A brief family biofraphy                                 Back to Previous Poetry Book Page

I will begin the family recollection only with my grand parents, because other wise it will need the space of many books. My Grand Father Zeng Chuan Xun (1863-1921, the name means "continuing ancestral honours and achievements"), alias Zeng Nai Ming (the name means "to be remembered"), passed the Ching Dynasty State Local Exams as a scholar (), and later made a (). He was then awarded the official position as the officer of  the Yin-Yang (, ). Grand-Pa was still young and on his way up when the young emperor abdicated, which spelled the end not only of the Ching Dynasty but also of many thousand years of feudal system. So, Grand-Pa lived his entire life in the most tumultuous time of the recent Chinese historical changes. It was the time of opium wars, other consecutive foreign invasions and then finally the internal revolution. It was also the time when China was run by an ignorant and superstitious old lady behind a child emperor. It was the only short span in 5000 years of history that China was weak, drugged and beaten. At times China was completely engulfed and lost in the smokes of gun powders and opium fumes. So as can be expected, uncertain and worrying conditions of life breed ulcers and ulcers turn the bravest of men berserk. Because ulcers mean big open wounds in the stomach walls, where concentrated nerves are being attacked and slowly eaten away by stomach acids. In Grand Pa's days ulcers typically drove victims to opium. There were no other known drugs that could relieve pains and stresses better and quicker than opium, in fact there was no other drug at all in Grand-Pa's time. This was the fate for millions of good people in times of violent change, especially for highly sensitive thinking and feeling scholars like Grand-Pa. 

But opium would gradually clean away everything you own, and very quickly reduce you to utter poverty. Besides, as the old dynasty ended, Grand-Pa lost his regular official income. In the old feudal society professions and trade secrets were passed down from fathers to sons. If you were a carpenter, your family would be carpenters for generations. But when the revolution came, then your entire livelihood would be revolted too. Eventually whilst millions of hungry people were turned into beggars or criminals or revolutionists, Grand-Pa turned himself into a care taker of  temples, of which he was previously put in charge. However, as there was no salaries to maintain a stable living, there were good days and then there were very lean days. The good days were usually festive days when Grand-Pa was able to bring home plenty of foods and fruits, which temple goers had offered to the gods. The lean days were simply days the tummy made funny noises and you had nothing to do except tightening the belt.... 

But no matter the days were lean or fatty, Grand-Pa never relaxed his famous voluntary work in preaching good deeds. According to Grand-Pa's stories, good deeds would lead to good karma and a good reward in reincarnation. Grand-Pa would set up in the center court yard of the clan complex a raised platform and his seat in front of a few rolls of wooden benches, and in monthly regularity he would disseminate why and how some people had come into high positions and riches in this life. It was because of good deeds they had rendered in their past life, as Grand-Pa would describe in moving details of the stories. But there were also18 levels of hell as well, which were designed with punishments for a certain groups of crimes or misconducts... The children were fascinated by the vivid stories, and the women not only believed them but loved them too, because they would have now a lot of tales and examples to remind their children when they were naughty, and of course to encourage them when they were behaving well!  Many of Grand-Pa's stories were told to me by my mother when I was little. In fact, some of Grand-Pa's stories were spread down the generations and into South East Asia, even globally, as many of our people, including I, have migrated far into different areas of the world.  Grand-Pa's practice was later passed on to his clan nephew whom I called Uncle Len (). Such a practice was called "reciting the goodness book" ().... 

Grand Pa and Grand Ma (1876 - 1938) were both deeply religious and spiritual by nature. Astrologically they were both Scorpios, as Grand Ma was born on Nov 20th 1876 and Grand Pa on Oct 28th 1863. Grand Pa was born with Jupiter conjunction his natal Sun in early Scorpio, and as a gifted scholar he not only truly believed in what he preached, but he studied and copied in his own hand writings all sorts of religious, occult and predictive materials. The misgivings in his life and the tempestuous social conditions of his time had only deepened his search into the spiritual world. His belief and knowledge also deeply influenced my Grand Ma, especially my own mother. .... On the right is my Grand Ma. This picture was taken at Grand Ma's 60th birthday celebration. Father gave Grand Ma a grandiose birthday party in 1936 because he was always mindful that he was not able to give his father a satisfying burial. There were banquets. Two temporary theaters were built on the grounds of our clan complex and both operas and dramas were staged for 3 days for the celebration. Famous scholars have been requested by father to write biography for my Grand parents written in beautiful calligraphy.... My "Golden Grand Ma", sometimes "Silver Grand Ma", with which I had called her, did spoil me rotten though, because she would scorn my mother, if mum was hard on me. All I needed to get the best biscuit in town was pretending to make a crying noise... Oh yes, I was spoiled and I got so used to it that I was looking for my "Golden Grand Ma" long after she was gone.... I was then about five......                       

One day Grand-Pa was coming home from Chuan Jao . On his way he through an outskirt called Lo-Yang. He came upon an orphanage. For a moment something transpired in Grand-Pa's mind, which we will never know, but he went in and immediately fell in love with a cute tiny orphan baby girl just a few days old. He brought her home, and they had never separated ever since that day. This cute tiny baby grew up to be a beautiful, pious and widely known kind woman who would eventually become my very own loving mother.... Look at her on the left here!  Mum's smile can still melt ice. Look, she is no less cute than the day Grand-Pa picked her up in his arms some 95 years before.... Yet my mother was more, she was a miracle all by herself!.. 

In 1921, a storm of death swept through our town and our clan. It was an epidemic of bubonic plague, the famous Black Death, which had no known cure. Out of the17 people in our clan who contracted the deadly disease, 16 of them died within days, including Grand-Pa. My mother was the 17th person who had contracted it, because like all other victims in the clan a bubonic growth attacked glands under her armpit. The Zeng clan (the spelling of my surname Chan was mistakenly registered by one of my uncles upon my arrival in Hong Kong in 1949. It got stuck ever since) descendants were living in a complex of 3 old traditional buildings, each housing a number of families (built by our great great great grand father who had served as governor of a capital city in Hunan Province in Ching Dynasty). After 15 clan members had died of plague within days, it was decided that the rest of the clan should scatter into the country side. But my grandpa and my mum has already contracted the incurable disease. So my mum made the rest of family went away too, leaving herself to take care of my grandpa. Obviously it was the end of her 16 years life too, but in the course of her looking after grandpa, she was attacked again and miraculously spared. As her other armpit showed another bubo growth, miraculously her 2 buboes cancelled each other out and she recovered without any help whatsoever! It was something entirely unheard of in the history of bubonic plague, the Black Death. So, mother was rejected at the front gate of heaven and sent back to her grieving family. Good job that she was too! because otherwise I wouldn't be here to tell the story. I came into her loving arms only 12 years later... 

It is meaningful and important that I add a few more words of biography for my beloved mother here, not only because her life was a story of pure love, charity and sacrifice, but also because it was an extremely unusual karma. I shall take to my gave this regret that it was impossible for me to give back a thousandth of her love that was given to me for almost 70 years. My precious mum was born on March 12th 1905, in the most tumulus days of recent Chinese history just shortly before the Ching Imperial Dynasty disintegrated. Those were the days when hundreds of years of old traditions were uprooted. Grandpa who was the last in the clan to serve as a district Mandarin (officer) of Ying and Yang had long lost his official remunerations during the years of opium wars and revolution, and unfortunately, like most people in those days grandpa took opium to stop pains from a chronic back injury, which had drained all his resources, and in his most difficult days he lost his only loving daughter of 9 years old. However, as he was previously the officer in charge of the state temples in town (there were state temples and private temples), he became the caretaker of those temples without salary. Anyway from time to time, during the festive and religious days, the family would struck it rich with foods and fruits that people had brought to offer the gods. The rest of days usually everyone in the family would have to tighten up his waist belt quite a bit. This had left a tremendous imprint in the conscience of the family members... 

One day grandpa was coming home from the neighboring little town called Lo-Yang. He came upon an orphanage, and for some reason he went in and saw a single tiny girl infant in it, only days old. Apparently some distressed but intelligent parents had entrusted the orphanage with the baby, leaving behind the details of the infant's birthday, but refused to give their name. At the first sight Grandpa fell in love with the baby. He took it in his arms and walked many miles to come home. This baby grew up to be a beautiful girl (see above left photo of her at about 90 years old) who was a pure picture of piousness, kindness and as a Piscean she was unusually soft hearted. Under the upbringing of her extremely pious, devoted but strict adopted mother (grandma was a Scorpio whom I used to call Golden Grandma and Silver Grandma. She is on the right above. This picture was taken on her 60th birthday celebrations during which my father employed drama troops to perform opera on a stage built on open ground next to our house and lasted 3 days), mum would became an image that people far and near had loved. Because she was a Piscean and because she never knew her own parents, she became an extraordinary compassionate person to all unfortunate people. Beggars and distressed people back home had told each other that my mum was the only person in town they can be sure to feed them when they really needed it. They said mum would give them her own cooked meal, and then cook for herself again later. When I was between 9 to 13 years old, my mum and dad made me sit in front of our house, twice a year in Spring and Autumn, distributing some small cash to hundreds of poor people who had registered with us. I would then stamp a chop in their little book because there were so many of them. The cash may be limited but important enough for hundreds to  come... 

Father loved mum too! They married and together they had ten children, but in those difficult days only seven have lived to maturity. Anyway, on Jan 21st 2000 morning my younger brother Tony, who was living with mum in the flat just below mine, came to get me to see mum, because she seemed unwell. I quickly went downstairs and saw mum sitting erect on her bedside with her breakfast on the table in front of her. She could not speak but extended her right hand to me. I took it with my left hand, then I sat next to her holding her in my embrace with my right arm. Then I began to discuss with Tony whether we should take her to the hospital near our house or call an ambulance. Then somehow I felt mother had melted in my arms and quietly slipped away. Apparently she had hold on until I came to her. My precious mum was few days from 95 years old, and had passed away in the embrace of her own precious son without illness. Then one and half hours later, a Lunar Eclipse became exact in the sky that very noon, with Venus in trine to Jupiter from 25th degree of Sagittarius to 25th degree of Aries, and a very close quadruple conjunction between Sun, Southern Node, Neptune and Mercury within 4 degrees at the start of Aquarius. My mum had been called upon for further duties under the best heavenly messages. In Chinese calendar it was coincidentally the day of my father's memorial anniversary. According to Chinese tradition my father's spirit should return home to receive homage in this important memorial day. So my elder sister Susan told me that father had come home to take my mum with him..... 

Actually grandpa took also a young num into his heart while he was in charge of the temples and made her his step daughter the head of a small temple called "Ru-Si Temple" (meaning "Also Reality") near our home. Her names was the "Red Nun". My grand parents' images are still amongst the past nuns in a private chapel and alter to receive homage from the living nuns these days. Anyway, as father was not home in all my sub-teen years, I was brought up by three most pious women in the world. I ate and slept in the temple numerous times. I was told that during one Chinese New Year festivities, our little kitchen was crowded with aunties and guest helpers, busily sizzling and crackling away with all the cooking and frying furors, and the little 6-7 years old spoiled brat, I, was yelling, screaming and fussing for whatever I was wanting. Suddenly in that commotion mum lost her composure and gave me a rare told-off. That broke her own heart! She dropped everything she was doing and run off to her parents' alter at the temple and sobbed her heart out...  

Yes, I love my mum, not only because I am luck to be her son, but also because this most loving mother had given all her days in 95 years to love all of us in the family, from my grand parents to my own grand children. All members in those 5 generations never failed to feel and to be infatuated with a fulfilling smile in their hearts whenever they approached my mum (she is on the left above). In all those very long years, never was mum angry about something or anyone. Never did she asked or demanded anything for herself, not even once did she ask anyone of us to take her out. Mum was also the good-for-all engineer in the family, as she would go about repairing anything from the building down to the last utensil in it. No matter how tough the job was, she was never shy to tackle it.... Yes, how I have missed mum, and I shall never stop regretting that I did not return enough of that love she had loved me with. But I promise I will, when I am with her again in that coming after-life....       

So by pure miracle my loving mother had survived two episodes of incurable bubonic plague that was unheard of in history, and she had come to give us her love and devotion that span over all her 95 years. She had begun her long and fulfilling journey by being held in the arms of my grandpa in her very infant start, and completed that journey in the arms of her beloved son in the very end. Her life-long kind and loving heart had been rewarded with a final moment that was totally free of pain and illness, only love! Because she loved me, and because she knew I loved her, that's why our last moment of embrace meant more than anything... After mum's departure I felt a colossal emptiness had suddenly engulfed my whole existence. In that state of grateful memory for my parents and grand parents, I soon decided to fill that vacuum by writing this website and cosmology, which I am sure grandpa would have loved, had he lived today. Because grandpa was the last Officer of Ying and Yang of the imperial Chinese history and his life-long work on Ying and Yang had inspired my interests in the science of cosmology... So, in a different way, grandpa too, is still with us... Notwithstanding that both my parents and grand parents will take me into their arms when we meet again in the after-world... 

[Note:- Chinese people have always worshipped their ancestors, long before written Chinese history. The earliest relics unearthed are animal bones carved with so called bone-scripts that dates back at least 6000 years. There are hundred of thousands pieces of such relics, all of them recording events of ancestral worship. Because like all religious people, Chinese people also believe in the "after-life", and that they will be with their maker once again in that after-world. So, they love, remember and worship their ancestors, thinking that in the spiritual world not only they would meet face to face again their ancestors who had created them with love, and more than often with a lifetime of sacrifice and struggle, but also because their ancestors have passed on their hard earned precious DNA qualities, gained through continuous evolutionary experiences (my 1st daughter Monique started to walk on the day she was 7 month old, and my second daughter Claire began walking in her 8th month). And above all, the ancestors have passed on their own physical parts through the sperm and egg that continue to live and grow in them, and will live on in the next generations. Chinese tradition also believes that if for any reasons one does not or cannot remember and worship ones own ancestors, then when one is done with this life, one would not be worshipped and remembered as well. In which case, should there really be an after-life, then not only ones ancestral spirits would become lonely and neglected, but oneself would also become a raging hungry ghost... 

It makes great sense if one believes in after-life! And all religions believe in after-life. Yet history is full of timely religions and mighty super naturals invented by man. By all means believe what you want, only remember ancestors are not any inventions. But be it imagination or history, should there really be a netherworld, who would you be sure to meet, or bless you and love you more in that world? Of course if there is no after life, then why believe in anything?... So, Chinese people go on to remember and worship their ancestors, and because of it, the longest record of family history extends to about 5000 years. It is certain ancestral worship will go on for another 5000 years, and much longer, because after-life or no after-life, it is the ultimate expression of love, appreciation, gratitude, respect, self-respect, self-value and value of life. These things are the very essence that makes us humane and civilized.]

For those who are conversant with astrology, mother was a Piscean of the highest qualities, which showed in her life with crystal clarity, as anyone who had known her would agree. Born on the 17th March 1905, her natal chart shows Sun in the 3rd Decant of Pisces. Her Venus conjunction Jupiter in Taurus and her Ascendant on the Spica. Her Mars, Venus and Saturn are all in Signs of their Rulership. Her Neptune is in its Sign of Exaltation and her Saturn is in Mutual Reception with her Uranus. She has no natal planets in any Signs of Detriment or Signs of Fall. She was truly Grand-Pa's precious daughter, but it also shows how lovingly and tenderly she was brought up by my grand parents. As a quality Piscean she was religious, intuitive, pious, always serving and extremely soft hearted but visionary and talented. In her prime and during the impoverished years, her delicate and beautiful hand embroidery as well as her other home industrial products had helped to put much foods on the table. She had cooked tens of thousands of meals, and helped to bring up more than a dozen little ones in the family, including her little adopted brothers and more.... There was nothing in the house that mother could not repair, or wouldn't fix, including simple engineering jobs......... 

At the dawn of the 1950s shortly after the revolution in China, for a while there were wide spread great political purges, or mob trials, imposed on the landlords and some rich people. My father and I had earlier come through Hong Kong on our way to Shanghai, where I was supposed to go to a secondary school.  We got stuck in Hong Kong, because the Red Army had just crossed the Yangtze river and the entire southern China would be rapidly engulfed in the fire of revolution. Back home there were talks about purging the family. When news got around 6 of the very poor came forward to protect my mother. They said my mum's house was the only place in town they could always be sure food would be given when they needed it. In fact, if they was nothing in the house to give, my mum would cook fresh food for them.... I remember when I was young, around 1946 and for 3 or 4 years on the roll, twice in Spring and in Autumn my mum and father would tell me to sit outside our newly built house with some money and a chop on the table. I would then distribute some small amount of cash to the very poor and chop the little booklet, which we have previously given to them. My father told me he was doing what Grand-Ma had always wanted, so he named his new house " Will Manifestation Lodge " and put on top of the main entrance these Chinese words "" meaning that this was the lodge where his mother's wishes would be carried out!..... I know of more than 400 of such very poor people in our town. I recall there was even one kingly figure who was the leader and had lived in a big abandon house outside the East Gate of the town walls with many others. I was told he had 4 wives... 

Anyhow Grand-Pa's passing, at the age of 58, spelled the abrupt end to my father's educations. Actually, until late1920s the Zeng's clan children were still educated by special resident tutors employed by the clan in its own private school ( ). My father and his clan cousins were primarily educated by their own family elders and clan tutors in such age old traditions. However, as Ching Dynasty ended, new educational system began to appear. Father was taking at the time of Grand-Pa's death, the first of its kind, a two years four semesters teachers' training course. But the family was so poor that he was also working as furniture art painter after school. There were times father would even do home work for rich school mates so that he could keep their stationeries. What's more, the school fees were 2 large silver dollars per semester, but father managed to earn back the 2 dollars coins as awards by coming first in his class. He did that for 3 semesters, then suddenly his father died. The family scraped up every last penny and was able to give Grand-Pa barely the simplest possible burial. In fact father had begged to borrow some money to give his father a good burial but was refused. My father was then 23 years old ( born Oct 20th 1897 ). So now what to do? The family needed urgently foods. There were 4 other hungry mouths to feed other than his own, i.e. his mother (my "golden and silver Grandma" as I had called her), his 16 years old wife-to-be, his next kid brother 7 years old and his last baby brother barely 4 years old. 

Father's college head-master, who was a friend of Grand-Pa, had always appreciated father's qualities, saw the urgency. He immediately signed the Certificate of Graduation for father, and what's more, he fixed for father to teach in a small and remote seaside village/town called Jin Men ( previously named Qim Moi) directly opposite to Taiwan. In fact, people of Jin Men needed to set up their first modern Primary School at the time. So father, who had never left home, went to Jin Men and became the master and the Head-master all in one for a time being. (The biggest problem it would later turn out to be was that during in those 7 years directly after grandpa's death, father was stuck in Jin Men and could not be home to help grandma bringing up these kid brothers who was growing up simply too fast and needed guidance, but he did manage just in time to pass on what he could and made up for the care of his youngest brother after he had moved to work closer to home 7 years later. This last brother would become a poet and later brought riches to the family).

According to father it was pretty scary at first, as village elders would cluster outside his class window to watch the head-master, who was just a kid, doing his thing. But as he mingled friendly with the villagers, since he had nowhere to go and nothing else to do, it gave him an idea. He suggested setting up an evening class for the grown-ups. The remote seaside villages in Southern China were places where sea farers and fishermen were not well educated, but relatively well to do, because their uncles and brothers who had ventured to Malaysia or Philippines were sending home extra monies regularly in no meager sums. Father's pioneering idea worked for everybody, and for himself it meant also extra silver dollars. So father began to make a reasonably secured living, although Jin Men was too far away to travel home and the journey could prove even perilous. Because the cloth belt that he wore next to his skin in his waist was no ordinary belt, it contained all he had saved during the half year in silver dollars..... " It would make a nice big noise when he let go of it onto the wooden planks of Grand Ma's bed " so said my mother. Those were Grand Ma's proud moments of hope-come-true as father would unload his treasure over to his mother. Unfortunately, father could only return home twice a year... 

However some 7 years later another opportunity came to hand. A group of ethnic Chinese who had made it good in Far Eastern countries had donated enough money to build and open the first new Primary School in their natal place called Shi Shi ( meaning Stone Lion) in the Prefecture of Jin-Jian (). As father was one of the early few who had already some experience and had just began to enter the prime of his life, he was asked to head the project. Jin-Jian was near enough to walk or ride home in a single day (no buses until after 2nd World War). So father happily took the job and settled down in Jin Jian as the founder and head-master of the first modern school, which he named the Lun Yin Primary School ( ). "Lun Yin" means the "Dragon Pool" (note: Unlike the Western culture, Dragon in the Chinese culture is a majestic mythological animal with awesome imperial powers. The past emperors were said to be reincarnations of dragons, and Chinese people are often also called the descendants of dragons). Anyhow here father stayed for another 15 years, many of which were Sino-Japanese War years. Then he came back home where he held an honourary position as a Director of a primary school in our town. Father had done a good job for this Lun Yin School, which has grown and was still operating well as I was told in the mid 1990s. In all some 27 years of teaching, father had personally cared and educated thousands of students today scattering all over the Far East. Shi Shi of Jin Jian today has grown to become a metropolis and one of the most developed and richest towns in South China's coastal areas. Thanks to father's dedicated efforts in laying down the early foundation of their intellectual human resources.... 

Notwithstanding the kindly rescue rendered by father's master immediately after Grand Pa's untimely demise, and also father's own ingenious evening class for the grown-ups, the family went through extremely hard and trying years. Yet, it was in such most difficult days two of Grand Pa's young boys were groomed and brought up. In later days they would eventually find much greater success. My youngest uncle Kee In, who had found commercial/industrial success in Burma, was also a poet. He had published his own poetry book but in free modern poetical style some 2 decades after father's ancestral poetical book. Uncle's book is called "Chao Bi Ji" meaning a " Collection of Insignificant Weeds ". Of course, my uncle was being humble. Actually he was quite an accomplished and successful young poet before he went abroad. His very significant poetical style has influenced my own trial attempts. My uncle had remembered and told me many stories about father's struggles and achievements in those early socially turbulent yet poverty stricken years. To my little Uncle father was like his own parent, as uncle would tell me at times... Today, my little uncle's children are continuing what Grand Pa would call good karmic deeds, as all his 4 sons are in the medical line of work in the UK and America, where they were educated. Together, they are saving lives and curing illnesses every single day. Grand Pa and Grand Ma up in heaven should be very pleased with that .... Anyhow, in one of our ancestral halls, which used to be the old clan school, there hang a couplet just before I left home, which read in Chinese :- and . No doubt, my father must have been at times exuberant and over celebrative about his luck in such difficult condition of life in those trying days. But in father's hope and prediction of a literally life to be continued by his descendants, it has become true! One of my brother is now teaching in Canada, one of my daughter had been teaching mathematics in Utah and Berkeley universities USA, and I too have returned from industrial activities to a life trying to follow the family tradition of writing. This English website is my trial attempt, and after this I should be writing some books both in English and in Chinese languages... 

In 1952/3 Hong Kong, my father and uncles managed to acquire an automatic cigarette rolling machine belong to the owner of the once famous brand "Double Happiness" cigarettes in Shang-Hai. The owner Mr. Wee has fled from the revolutionary flares to the safety of Hong Kong with his beloved machine but both he and the machine were getting old. He volunteered to teach how to make cigarettes and sold the machine that was taking up space in his flat. However, the machine was far too antique to be making cigarettes in competition with all the great brands coming from England for Hong Kong. It was decided that my youngest uncle Kee In should take it and set up a factory in Rangoon, Burma, where he was at the time. The company was registered in Hong Kong with me and one of my cousins as share holders, making 5 owners all together, and I should help whatever I could, which I did and that I should go to study mechanical engineering in England. Anyway, after only a few months of trial operation and my uncle had hurt his finger in the machine (which by the way could only roll cigarettes but was far too tight for dragging smoke into the mouth), a great miracle happened!.. In 1952 Burma became independent from British Empire. One day in 1953/4 suddenly the new Burmese government stopped all imports of cigarettes. There were only two tobacco factories, both totally new and inexperienced, that could now supply the country's consumptions. Suddenly people came from all over Burma by trains and whatever, some taking rooms in hotels, to queue up early in the morning before door-open to grab their share of cigarettes that could hardly be dragged or puffed. It was like a different kind of opium war! 

However, with that kind of luck, it was no wonder that soon the world newest cigarette machines from Molins of London and Hauni Werke of Hamburg would arrive to grace the factory, and I was sent to learn all about the industry in The Tabak Technikum in Hamburg Bergedolf... The rest of story was simply legendary!... For instance, when I drove pass the red lights in Rangoon street and was stopped by a policeman (I was very young), all I needed to tell him was who I was in order to put a smile on his face!. When U Ba Than, the father-in-law of Burmese Head of State U Nu, came to Hong Kong, the old man (in his 80s) always made me set up a temporary bed in his hotel room, so that I take care of him 24hurs. Well, you see, I had to come home every summer holiday from England to Rangoon and Hong Kong to help in whatever way I could...          

Father died in Hong Kong in 1976 from Cancers. As a typical Libra, father loved literature, poetry and anything artistic. He had published other poems with his poet friends in Hong Kong. Astrologically he was born with Venus and Jupiter in the same degree at 29º of Virgo. Grand-Pa had a natal Venus at this degree in trine to his own Southern Node at 29º Taurus. I was born on Sept 6th 1933 with my natal Jupiter also at 29º Virgo. All 3 generations have Venus/Jupiter in 29º Virgo, i.e. the last Decant and last Dwad of Virgo. Also shortly before I was born there was an eclipse with Jupiter on MC at about 29th degree of Virgo. Soon in 2004 Jupiter will return to this degree. Grand-Pa was a scholar of the Yin and Yang, and made an officer with authority of the Yin-Yang, and I have just written a few words about my father's book of poems and the history of Yin and Yang in this Website. I have also continued Grand-Pa's interests in prediction by extending my research to Tropical Astrology. Consequently I have added some meanings and shades by giving some astrological data here to enhance character descriptions and for those who know astrology to investigate further. Father's book will be an unbeatable record as the longest family tree of poets, and the Zeng's proven 5000 years DNA roots should be another unbeatable record in history.... 

Sometime in the Summer of 1999 mother slipped and fell in the house. She was probably the very last bound-feet lady in Hong Kong, if not in the whole of China. She hurt her hips and had to stay in bed. The fall was not too serious but she was already 94 years old. She continued to stay in bed, which had probably weakened her even more. Other than that she had no other illnesses and had not seen a Doctor in many decades.  Anyway, at the break of year 2000, just 2 days before the traditional New Year of Dragon. This day happened to be also the 24th anniversary of father's passing,  I received a urgent call from my younger brother, who was taking care of mother, to go downstairs (one floor below my residence) quickly as mother seemed unwell. I rushed downstairs and saw mother sitting on her bed having breakfast. She had already vomited out something and appeared to be suffering as her facial colour was not looking normal. She saw me coming and extended her right hand to me but unable to speak, I quickly took her hand and made her head lean on my chest as I embraced her with my right arm. I did not know what had happened but it looked as if she was already feeling better, because her expressions seem to relax and her colours had returned. So I started to talk with my brother about what to do next. It was when I felt that mother had stopped moving. Something had happened to mum because an eclipse was only less than two hours away, but she held on long enough just to see me for the last time, and the very moment I embraced her, she had simply let go and slipped away from my arms.... Mother had performed her last miracle on earth..... 

So the tiny orphan infant that Grand-Pa brought home had completed her epic long karmic journey with the family. She had come to love and serve every single one in the entire family with her entire life and her complete dedication. But that was no ordinary life, it was practically the whole 20th century! It was a century of wars and revolutions, a century of extreme changes, a century of destruction and construction, but for those who truly contributed in the construction, like my Dad and Mum, it was a century that demanded extreme sufferings, endurance, sacrifice, courage and above all wisdom as well as compassion. In short, it was a century of human struggle for survival of heritage and continuity, and mother was in the frontier at all times in all the struggles both internally and externally for the family and outside it. Being an orphan she understood well the need of parental care and family love. She experienced the extremes of fears and dangers during a life time of bloody external invasion and internal social upheavals. She had endured the lean days far more than her own share. She knew the deepest sorrow of losing ones own child 3 times and once she had returned from the gate of death herself. But mother survived all dangers few had ever imagined and lived longer than the most. Once in the Summer of 1946 there was an epidemic of cholera occurring in our clan complex (which occurred not infrequently). As usual mother was everywhere helping. I was old enough to be really scared, not about catching the cholera but about losing my mother. One of my clan cousins caught it and died over night (anti-cholera drug was not yet available in our parts). The next morning Mother went over to help. She came back home in the evening and said the cousin's widow mother wanted to die too. She climbed onto her son's dead body and eat his infectious saliva, but she didn't die. Such were the days and the extent of human sorrow!... Such was indeed my mother's selfless concern and courage too!...       

Whenever you saw mother, mornings or evenings, she always smiled to you! Or rather, a smile would automatically come out from within her! But her smile was the only most gentle and genuine smile you were lucky to have ever seen (see photo above)! No one, not even my father, has ever seen mother complaining about anything, nor about anybody!  No one has ever complained about mother, not even once for trifle things. Mother had never raised voice to any of her children, or for that matter, nor to anyone else! She had never demanded anything from any of her children, nor any one else... Mother was real all the way as her astrological planets could tell, and in the end, who could have ever imagined that she would say good bye to us all so quietly and in such a peaceful way, while she lied in the embrace of her own child.... But already my mother, the Great Grand Mother, had lived to love and to bath in love in five generations of her own very family, all the way from my grand parents to my own grand children.... 

The day our mother passed away it was the anniversary day of father's passing too. According to traditional belief, father's ghost was supposed to come home to accept our offerings on this memorial day. My sister told me that my father had come to bring mother to heaven with him. It made strange sense to me, because 3 days before father's passing in 1976, he called me to his bed side and in front of my younger sister, he showed 3 fingers right in front of my face, then loudly and clearly declared " Son, in 3 days I am going to die!'... It was exactly 3 days later he departed this world!... 

Sometimes I wonder what had inspired Grand-Pa so strongly when he saw that tiny orphan infant that he decided to bring her home. Of course Grand-Pa (grandpa's father was a high official in the Ching Dynasty and his mother a rare Chinese lady poet) was an authority on Yin-Yang matters and a scholar of many system of predictions, he had left behind many predictive books, which none of his children had the opportunity to read, but for a couple of years his eldest grand son, namely I, was just old enough to be curious about them and became inspired by them. Actually mother was born not only with the best quality of planets, her Venus conjunction Jupiter in Taurus was in trine with my father's Venus conjunction Jupiter in Virgo. Judging from the events in their lives, it was as if heaven had ordained their union. By sheer karmic chance heaven had bestowed the family with the kindest and pious daughter as a reward to Grand Pa's concern for humanity, because for over 2 decades father was teaching away from home, all the young ones were largely groomed and reared by this little woman with loving care and positive influence. They have grown up to be what their parents and grand parents had hoped. I hate to think of what could have happened to the family, or what terrible fate might have awaited the rest of the family after Grand Pa's death, if my mother had not been there, or, if mother had not been what she was. But Grand-Pa had probably already foreseen and understood the precious planetary qualities and their predictable astrological implications that very day as he picked up that orphan infant in his arms!... So, either Grand-Pa had the predictive and occult power that he could already predict from birthdays the karma his children would bring with them, because he had given his son, my Dad, the baby name ( or milk name) Tian Ci , meaning Heaven's Bestowal...  Perhaps Grand-Pa had certain influence over heaven's decisions.. or, perhaps names with such heavenly connotations do carry special karmic significance. But whatever it was, strangely enough what had happened in his children's lives did manifest as he had foreseen or fore-hoped in their baby names.... I never knew my Grand Pa, but to me my Grand Pa has been indeed a legend!

Note: In addition to the above Family Recollections, I now present two books of poetry by father (on the left below) and by my uncle Kee In (on the right below). Please click the books to read their stories.    

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