Mum and Yum Char

going Yum Char is remembering Mother. Dad and Mum and younger siblings went to Singapore and experience the concept ot Yum Char, or Dim Sum. Mother tried to make the Har Gow when she came back to Sibu.

I always order har Gow when I go to Yum Char.

http://www.tripadvisor.co.nz/ShowUserReviews-g255106-d722521-r247925842-China_Yum_Char_Restaurant_Bar-Auckland_North_Island.html

“Have a leisure yum char in the middle of the city”

Reviewed 7 January 2015 NEW

no need for reservation, spacious and no hurry. Staff was happy to help snap our photos. Big outdoor area under an imitation shade of vineyard of grapes, egg plants, jambo. On a Saturday 12 noon, there was plenty of tables. Food was ok, The bathroom can be improved, instead ot going through a store room. stingy that Chillis were charged.
Cheap off street parking in the weekend.

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Visited January 2

Steve Ling's Lian He Newspaper write-up

Steve Ling wrote a wonderful piece, he mentioned great grandfather as well.

Borneo post: Author Chin makes ‘Cikgu’ Wong proud

working on my next book, I remember I must acknowledge the media

Author Chin makes ‘Cikgu’ Wong proud

by Jane Moh, reporters@theborneopost.com. Posted on October 13, 2013, Sunday

Read more: http://www.theborneopost.com/2013/10/13/author-chin-makes-cikgu-wong-proud/#ixzz3Nv5B8oCH

http://www.theborneopost.com/2013/10/13/author-chin-makes-cikgu-wong-proud/








SIBU: Minister of Local Government and Community Development Dato Sri Wong Soon Koh remembers author Ann Chin Kit Suet as a student with a sense of responsibility and discipline.
Wong, who taught Chin when he was a teacher, said she was a very good student.
“Ann, who now lives in New Zealand, was my student.  Today, we could see that she had become an author that all of us can feel proud of. I myself have a deep sense of pride.
“Being a teacher, you never know who are the students whom you used to teach could be successful,” he said at the launching of Chin’s books at RH Hotel here yesterday.
Chin, born and bred in Sibu, has self published three books – A Diary of a Bereaved Mother: Goodbye My Baby (non-fiction), From China to Borneo and Beyond (non-fiction), and Mail Order Bride (fiction).
Wong, who is also Second Finance Minister, said being a writer is not easy, especially when one wanted to make a living out of it.
He pointed out that the beginning is always the hardest as the author is unknown.
“But, when you ask any author why they wanted to write, they have many reasons.  If an author could come out with very good books, then the author could earn lots of money, but most of the time making profits is not always the point.”
He said Chin had played an exemplary role in coming back here to do something very meaningful for the people of Sibu.
On the book ‘From China to Borneo and Beyond’, Wong said it is a story of her families – the Chans (father’s side) and the Kongs (mother’s side) recorded from 1907 to 2006.
“She had written the history of the family from Guangzhou to Borneo and later on the family further established here and there all over the world.  It is a huge task, but Ann took great responsibility to write it.”
He added that her book and her coming back here drove home the message that no one should forget their roots.
“It is through things like this that all of us can stay united, particularly spiritually, even though we are in all corners of the world.”
Wong said Chin’s father, John Chan, was his teacher, and just like Chin, Chan had a great sense of responsibility and discipline, and was very approachable.
Meanwhile, Chin, in her speech, said Wong impacted her into what she could become today when Wong introduced her to the author Han Su Yin – a Chinese who wrote books in English.
“When I read her books, she and Dato Sri Wong inspired me.  I harboured a secret desire that someday I too can write books in English,” she said, adding that Wong was her teacher for four years.
She added that when she published ‘Diary of a Bereaved Mother’, people from European countries asked whether she wrote the book in Chinese and got it translated.
“I was a bit upset because I was thinking ‘can’t a Chinese write in English’.  But today, I do wish that I can write books in Chinese.”
She said ‘From China to Borneo and Beyond’ would be translated into Chinese soon.
She urged the Guang Ning people to stay united and to contribute to help the needy in the society.
The event yesterday was organised by the Guang Ning Association Sibu. Its chairman Kong Tze Ling, who was also present, said Chin was a pride of Sibu people, especially to the Guang Ning community.
Also present were Sibu Municipal Council chairman Datuk Tiong Thai King and Sibu Chinese Community Leaders Association chairman Vincent Lau Lee Ming.

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Read more: http://www.theborneopost.com/2013/10/13/author-chin-makes-cikgu-wong-proud/#ixzz3Nv5VcKq3

Write-up by Steve ling

 

 「海外華人的中國魂」
憶述廣寧人移民史

作者陳潔雪在這本書中,首先介紹了本身的多重身份,即是Chan,又是Chin.
其實,Chan和Chin都是一樣的「陳」--Chan是廣東音,Chin是客家音.
因此,這是一位客家男生,與一位廣寧女生的結合.
這也正好反映書中主要人物,她的父親陳鷂飛,和母親江華嬌兩人之間的廣寧和客家的結合.
作者表示,由於處在戰亂時期,日軍佔領砂拉越之時,她的雙親,也與很多其他華人少男、少女一樣,是在不得以的情況下--男的怕被日軍拉走或充軍,女的怕被迫做為“慰安婦”的這種背景下匆匆結合.
陳鷂飛和江華嬌退休後,移居澳洲,原以為要將剩餘時間安度晚年.熟料造化弄人,母親在一場意外中離世,留下父親離開傷心地,獨自重返砂州定居.
「海外華人的中國魂:從中國，到南洋，到更远」,就是圍繞在父母親,以及他們祖先,1907年,如何由中國廣東,擴散至婆羅洲的原始森林地區.這是一則6代人的故事,以及他們的後人,又何由婆羅洲,再擴散至世界各地,包括英國,加拿大,日本,新加坡,澳洲,美國及紐西蘭.
一個由曾祖父--陳觀國開展的移民故事.並圍繞在作者父親陳鷂飛的故事,直至他於2006年離世.
据作者在書中介紹,中國的鴉片戰爭,導致了漫長和難忍的長途跋涉,以海路南遷至婆羅洲腹地的雨林,在這一片蠻荒之地求生的一群,以種植樹膠和胡椒維生.
接著便是1940-45年間的第二次世界大戰,以及日軍佔領砂拉越的故事.由於兩個家庭在客觀因素,逼不得以之下的結合,無可避免的成為未來爭執的引線.
陳家歷經了殖民地時期,抗爭期,聯合國調查團訪問期,砂拉越參組馬來西亞時期,武裝斗爭動亂期,秘密的戰場,族群動亂,對抗共產武裝等.在這種背景下,都是作者與家人成長時期的遭遇,所目睹的事.
後期,作者父母再遷居澳洲,不幸母親於1988年在一場嚴重交通意外中離離.父親返回砂州,獨自生活了18年.他的離世,也正好反映了一句華人的美言:不是同日生,也要同日死.
除了講述本身家庭的故事,書中也提及了母親江家的故事.
雖然這是本家庭式傳記書籍,卻不忽略史實.作者也做了很多的復帶說明.全書以英文書寫,並考慮到砂拉越原居地,許多親友的需求,她正籌備出版華文翻譯本.

陳潔雪曾祖父,陳觀國創辦的沙廉光國小學外景.

曽祖父陳觀國
寧興港光國小學創始人

陳潔雪是廣寧人,父親是前教育界聞人,曾任泗里街教育廳廳長的陳鷂飛.
陳鷂飛亦曾任教育廳督學,以及當年仍設址詩巫的砂拉越師訓學院為講師.
陳鷂飛的祖父,也即潔雪的曾祖父陳觀國,便在當年廣寧人移民本地聚居的沙廉河鄰近地區--寧興港,創建了光國小學.
廣東,廣寧籍人士,在鄧恭叔率領下移民前來砂州和詩巫時,先是獲安頓在南蘭律上段的大群地區.後來廣東籍第二批移民陳觀國等人,就獲安頓到更上游的寧興港一帶.
陳觀國是否原名「光國」,不得而知.不過,他將學校名為光國小學,與本名離不了關係.這個「光國」,顯然也包含了光耀祖國之意.
由於曾祖父重視教育,父親又是教師和教育界服務,因此,潔雪與兄弟姐妹們,從小生活在嚴父的管教之下.假期別家孩子玩樂、嬉戲,她家孩子躲在家中習寫作文.每晚寫完作文,父親即進行審批和指導.
從小的學習環境,造就她及家人對英文作文受益不淺.也因此,她從小喜歡作文,善於書寫,更成為學校校刊的記者.
她猶記得,自己在讀六號班(Form 2)時期,那是1968年的事了,她投稿給當年著名的雜誌Dolphin(海豚),小小年級便領到5塊錢的稿費.在那個時期,5塊錢會比今日的50令吉高出許多倍吧.這件事,至今留在她的腦海中不忘.
由於小時候的生活背景,她持續的創作,習慣性的將腦際閃過的感受,領悟,都一一記錄下來.想不到,這種習慣,今時今日,會讓他一回氣出了多本書,也成為一位多產作者.

張貼時間：3 weeks ago，張貼者：Steve

Forest and my great grand father

    Great-Grand Father Chan Kwong Kwok 

 At 18, Great-Grand Father Chan Kwong Kwok was a Xiu Cai (an equivalent of a bachelor’s degree). He was the only Xiu Cai in the village. Unfortunately, because the family was poor, he could not pursue his further studies to the ultimate the Zhuangyuan(状元),Great-Grand Father was headhunted and offered the position of the “governor”, the head of this big company Kong Nan Seng Agricultural Co, in August, 1907. He led the second batch of Cantones, a group of bachelors, to Sibu. He was to lead a few more journeys, the 3rd where my grandfather came. This group including women and children.

Great Father co -founded a school for the children of immigrants. This school still exist.
 Today, my family went to a New Zealand forest. I was thinking, great grandfather would be laughing to call this a forest, compared this to the thick primary jungle when he first came to Borneo.

Clean Slate: A new garden

 

 Finished garden.  Come back in two weeks.

Starting a new garden

During the war, people grew their own food.

Clean Slate [Friday My Town Shoot Out] [Link-up]

 

http://mytownshootout.blogspot.co.nz/

Letter G for goat

About 100 years ago, in 1907, my great grand dad left the village Guang Ning, near to Guangzhou city for Sibu, Sarawak.

In 1978, I left Sibu for Auckland.

In 1989, Guangzhou became a twin city of Auckland. I was very pleased and proud. I have not been to GuangZhou or China, but to be part of this twinning gave me a great sense of pride.

In 1999, the people of Guangzhou presented this statue of five rams to the people of their sister city. When I see it when I visit Myers Park, my chest swells with pride. It makes me want to visit Guangzhou.


Guangzhou is the Hangyu pingyin or Mandarin name for what was Canton.


http://jennymatlock.blogspot.co.nz/

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