A long-time science teacher at our very own Victoria School, we [Emma and Abegale, grade 11] got the opportunity to interview Mr. Lee in recognition of Asian Heritage Month. In addition to gaining insight into the Chinese culture as well as its traditions (not to mention the food!), we had the honor of learning about Mr. Lee’s rich family history, and delving deeper into his Chinese roots. If there had to be one takeaway from this interview, it would be that it is important to know where you came from, no matter who you are. There are amazing things about everyone’s heritage that are worthy of celebration, and we enjoyed getting the chance to speak with Mr. Lee about his heritage!

What is your story of your heritage?

“My mom’s dad was an herbalist. My dad’s dad was in the dry cleaning business. [...] Mom’s dad was a Chinese nationalist, and pictured above with Chiang Kai-shek* and his wife.” [Mr. Lee’s grandfather (as he described him) is the “white haired fellow on the left”]

Both grandparents immigrated to Vancouver in the early 1900s. Then, both sets of grandparents moved to Lethbridge. My dad’s side is from Taishan, and my mother’s is from Hoiping [also known as Kaiping] – about 25 kilometers from Taishan. The dialects are very close. They likely came to Canada for better opportunities – the promised land. Both grandfathers sent money back to China. At that time, [being married to] multiple wives was common, and both grandfathers had four wives. Oddly enough, both [grandfathers] brought wife number four to Canada. Both of my parents were born in Vancouver, making me second generation Canadian.

My mom is one of thirteen (eight daughters and five sons), and my dad is one of six – very large [families]. My maternal grandfather, the herbalist, likely came to Canada when the communist regime took over – there was a time when it was dangerous for him to go back to mainland China (however, he did go back to Hong Kong to find a wife for my uncle Dave). My mom’s dad was somehow involved with getting rid of the Head Tax.

Authors’ note: The Head Tax was charged for any Chinese entering Canada between 1885 and 1923. It started out as $50 per person, and by 1923, it was $500 per person. In 1923, the Chinese Immigration Act was passed which banned Chinese immigrants from entering Canada (with a few exceptions). The Act was repealed in 1947.

How did your culture shape your identity and the person you are today?

I’ve adapted mostly to be Canadian. The Chinese culture that I’ve hung on to is in the area of food. We eat interesting stuff – tripe, chicken feet, tendon. Although, I do enjoy certain Chinese traditions around birth, death and marriage. The moon-yuet¹ [is] done one month after a baby is born. My mother did that for both of my sons. She’s a little upset that she can’t do it for my grandson, who was born a few months ago. She can’t travel now, as she is 92. There are also ceremonies at cemeteries to those who have gone before [us] also known as honouring the ancestors.

I am more Canadian than anything. My parents were not strict about speaking Chinese in the house. I did not face any overt racism other than some name calling. In elementary school, there were two Chinese and three Japanese students. There was more teasing toward certain cultural groups from Europe. Japanese in southern Alberta were treated very poorly, especially after World War 2 – many had moved to Alberta after leaving the Japanese internment camps in B.C.

Picture of Mr. Lee’s paternal grandfather and grandmother (notice the only 4 digit phone number) with a dry cleaning delivery vehicle in Lethbridge in about 1930.

Mr. Lee’s father was the first Chinese Canadian to receive the rank of Regimental Sergeant Major with the Canadian Militia.

[Our family’s] dry cleaning business was handed over to my dad and his two older brothers. My dad was in charge of the delivery side of the business. My dad [also] fought for Canada in WW2, then he continued on with the Canadian militia. He became the first Chinese Canadian to receive the rank of Regimental Sergeant Major – this highest rank of NCO [Non-Commissioned Officers]. This happened in 1967, but he never told anyone in the family. My mother found out by reading it in a book a year after he had passed. He was a modest person, but very well respected. At his funeral, the Legion offered an honour guard. It was very emotional.

As a second generation Canadian, how strongly connected are you to your roots today?

Not a lot, and I feel kind of bad about that. I think part of it is not knowing the language. I wish mom and dad would have made us speak the language. My grandparents didn’t speak much English. The traditions and food are the [parts of my cultural heritage] I hold on to.

My own children are biracial. Their roots are Chinese and Finnish. Once again, they are connected to the culture through food. My younger son, Aidan, loves rice. He could eat it with anything. When he cooks, he uses chopsticks to cook anything. Even bacon! They also enjoy eating the non-westernized Chinese foods. They have embraced their heritage easily.

My Chinese name is Gok-wah. My two brothers and I share the same last part of our name: ‘-wah’. My sons also have this tradition for their Chinese names. Ben Gong and Yu Gong.

Author’s note: In the Chinese tradition, when a child is born, the parents give their child a name that shares a component with siblings or first cousins, which shows the family connection, such as how Mr. Lee named his sons, both having the name “Gong”.

Is there a part of your family’s history that you feel has stuck with you?

No, but I wish there was. My mom’s dad was an herbalist. None of his children wanted to learn the traditional Chinese medicine. I was 10 when he passed away, so I didn’t have the chance to learn from him. Traditional Chinese medicine is fascinating and supported by science. [I’m] not sure why none of the children took it up. It may have been a reason of patriarchy, and none of the sons were interested.

What are you most proud of your culture/heritage?

Food. I love other cultures’ foods too. It’s hard to pick my favourite food, so I’ll pick a classification – dim sum. Ceremonies around marriage, birth and death interest me. In particular, those involving the honouring of the dead. “Money”² is burnt, so it goes up to the spirit world to honour the ancestors. When there is a family reunion, the grave sites are visited. Now that I think about it, food is secondary!

It’s important for me to know where I came from. It’s good to have a connection. There are some amazing things about our heritage. Being a science teacher, I know that the Chinese did have negative numbers before anyone else. The abacus is a wonderful thing that took a lot of smarts to figure it out. Gunpowder was invented by the Chinese. It’s just good to know where you came from, whoever you are (not just Asian!). Know the history – even a little bit.

Fun facts about Mr. Lee

In his post-secondary pursuits, Mr.Lee had attended the University of Lethbridge. Although Mr. Lee has never been to mainland China, he has traveled to Hong Kong as well as the new territories in the Kowloon Peninsula (1976). In recounting his travels, Mr. Lee highlights his dim sum experience, which he describes as “interesting”. One thing that stood out to him during his meal were the servers, who walked around carrying trays full of the dim sum items with straps that go around their necks.

In regards to his connections, another fun fact about Mr. Lee is that his aunt had dated David Suzuki’s dad. In addition, his mom’s sister had married Mr. Poon’s dad’s uncle.

Notes

* Chiang Kai-shek was the leader of the Nationalist government in China (1928 to 1949). When Mao Zedong came into power, he fled China and became leader of Taiwan until his death in 1975.

¹ Also known as a red egg and ginger party, the moon-yuet is a party held one month after a baby is born. It signifies the formal acceptance of the new child in the family.

² Worshipping the ancestors is called ‘baishan’. This is where family members pray to the ancestors (who are above), feed the ancestors (a table is set up with various foods), and give gifts to the ancestors by burning paper gifts (such as paper money, gold bars and clothing). The Chinese character for ‘baishan’ is 拜山. 拜 (bai) means to worship/pay respect and 山 (shan) means mountain or hill.