Who Do You Think You Are? (2010) s06e01 Episode Script
Julie Chen
1 On this episode, Julie Chen traces her family back to rural China.
Along the way, she uncovers tales of great danger and courage So he's going into the eye of the storm.
That's right.
and sudden reversals of fortune My grandfather's world was probably turned upside down.
and makes a very personal connection to her Chinese roots.
It's a very proud moment.
Julie Chen is a renowned television host and producer.
Starting her career as a journalist, Julie has worked as a producer, reporter, and news anchor, then grew to international fame as the host of the long-running competition series "Big Brother.
" Julie also currently serves as cohost of the popular CBS show "The Talk.
" She is married to CBS president and C.
E.
O.
Les Moonves.
They live in Los Angeles with their 5-year-old son, Charlie.
As I'm about to embark on this journey, I kind of feel like I'm putting on my investigative journalist hat, but instead of trying to go "aha!" On a subject that I'm interviewing, it's like "aha!" About my own family.
My dad's name is Yen-Chun Chen.
My mom's name is Wan Ling Lou.
My dad was born in Beijing, China, and then came to America for graduate studies.
What I know about my mother, she is Chinese.
She came to the United States.
On paper, it was for graduate studies, but it was really because she really came to be closer to my father because my parents fell in love as teenagers.
I was born in Bayside, Queens.
I grew up in a very modest household with Mandarin being my first language.
It was just like East meets West.
We were the only Chinese family in a melting pot of a community.
My dad's side, I'm more in tune with because I knew my dad's parents.
They lived with us throughout the years growing up.
I'm probably slightly more interested in my mother's side only because I never met my maternal grandfather.
He died before I was born, and I only knew his rags-to-riches story.
His name was Lou Gaw Tong.
He grew up dirt poor, no formal education, started working as a stock boy.
Then he started owning his own chain of grocery stores.
And then he started diversifying.
He invested in a shipping company.
So, he created, basically, an empire.
The stories I heard was my grandfather was someone who indulged in everything and anything.
And he was a polygamist.
He had many wives and he had many children.
It didn't necessarily change the way I thought about him, 'cause I never had an emotional attachment to him because I never knew him, I never met him.
Five years ago, when my son was born, it was like a revival of me trying to get back in touch with my Chinese roots.
It's important for me to have it back in my life so I can put it into my son's life.
So, I've reached out to my mom and my sister, Vicky, to see if they can give me any information to find out more about my mom's side of the family.
It's from my sister.
"Hey, Julie, I sat with mom, and we put together a family tree for mom's family.
Hope this gives you some information to get started.
" All right, Lou family tree on ancestry.
Com.
Let's go to my mom's side.
All right, I see my grandfather Lou Gaw Tong.
They don't even have a date of birth for him.
Death â February 10, 1960, in Singapore.
Oh, Tan Lwee.
That's my grandmother, his first wife.
Then he had how many wives? One, two, three, four, five.
So he had six wives total.
And I do not recognize any names.
And one wife just says "wife unknown.
" Wow.
My sister also attached a document here.
Oh, this is a newspaper article.
"Lou Gaw Tong, The Straits Times.
" That's a Singapore paper.
12th of February, 1960.
"Lou Gaw Tong, 68, managing director of Chip Hwa Shipping and Trading Company, who died at his Jervois Road home.
He had been ill for some time.
He leaves behind his widow, four sons, six daughters, and several grandchildren.
" It says, "the funeral takes place on Sunday.
" It's so strange 'cause, like, I never met him, but It's sad.
Doesn't even say he was a native of China or, you know, his upbringing or where he went to school.
The brushstrokes are so broad.
I have so many more questions about this man's life.
Singapore, here I come.
I'm not sure where in China my grandfather was born.
Since he died in Singapore, I'm hoping to trace him from there.
I'm meeting historian Jason Lim at the national library of Singapore since they have one of the largest collections of newspapers in the region.
Hello.
- Hello.
- I'm Julie.
Julie Chen.
Hi.
Jason.
Jason Lim.
- Hi, Jason.
- Hi - Nice to meet you.
- Nice to meet you.
My grandfather is Lou Gaw Tong.
I saw an obit from The Straits Times dated February 12, 1960.
But it didn't say much.
Right.
- Do you have access to a â - Yep.
Okay.
All right, so let me punch in the year that my grandfather died â - 12th of February.
- February 12th.
From Nanyang Siang Pau newspaper.
I should look for reel number NL2753? Yes.
Okay.
- NL2753.
- Yes.
So, we need to go to February 12th.
So, here it is.
This is the one, yeah.
Now, I cannot read and write Chinese.
Okay.
I mean, the characters I know are very basic.
So, can you read this to me and translate it? Okay.
I knew he was from the Fujian Province.
But I didn't know the name of the village.
Yes.
What do they mean, improper childhood? Julie Chen is at the national library of Singapore, where she has uncovered her maternal grandfather's detailed obituary.
She has just found out that her grandfather had what this newspaper called an improper childhood.
I wonder if that meant he didn't have a formal education or maybe he came from a broken home.
I don't know.
Does it say when â Like, how old he was or why he went to Rangoon? No.
It doesn't.
I never heard him described as, you know, a philanthropist.
Interesting.
Okay.
Right.
Anxi is the county for Penglai Village where he was born and grew up.
Yeah.
It sounds like to me he kind of had the longing for his hometown by being part of that association.
Yes.
Why did he move to Singapore after the war? Did something happen in Burma? There's a lot of holes in this story.
Yeah.
So, does the Anxi Association still exist in Singapore? Okay.
Great.
I would love that.
Well, thank you, Jason, for your help today.
This was a very good start.
It's amazing to have the exact name of this village that I've never heard of â Penglai.
It's so much more than I ever knew my entire life.
That obituary was fascinating, but it's really just the tip of the iceberg.
I'm wondering why it said that my grandfather had an improper childhood, and I'm curious about what he was doing during World War II.
I imagine it might be a little bit hard to trace back to his early, early years, but I'm going to try.
So, I'm heading across town to meet with historian Dr.
Andres Rodriguez at the Annkway Association, where my grandfather was a member, to find out more.
- Hello.
- Hi, Julie.
Are you Andres? I'm Andres.
Oh, hi.
Julie Chen.
Nice to meet you.
Shall we go? Yes.
I first tried to find whether the actual hall here had some records on your grandfather, but unfortunately, I think most of them were lost.
But we did do a bit more digging.
We went online, and we did find a few hits.
Oh, good.
So, this is from a Chinese academic journal.
It says 1938.
What we have here is an English version.
"Anxi Overseas Chinese during the war of Resistance.
" So, was that part of World War II? That's right.
You know, we tend to think it begins in Europe, 1939, Pearl Harbor, 1941.
Actually, it begins in China, 1937, after the Japanese have invaded China.
Okay.
"During the Great War of Resistance Against the Japanese, numerous Overseas Chinese who originated in Anxi county of Fujian were bound to their homeland by a bitter hatred of the enemy.
" The language used here â "bitter hatred of the enemy," which is pretty strong.
It's strong because it's a horrible war.
And when the Japanese are invading China, terrible atrocities are taking place â The rape and murder of thousands of Chinese people.
It makes sense that the Overseas Chinese would not only be appalled, as a human being, for these atrocities but the feeling is, "it's still my homeland, it's still my people, and don't just desecrate it.
" Oh, absolutely.
When things happen, they're stirred up into action.
Yeah.
"In October of 1938, the patriotic Overseas individual Mr.
Chen Jiageng advocated organizing the Southeast Asia Overseas Chinese organization for giving relief to refugees.
" Oh, here comes my grandfather.
"Lou Gaw Tong, an Anxi Overseas person of Burma, was appointed as the Rangoon representative of the Southern Overseas Organization and in Rangoon began preparing the relief.
" How important of a position was that? I would say extremely important.
He would have been involved in coordinating the logistics of getting all these supplies needed for the war, you know, from other parts of Asia into China.
Also, he would have been very crucial in organizing propaganda to alert people about, you know, the Japanese enemy and the need to unite against them.
That's a pretty important role.
Well, it's a critical role.
Wow.
"In the spring of 1942, the Japanese invasion moved South, and numerous Overseas Chinese were subjected to unprecedented hardships and disasters.
The losses were tremendous.
" From 1940 to 1942, Japan continued to expand its empire into China and Southeast Asia, taking over Hong Kong, British Malaya, Singapore, Dutch Indonesia, and French indochina â Today's Vietnam.
Then, in spring of 1942, Japanese troops advanced into Burma, where Julie's grandfather Lou Gaw Tong was living with his family.
"Lou Gaw Tong, on the Eve of Burma falling into enemy hands, took his dependant family members and returned to China.
" I remember my mom saying that, at the height of the war, they had to flee and go back to China.
So, clearly your grandfather just can't stay in Burma, you know, he obviously has a price on his head.
He's the visible face of mobilizing Overseas Chinese and other parts of Burma in resisting the Japanese.
A lot of Overseas Chinese are being arrested, as well, tortured.
There weren't many options.
Hm.
"The Burmese Overseas Chinese Lou Gaw Tong, after he had returned to China, persisted in resisting the Japanese, so that in 1943, he took the risk of going to Shaoguan, where he met up with a shipment of carbines and ammunition, which had traveled from America and which filled up 11 trucks, traveling through Jiangxi, Zhejiang, Anhui.
" Your grandfather is going into Japanese-occupied territories.
So he's going into the eye of the storm.
That's right.
Wow.
Julie Chen is in Singapore researching her maternal grandfather's history during World War II.
She has just discovered that her grandfather risked his life for the Chinese Resistance by taking trucks full of ammunition into Japanese-occupied territory.
"Traveling through Jiangxi, Zhejiang, Anhui before finally reaching the Jiangsu front of the war, where he gave the Resistance Army there the supplies.
" How risky was it for him to kind of meet up with this shipment? It is very risky, but it also shows how he was a very resourceful man.
He was wired.
He was connected.
Absolutely.
Yeah.
He knew where to get the supplies and how to get them there.
Exactly.
It was probably one of the most dangerous places to be.
Pretty fearless.
He is pretty fearless.
That speaks volumes about my grandfather's character.
That's very admirable.
And now the picture's quite clear to me, but his early childhood is not clear to me at all.
I read in the Chinese newspaper, in his obit, that he had what they call an improper childhood.
Did you find anything out about his early life? I came across this book, which is about notable Overseas Chinese in the area, and your grandfather was one of these notable figures.
So, we have this version in Chinese, but I do have a translation, as well.
Ah.
And that might, once again, give you a few more clues about the life of your grandfather.
Oh, okay.
"Lou Gaw Tong, born in Anxi, Penglai town.
At 18, he went to Burma to work.
He opened a general store with some partners and then started running the general store by himself.
After being established, he and his younger brother Jinzi donated money to his hometown to build Anshan School.
" Oh, it says right here it's in his hometown in Penglai.
That's incredible.
But this little bio still doesn't really explain to me what was so improper about his childhood.
Do you have any suggestions where I can go to kind of fill in some of the blanks I still have? The sources I've found don't really say much on this, so you're gonna have to go to the hometown.
Penglai, here we come.
I feel fortunate.
I mean, I already feel like I've hit the jackpot.
To see a document with your grandfather's name with a detailed account of what his role was during World War II, how many people get to say they have that? I have newfound respect for my grandfather.
But I still want to fill some of the other holes in my grandfather's story.
Why did he build the Anshan School? And why did he leave China in the first place? So I'm traveling to the village where he was born, Penglai, to visit the school that he founded.
I'm headed to the school now.
Part of me feels like it's going to be rundown.
I'm very curious to see how that structure looks.
Oh, wow.
This is way more modern than I thought it would be.
I'll be meeting with the vice principal of the Anshan School, Li Ju Yuan, as well as translator Meiling Wu.
Julie Chen.
It's impressive.
It's very impressive.
I feel great pride right now.
It's a very proud moment.
Okay.
Oh.
Okay.
So, is there any information about my grandfather here? They're going to publish the history of the Anshan School.
Wow.
This is a translation from the Anxi County Gazetteer.
It's titled "Lou Gaw Tong.
" It says, "in the fifth year of the Republican era, 1916, Gaw Tong moved back to Rangoon, now Yangon, Burma, selling rice.
His business became one of the biggest grain operations in Rangoon.
He gathered together a huge sum of money and built a new home in his ancestral village.
In the fall of 1937, Gaw Tong, with his brother, contributed the funds to establish the Anshan School.
" It sounds like he really wanted his hometown to prosper.
Yes.
So, this says he resolved to carry on his father's ideal of strengthening the village through education.
This is the first time I'm hearing about my grandfather's father.
I never hear any stories about him.
I don't even know his name.
Wow.
I would love to go there.
Julie Chen is in Penglai, China, researching her maternal family line.
She has just visited the primary school founded by her grandfather in 1937.
Today I found out so much more than I ever thought I would.
I am so impressed at what my grandfather created in 1937.
Seeing a big picture of him on the wall where these young schoolchildren are getting an education because of him just warmed my soul.
It made me feel like â I just welled up with emotion and pride.
I was very surprised to hear that my great-grandfather had this idea that education would empower people, because I had never heard one word about him.
So now I'm curious to find out more.
Being able to visit my grandfather's old home, that is a dream come true.
With all this information, I'm still confused as to why my grandfather was referenced as having an improper childhood.
We are here.
Wow.
I love it.
Your grandfather is her uncle.
Oh.
Good.
So, she's my first cousin once removed.
Can she show us around here? This is the living room.
Oh, there's my grandfather.
Mm-hmm.
Oh.
Mmm.
Can you tell me anything about my great-grandfather? Oh! What does it say on the wall? Oh.
What does it say? What was his position? In what year was this? What does that mean? Julie Chen is visiting her ancestral home in Anxi, China.
She has just learned that her great-grandfather Lou Rulin was a scholar official and administrator of the imperial exam.
What does that mean? That's who my great-grandfather was? Yes.
Wow.
That's impressive.
It is.
It is.
So, no wonder education was so important to my grandfather, because his father was what was equivalent to being the head of the department of education.
Yes.
And the other position that he had? Wow.
Now I know why education was important to my grandfather.
Now it makes even more sense as to why he built that school we were at earlier today.
Exactly.
One of the first documents I found about my grandfather said he did not have a proper childhood.
But now that I'm finding out more, that his father was a top scholar and a government official, it doesn't sound like my grandfather didn't have a proper childhood.
It sounded like he had, if anything, a privileged one.
Mm-hmm.
Do you have any other information you can provide about my grandfather or my great-grandfather? That's all.
She doesn't have any more for me.
That's a great idea.
I would love it.
My great-grandfather's tomb? Great-grandfather, yes.
Okay.
Thank you.
Thank you, Meiling.
And I'll see you tomorrow.
Goodbye.
It felt amazing to see my grandfather's home.
Now I have a totally different impression of my family background, and I really thought it was a rags-to-riches, but he was more privileged than I realized.
The fact that his father was so highly educated, that makes sense to me now as to why my grandfather was so smart in business.
He knew how to use his brain.
Okay, so now I'm more confused than ever about why that obituary said my grandfather had an improper childhood.
My great-grandfather was in the upper class.
So, I still have this burning question.
Like, was my grandfather abandoned by his father? Was my great-grandfather, like, a selfish, noted scholar who didn't want to be a family man and didn't want to be a dad to his child? That, to me, is the biggest, you know, missing piece of this puzzle.
So, this morning, I'm meeting Meiling Wu at the Anxi county records office to see what I can find out.
Ooh.
Yes.
What does it say? Here.
What does that mean, he was a Qing official? Like, from the Qing dynasty? Yes.
That's a lot of power.
Yes.
Okay, what else does it say? Oh, wow.
So, they abolished the exams that my great-grandfather was in charge of, and he lost his job.
Yes.
So, my grandfather's world was probably turned upside down.
That's right.
And their prestige.
Mm-hmm.
And their prestige.
Ah, okay.
So, what about getting another job? Yeah, no, I would imagine not.
Makes me sad.
So, what else does it say? When it says he lost his father, that definitely means because of death? Mm-hmm.
Okay.
It wasn't, like, abandoned by.
It was death.
Got it.
For sure.
Mm-hmm.
So, at age 13, my grandfather had to go out and work.
Mm-hmm.
He had to become a man and work and provide.
So that's what they meant by improper childhood.
It makes sense now that my grandfather had to make his own way in the world.
This gives a very clear picture to me now in my head of what is my family story.
It's amazing.
It's amazing.
Yeah.
So we can now go to the tomb of my great-grandfather.
Yes.
That will be very special.
Thank you.
My impression of my grandfather before I set out on this journey was I just thought of him as this big, successful businessman, this rich playboy guy.
But now I respect him so much more than I ever did.
Finding out the timeline of my great-grandfather's life, he finally reaches the highest level he can, then he loses his job, his prestige, and his income.
Suddenly you don't have a place in this world, and I wonder if that's what killed him.
My next stop is to my great-grandfather's tomb.
I'm meeting my cousin Miss Ke, who's bringing along a few distant relatives.
We're all hiking up to the tomb with genealogist Huihan Lie, who will help me learn more about the significance of my great-grandfather's burial site.
Hi.
Hi.
My name's Huihan.
I'm a genealogist.
Oh, nice to meet you.
Julie.
Julie Chen.
Thanks for coming along on this.
It's great to be here.
Thanks.
Yes.
Yes.
These are your distant relatives.
And we're all making the trek up to the tomb? Yes.
Yes.
Miss Ke will be leading the way.
All right.
If Miss Ke can do it, I can do it.
Oh.
Here we are.
Here we are.
This is the grave of your great-grandfather.
Julie Chen is in Anxi, China.
She has just trekked up a mountain to visit the grave site of her maternal great-grandfather Lou Rulin.
He has a good view.
Yeah, he chose a good spot.
So, what does it say on his? So, in the middle, it starts with "Our esteemed father from the Qing dynasty.
" Then it says that he was a scholar official.
And then you have his names, Yuntian, which means "Cloudy Mountain.
" - But his name was Lou Rulin.
- Right.
This wasn't his official name, but it's an honorific title, and they gave him a very lofty name, Cloudy Mountain, because he was very well educated.
It has a sense of elevated knowledge.
This resting place looks pretty special.
Definitely.
Definitely.
This place has been very particularly chosen.
Does it mean you have to be someone who was pretty important to have this hard-to-get-to, sacred spot? Yeah, yeah.
Height and location, it was all also determined on the status of the person that died.
Wow.
Should we give the offerings? Yeah.
All the pieces of paper symbolize money.
They're giving money, wealth, to your great-grandfather in his afterlife.
So, they're providing for him.
Yes.
They're taking care of him.
So now that we have prayed, we're going to burn this money to send it up? Send it to him, yes.
You can see on every piece of paper there are either characters or symbols usually about happiness or wishes or paying respect.
I am a spiritual person.
I do believe that there are ancestors of mine that are protecting me in this universe and that they're looking down on us.
It's pretty surreal being here It sure is, yeah.
on a mountainside in China.
It's a real privilege to be able to say I've been here, take this back to my parents, my siblings, and my son.
Yeah.
It's very special.
It's an amazing family history.
I feel so fulfilled after this journey.
I could have never dreamed of what I would find.
My family has a bigger role in history than I ever gave my family credit for.
It's profound.
It gives me depth.
I feel more connected to my Chinese heritage than ever.
I truly believe we are all destined for who it is that we become, and a lot of that is predetermined by our ancestors.
I never thought this journey would make me feel so complete.
I have a firmer understanding of who I am today and why I am the way I am.
It also helps me understand my parents better.
You know, sometimes you feel like your parents, especially if they're immigrants like mine are, you feel like, "they just don't understand me, and I don't understand them.
" I understand them more today because of this journey I went on here.
I feel like it's time for me to somehow incorporate into my daily life something to keep in touch with my culture and my heritage.
But it's also something I want to do together with my son, for me as much as for him.
Along the way, she uncovers tales of great danger and courage So he's going into the eye of the storm.
That's right.
and sudden reversals of fortune My grandfather's world was probably turned upside down.
and makes a very personal connection to her Chinese roots.
It's a very proud moment.
Julie Chen is a renowned television host and producer.
Starting her career as a journalist, Julie has worked as a producer, reporter, and news anchor, then grew to international fame as the host of the long-running competition series "Big Brother.
" Julie also currently serves as cohost of the popular CBS show "The Talk.
" She is married to CBS president and C.
E.
O.
Les Moonves.
They live in Los Angeles with their 5-year-old son, Charlie.
As I'm about to embark on this journey, I kind of feel like I'm putting on my investigative journalist hat, but instead of trying to go "aha!" On a subject that I'm interviewing, it's like "aha!" About my own family.
My dad's name is Yen-Chun Chen.
My mom's name is Wan Ling Lou.
My dad was born in Beijing, China, and then came to America for graduate studies.
What I know about my mother, she is Chinese.
She came to the United States.
On paper, it was for graduate studies, but it was really because she really came to be closer to my father because my parents fell in love as teenagers.
I was born in Bayside, Queens.
I grew up in a very modest household with Mandarin being my first language.
It was just like East meets West.
We were the only Chinese family in a melting pot of a community.
My dad's side, I'm more in tune with because I knew my dad's parents.
They lived with us throughout the years growing up.
I'm probably slightly more interested in my mother's side only because I never met my maternal grandfather.
He died before I was born, and I only knew his rags-to-riches story.
His name was Lou Gaw Tong.
He grew up dirt poor, no formal education, started working as a stock boy.
Then he started owning his own chain of grocery stores.
And then he started diversifying.
He invested in a shipping company.
So, he created, basically, an empire.
The stories I heard was my grandfather was someone who indulged in everything and anything.
And he was a polygamist.
He had many wives and he had many children.
It didn't necessarily change the way I thought about him, 'cause I never had an emotional attachment to him because I never knew him, I never met him.
Five years ago, when my son was born, it was like a revival of me trying to get back in touch with my Chinese roots.
It's important for me to have it back in my life so I can put it into my son's life.
So, I've reached out to my mom and my sister, Vicky, to see if they can give me any information to find out more about my mom's side of the family.
It's from my sister.
"Hey, Julie, I sat with mom, and we put together a family tree for mom's family.
Hope this gives you some information to get started.
" All right, Lou family tree on ancestry.
Com.
Let's go to my mom's side.
All right, I see my grandfather Lou Gaw Tong.
They don't even have a date of birth for him.
Death â February 10, 1960, in Singapore.
Oh, Tan Lwee.
That's my grandmother, his first wife.
Then he had how many wives? One, two, three, four, five.
So he had six wives total.
And I do not recognize any names.
And one wife just says "wife unknown.
" Wow.
My sister also attached a document here.
Oh, this is a newspaper article.
"Lou Gaw Tong, The Straits Times.
" That's a Singapore paper.
12th of February, 1960.
"Lou Gaw Tong, 68, managing director of Chip Hwa Shipping and Trading Company, who died at his Jervois Road home.
He had been ill for some time.
He leaves behind his widow, four sons, six daughters, and several grandchildren.
" It says, "the funeral takes place on Sunday.
" It's so strange 'cause, like, I never met him, but It's sad.
Doesn't even say he was a native of China or, you know, his upbringing or where he went to school.
The brushstrokes are so broad.
I have so many more questions about this man's life.
Singapore, here I come.
I'm not sure where in China my grandfather was born.
Since he died in Singapore, I'm hoping to trace him from there.
I'm meeting historian Jason Lim at the national library of Singapore since they have one of the largest collections of newspapers in the region.
Hello.
- Hello.
- I'm Julie.
Julie Chen.
Hi.
Jason.
Jason Lim.
- Hi, Jason.
- Hi - Nice to meet you.
- Nice to meet you.
My grandfather is Lou Gaw Tong.
I saw an obit from The Straits Times dated February 12, 1960.
But it didn't say much.
Right.
- Do you have access to a â - Yep.
Okay.
All right, so let me punch in the year that my grandfather died â - 12th of February.
- February 12th.
From Nanyang Siang Pau newspaper.
I should look for reel number NL2753? Yes.
Okay.
- NL2753.
- Yes.
So, we need to go to February 12th.
So, here it is.
This is the one, yeah.
Now, I cannot read and write Chinese.
Okay.
I mean, the characters I know are very basic.
So, can you read this to me and translate it? Okay.
I knew he was from the Fujian Province.
But I didn't know the name of the village.
Yes.
What do they mean, improper childhood? Julie Chen is at the national library of Singapore, where she has uncovered her maternal grandfather's detailed obituary.
She has just found out that her grandfather had what this newspaper called an improper childhood.
I wonder if that meant he didn't have a formal education or maybe he came from a broken home.
I don't know.
Does it say when â Like, how old he was or why he went to Rangoon? No.
It doesn't.
I never heard him described as, you know, a philanthropist.
Interesting.
Okay.
Right.
Anxi is the county for Penglai Village where he was born and grew up.
Yeah.
It sounds like to me he kind of had the longing for his hometown by being part of that association.
Yes.
Why did he move to Singapore after the war? Did something happen in Burma? There's a lot of holes in this story.
Yeah.
So, does the Anxi Association still exist in Singapore? Okay.
Great.
I would love that.
Well, thank you, Jason, for your help today.
This was a very good start.
It's amazing to have the exact name of this village that I've never heard of â Penglai.
It's so much more than I ever knew my entire life.
That obituary was fascinating, but it's really just the tip of the iceberg.
I'm wondering why it said that my grandfather had an improper childhood, and I'm curious about what he was doing during World War II.
I imagine it might be a little bit hard to trace back to his early, early years, but I'm going to try.
So, I'm heading across town to meet with historian Dr.
Andres Rodriguez at the Annkway Association, where my grandfather was a member, to find out more.
- Hello.
- Hi, Julie.
Are you Andres? I'm Andres.
Oh, hi.
Julie Chen.
Nice to meet you.
Shall we go? Yes.
I first tried to find whether the actual hall here had some records on your grandfather, but unfortunately, I think most of them were lost.
But we did do a bit more digging.
We went online, and we did find a few hits.
Oh, good.
So, this is from a Chinese academic journal.
It says 1938.
What we have here is an English version.
"Anxi Overseas Chinese during the war of Resistance.
" So, was that part of World War II? That's right.
You know, we tend to think it begins in Europe, 1939, Pearl Harbor, 1941.
Actually, it begins in China, 1937, after the Japanese have invaded China.
Okay.
"During the Great War of Resistance Against the Japanese, numerous Overseas Chinese who originated in Anxi county of Fujian were bound to their homeland by a bitter hatred of the enemy.
" The language used here â "bitter hatred of the enemy," which is pretty strong.
It's strong because it's a horrible war.
And when the Japanese are invading China, terrible atrocities are taking place â The rape and murder of thousands of Chinese people.
It makes sense that the Overseas Chinese would not only be appalled, as a human being, for these atrocities but the feeling is, "it's still my homeland, it's still my people, and don't just desecrate it.
" Oh, absolutely.
When things happen, they're stirred up into action.
Yeah.
"In October of 1938, the patriotic Overseas individual Mr.
Chen Jiageng advocated organizing the Southeast Asia Overseas Chinese organization for giving relief to refugees.
" Oh, here comes my grandfather.
"Lou Gaw Tong, an Anxi Overseas person of Burma, was appointed as the Rangoon representative of the Southern Overseas Organization and in Rangoon began preparing the relief.
" How important of a position was that? I would say extremely important.
He would have been involved in coordinating the logistics of getting all these supplies needed for the war, you know, from other parts of Asia into China.
Also, he would have been very crucial in organizing propaganda to alert people about, you know, the Japanese enemy and the need to unite against them.
That's a pretty important role.
Well, it's a critical role.
Wow.
"In the spring of 1942, the Japanese invasion moved South, and numerous Overseas Chinese were subjected to unprecedented hardships and disasters.
The losses were tremendous.
" From 1940 to 1942, Japan continued to expand its empire into China and Southeast Asia, taking over Hong Kong, British Malaya, Singapore, Dutch Indonesia, and French indochina â Today's Vietnam.
Then, in spring of 1942, Japanese troops advanced into Burma, where Julie's grandfather Lou Gaw Tong was living with his family.
"Lou Gaw Tong, on the Eve of Burma falling into enemy hands, took his dependant family members and returned to China.
" I remember my mom saying that, at the height of the war, they had to flee and go back to China.
So, clearly your grandfather just can't stay in Burma, you know, he obviously has a price on his head.
He's the visible face of mobilizing Overseas Chinese and other parts of Burma in resisting the Japanese.
A lot of Overseas Chinese are being arrested, as well, tortured.
There weren't many options.
Hm.
"The Burmese Overseas Chinese Lou Gaw Tong, after he had returned to China, persisted in resisting the Japanese, so that in 1943, he took the risk of going to Shaoguan, where he met up with a shipment of carbines and ammunition, which had traveled from America and which filled up 11 trucks, traveling through Jiangxi, Zhejiang, Anhui.
" Your grandfather is going into Japanese-occupied territories.
So he's going into the eye of the storm.
That's right.
Wow.
Julie Chen is in Singapore researching her maternal grandfather's history during World War II.
She has just discovered that her grandfather risked his life for the Chinese Resistance by taking trucks full of ammunition into Japanese-occupied territory.
"Traveling through Jiangxi, Zhejiang, Anhui before finally reaching the Jiangsu front of the war, where he gave the Resistance Army there the supplies.
" How risky was it for him to kind of meet up with this shipment? It is very risky, but it also shows how he was a very resourceful man.
He was wired.
He was connected.
Absolutely.
Yeah.
He knew where to get the supplies and how to get them there.
Exactly.
It was probably one of the most dangerous places to be.
Pretty fearless.
He is pretty fearless.
That speaks volumes about my grandfather's character.
That's very admirable.
And now the picture's quite clear to me, but his early childhood is not clear to me at all.
I read in the Chinese newspaper, in his obit, that he had what they call an improper childhood.
Did you find anything out about his early life? I came across this book, which is about notable Overseas Chinese in the area, and your grandfather was one of these notable figures.
So, we have this version in Chinese, but I do have a translation, as well.
Ah.
And that might, once again, give you a few more clues about the life of your grandfather.
Oh, okay.
"Lou Gaw Tong, born in Anxi, Penglai town.
At 18, he went to Burma to work.
He opened a general store with some partners and then started running the general store by himself.
After being established, he and his younger brother Jinzi donated money to his hometown to build Anshan School.
" Oh, it says right here it's in his hometown in Penglai.
That's incredible.
But this little bio still doesn't really explain to me what was so improper about his childhood.
Do you have any suggestions where I can go to kind of fill in some of the blanks I still have? The sources I've found don't really say much on this, so you're gonna have to go to the hometown.
Penglai, here we come.
I feel fortunate.
I mean, I already feel like I've hit the jackpot.
To see a document with your grandfather's name with a detailed account of what his role was during World War II, how many people get to say they have that? I have newfound respect for my grandfather.
But I still want to fill some of the other holes in my grandfather's story.
Why did he build the Anshan School? And why did he leave China in the first place? So I'm traveling to the village where he was born, Penglai, to visit the school that he founded.
I'm headed to the school now.
Part of me feels like it's going to be rundown.
I'm very curious to see how that structure looks.
Oh, wow.
This is way more modern than I thought it would be.
I'll be meeting with the vice principal of the Anshan School, Li Ju Yuan, as well as translator Meiling Wu.
Julie Chen.
It's impressive.
It's very impressive.
I feel great pride right now.
It's a very proud moment.
Okay.
Oh.
Okay.
So, is there any information about my grandfather here? They're going to publish the history of the Anshan School.
Wow.
This is a translation from the Anxi County Gazetteer.
It's titled "Lou Gaw Tong.
" It says, "in the fifth year of the Republican era, 1916, Gaw Tong moved back to Rangoon, now Yangon, Burma, selling rice.
His business became one of the biggest grain operations in Rangoon.
He gathered together a huge sum of money and built a new home in his ancestral village.
In the fall of 1937, Gaw Tong, with his brother, contributed the funds to establish the Anshan School.
" It sounds like he really wanted his hometown to prosper.
Yes.
So, this says he resolved to carry on his father's ideal of strengthening the village through education.
This is the first time I'm hearing about my grandfather's father.
I never hear any stories about him.
I don't even know his name.
Wow.
I would love to go there.
Julie Chen is in Penglai, China, researching her maternal family line.
She has just visited the primary school founded by her grandfather in 1937.
Today I found out so much more than I ever thought I would.
I am so impressed at what my grandfather created in 1937.
Seeing a big picture of him on the wall where these young schoolchildren are getting an education because of him just warmed my soul.
It made me feel like â I just welled up with emotion and pride.
I was very surprised to hear that my great-grandfather had this idea that education would empower people, because I had never heard one word about him.
So now I'm curious to find out more.
Being able to visit my grandfather's old home, that is a dream come true.
With all this information, I'm still confused as to why my grandfather was referenced as having an improper childhood.
We are here.
Wow.
I love it.
Your grandfather is her uncle.
Oh.
Good.
So, she's my first cousin once removed.
Can she show us around here? This is the living room.
Oh, there's my grandfather.
Mm-hmm.
Oh.
Mmm.
Can you tell me anything about my great-grandfather? Oh! What does it say on the wall? Oh.
What does it say? What was his position? In what year was this? What does that mean? Julie Chen is visiting her ancestral home in Anxi, China.
She has just learned that her great-grandfather Lou Rulin was a scholar official and administrator of the imperial exam.
What does that mean? That's who my great-grandfather was? Yes.
Wow.
That's impressive.
It is.
It is.
So, no wonder education was so important to my grandfather, because his father was what was equivalent to being the head of the department of education.
Yes.
And the other position that he had? Wow.
Now I know why education was important to my grandfather.
Now it makes even more sense as to why he built that school we were at earlier today.
Exactly.
One of the first documents I found about my grandfather said he did not have a proper childhood.
But now that I'm finding out more, that his father was a top scholar and a government official, it doesn't sound like my grandfather didn't have a proper childhood.
It sounded like he had, if anything, a privileged one.
Mm-hmm.
Do you have any other information you can provide about my grandfather or my great-grandfather? That's all.
She doesn't have any more for me.
That's a great idea.
I would love it.
My great-grandfather's tomb? Great-grandfather, yes.
Okay.
Thank you.
Thank you, Meiling.
And I'll see you tomorrow.
Goodbye.
It felt amazing to see my grandfather's home.
Now I have a totally different impression of my family background, and I really thought it was a rags-to-riches, but he was more privileged than I realized.
The fact that his father was so highly educated, that makes sense to me now as to why my grandfather was so smart in business.
He knew how to use his brain.
Okay, so now I'm more confused than ever about why that obituary said my grandfather had an improper childhood.
My great-grandfather was in the upper class.
So, I still have this burning question.
Like, was my grandfather abandoned by his father? Was my great-grandfather, like, a selfish, noted scholar who didn't want to be a family man and didn't want to be a dad to his child? That, to me, is the biggest, you know, missing piece of this puzzle.
So, this morning, I'm meeting Meiling Wu at the Anxi county records office to see what I can find out.
Ooh.
Yes.
What does it say? Here.
What does that mean, he was a Qing official? Like, from the Qing dynasty? Yes.
That's a lot of power.
Yes.
Okay, what else does it say? Oh, wow.
So, they abolished the exams that my great-grandfather was in charge of, and he lost his job.
Yes.
So, my grandfather's world was probably turned upside down.
That's right.
And their prestige.
Mm-hmm.
And their prestige.
Ah, okay.
So, what about getting another job? Yeah, no, I would imagine not.
Makes me sad.
So, what else does it say? When it says he lost his father, that definitely means because of death? Mm-hmm.
Okay.
It wasn't, like, abandoned by.
It was death.
Got it.
For sure.
Mm-hmm.
So, at age 13, my grandfather had to go out and work.
Mm-hmm.
He had to become a man and work and provide.
So that's what they meant by improper childhood.
It makes sense now that my grandfather had to make his own way in the world.
This gives a very clear picture to me now in my head of what is my family story.
It's amazing.
It's amazing.
Yeah.
So we can now go to the tomb of my great-grandfather.
Yes.
That will be very special.
Thank you.
My impression of my grandfather before I set out on this journey was I just thought of him as this big, successful businessman, this rich playboy guy.
But now I respect him so much more than I ever did.
Finding out the timeline of my great-grandfather's life, he finally reaches the highest level he can, then he loses his job, his prestige, and his income.
Suddenly you don't have a place in this world, and I wonder if that's what killed him.
My next stop is to my great-grandfather's tomb.
I'm meeting my cousin Miss Ke, who's bringing along a few distant relatives.
We're all hiking up to the tomb with genealogist Huihan Lie, who will help me learn more about the significance of my great-grandfather's burial site.
Hi.
Hi.
My name's Huihan.
I'm a genealogist.
Oh, nice to meet you.
Julie.
Julie Chen.
Thanks for coming along on this.
It's great to be here.
Thanks.
Yes.
Yes.
These are your distant relatives.
And we're all making the trek up to the tomb? Yes.
Yes.
Miss Ke will be leading the way.
All right.
If Miss Ke can do it, I can do it.
Oh.
Here we are.
Here we are.
This is the grave of your great-grandfather.
Julie Chen is in Anxi, China.
She has just trekked up a mountain to visit the grave site of her maternal great-grandfather Lou Rulin.
He has a good view.
Yeah, he chose a good spot.
So, what does it say on his? So, in the middle, it starts with "Our esteemed father from the Qing dynasty.
" Then it says that he was a scholar official.
And then you have his names, Yuntian, which means "Cloudy Mountain.
" - But his name was Lou Rulin.
- Right.
This wasn't his official name, but it's an honorific title, and they gave him a very lofty name, Cloudy Mountain, because he was very well educated.
It has a sense of elevated knowledge.
This resting place looks pretty special.
Definitely.
Definitely.
This place has been very particularly chosen.
Does it mean you have to be someone who was pretty important to have this hard-to-get-to, sacred spot? Yeah, yeah.
Height and location, it was all also determined on the status of the person that died.
Wow.
Should we give the offerings? Yeah.
All the pieces of paper symbolize money.
They're giving money, wealth, to your great-grandfather in his afterlife.
So, they're providing for him.
Yes.
They're taking care of him.
So now that we have prayed, we're going to burn this money to send it up? Send it to him, yes.
You can see on every piece of paper there are either characters or symbols usually about happiness or wishes or paying respect.
I am a spiritual person.
I do believe that there are ancestors of mine that are protecting me in this universe and that they're looking down on us.
It's pretty surreal being here It sure is, yeah.
on a mountainside in China.
It's a real privilege to be able to say I've been here, take this back to my parents, my siblings, and my son.
Yeah.
It's very special.
It's an amazing family history.
I feel so fulfilled after this journey.
I could have never dreamed of what I would find.
My family has a bigger role in history than I ever gave my family credit for.
It's profound.
It gives me depth.
I feel more connected to my Chinese heritage than ever.
I truly believe we are all destined for who it is that we become, and a lot of that is predetermined by our ancestors.
I never thought this journey would make me feel so complete.
I have a firmer understanding of who I am today and why I am the way I am.
It also helps me understand my parents better.
You know, sometimes you feel like your parents, especially if they're immigrants like mine are, you feel like, "they just don't understand me, and I don't understand them.
" I understand them more today because of this journey I went on here.
I feel like it's time for me to somehow incorporate into my daily life something to keep in touch with my culture and my heritage.
But it's also something I want to do together with my son, for me as much as for him.