take this Chinese New Year to let you know a little more about us, from a cultural viewpoint.
Mina Yan was born in Harbin and grew up in Southern California; her husband Billy was born in Beijing and studied in the UK. They have a lively little girl and currently reside in Kaifeng, a city that is built on top of five layers of ancient cities and was once the hub of civilization in China.
I was born and bred in Singapore to parents with Malaysian and Indonesian roots, as well as Chinese ancestry (my grandfather’s home still stands somewhere in a town in Guangzhou!). My husband is American and we have a son who has grown up in Singapore, Dubai, Indonesia, and Beijing.
Q: How Chinese do you consider yourself?
MY: It’s kind of a weird question and one that used to annoy me. I’m a typical Chinese American and I identify with both cultures. I was raised by a tiger mom who instilled some pretty traditional beliefs in me as a young child. I grew up playing piano, eating Chinese food, and learning to keep my mouth shut when I disagree with my elders – you know, typical Chinese kid stuff for my generation. But at the same time, my beliefs and values are not the same as a typical Chinese local. After moving to China I would hear “She’s American, she doesn’t know” so often during conversation even over the tiniest things like who sits where during dinner to much grander things like how I raise my child.
VT: Growing up in multicultural Singapore, I used to hate being identified as Chinese. I associated being Chinese with being a backwater country bumpkin and tried so hard to ignore that part of my heritage. I embraced all things from overseas, particularly American, English, and Japanese cultures. As I get older now and have my own kid, I ironically find myself saying things like “It’s part of who you are!” when my kid complains about learning Chinese.
Q: Which Chinese traditions do you observe?
MY: My family has never been super strict on Chinese traditions. Overall I know about them, but there isn’t anything that we absolutely HAD to do during any of the Chinese holidays.
VT: Again, I used to dread visiting relatives during CNY when I was young, but now I find myself happy to take the opportunity to find out what these blood relations have been up to and how they are doing! I like the practice of the red packets, but in the original tradition as my dad told me – where the practice used to be reserved for the erudite who would write clever sayings in beautiful calligraphy, this was replaced with money when the greater un-schooled populace started adopting the practice, and sadly this has become the popular standard today.
Q: How Chinese do you consider your kid and how Chinese do you want them to be?
MY: Another question that I find kind of weird… I’d like to consider my daughter a third culture kid since she’s an American Chinese being raised in China. But to be honestly, I would like to focus on getting her as much life experience as possible, regardless of which country they’re from. I was born in China, raised in America, lived in Switzerland and Germany before moving to China. My husband is a Chinese who studied and worked in the UK for many years. Our family is a jumble of our favorite parts of different cultures we’ve picked up along the way and I really prefer that over trying to figure out how Chinese to make my kid.
VT: My kid sadly doesn’t seem to want to embrace his Chinese identity as much as I would like him to, and it would be hypocritical for me not to understand that…
Q: What’s your favorite part of Chinese culture?
MY: My favorite part has got to be spending time with family and remembering history. It feels like every major Chinese holiday has some tradition that involves dinner with the family. Since I didn’t grow up with a large family, I’m making up for it now with my own.
VT: It has got to be the long history behind all the rich mythology, beliefs, and traditions. Sometimes they give me a glimpse into the poetic beauty of the Chinese culture in the past, and sometimes they explain to me the practical hardships the world has been through, but there’s always a story to it.
Q: How are you celebrating CNY?
MY: We’re celebrating this CNY at home with family and friends. I love it when people visit – the more the merrier!
VT: I’m in Singapore with my family and friends and my favorite foods in the world!
Images: Mina Yan & Vivienne Tseng-Rush
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