BURIED SECRETS , POLITICAL PRISONERS AND LONG-LOST FAMILY MEMBERS were just a few of the unexpected twists and turns Lois Yu ’ 93 , MS ’ 95 , uncovered while working on her undergraduate research thesis .
Growing up in the United States with immigrant parents , Yu had heard rumors about an illustrious family history and decided to investigate her Chinese heritage while studying abroad in Taiwan in the 1990s .
“ I was researching my paternal grandfather ’ s life , but I was really researching my own identity ,” says Yu . “ I ’ m an American , born and raised , yet I felt there was something more to me , and it was in China . But I had to unravel a mystery to find out where I came from .”
By conducting interviews with older relatives , utilizing archives and talking with Chinese historians , she uncovered the story of her grandfather ’ s life . He was born to a “ second wife ,” a concubine with few rights . To escape poverty and bullying , he left his rural home as a boy and made his way to Shanghai , the birthplace of the Chinese Communist Party . He was recruited and eventually became a party leader . But infighting and civil war forced him to flee China to Russia . After four years , he returned to China to reunite with his wife and daughter . They had other children and raised their family in the midst of nonstop wars that ravaged China throughout the early 20th century . Although he supported the Chinese Communist victory in 1949 , his record of defecting to the rival party for a time raised suspicions and he was labeled a counterrevolutionary . He was
arrested and died a political prisoner in 1956 , survived by his wife and children , including Yu ' s father .
“ I talked to a lot of people who knew my grandfather , but who are no longer alive even now ,” says Yu . “ The Chinese archives were a big resource ; he was enough of a historical figure that I could find him in books and meeting records .”
Amid her research , Yu discovered a family secret . Her grandfather also had a second wife , a Chinese expatriate like himself . They had two children . First , a daughter born in Moscow and left in an orphanage when they returned to China , and second , Yu ’ s father , born in Shanghai and raised by the grandfather ' s first wife as the younger twin of her son . It seemed impossible that Yu would ever find her aunt . There were no leads — not even a name . But decades later , in 2017 ,
with her missing aunt nearly 90 years old , Yu brought her father to meet his full biological sister for the first time ( pictured below ). “ I felt that claiming this story would make me whole , but I found so much more ,” says Yu . “ I found a personal connection to the history of others and because of that , a new perspective of how we are all interconnected .”
Yu ' s life-changing experience in China was made possible through an undergraduate summer research fellowship . Today , she wants to offer students the same opportunity that she had — to engage in hands-on learning through a full-time research immersion experience .
" I want to help young people have those defining experiences , too ."
What have you learned about your family ? Tell us at : tritonmag @ ucsd . edu
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