Chang Chia-Fen

Yu-i and Her first son

Living back in the days many women had no rights; to speak, to think or to take action. Unlike today, not much people back then go to school and learn. Especially Chinese people, their customs where very strict. Chang Chia –Fen a Chinese woman who overcomes a lot in her life, living in a strict family, marrying a person that didn’t love her and staying strong for her and her family’s reputation.

Chang Chia-Fen was her formal name. Her family calls her Yu-I meaning goodness righteousness. She was born in the year of 1900 in a family of fourteen. The sixth out of eight brothers and four sisters. Yu-I’s Father work as a doctor, but was never been paid. During the early years it was difficult but as Chia Pao, Yu-I’s older brother, grew up in a strict famiily, he was well educated and he opened a company himself. His father had always wanted all his son to be sucessful. Most of her brothers were famous for their education success. Like her Second brother, Chang Chia-Sen, he was a philosopher. Her fourth brother, Chang Chia-Ao, was a chairman of the bank of China. The both of them studied in different parts of the World; Japan, Paris, Germany, and North America.

Out of Yu-I’s sisters; Yu-I has a high interest in education. Since she was interested in learning, her father sent her and her eldest sister to Suzhou, and they studied there. Yu-I enjoyed every minute of it but her sister didn’t. After Yu-I’s marriage, she stopped studying and stayed home, but she always had the dream to go out and experience. After divorce, Yu-I spend 5 years in Germany studying and became a German kindergarten teacher. Later on she went back to China There she worked as a manager in the Chinese Women’s Bank.. Her father was very impress about his children so even when he and Yu-I’s mother left in 1927, they left happily.
Hsu Chih-mo was his name, her first time hearing that name was when she was thirteen. Yu-I did not know much about this man. All she knew was that he was well educated. From the advice of her fourth brother in November 1915, Hsu Chih-mo and YU-I were married, not knowing each other. After the Marriage Hsu Chih-mo was very cold towards Yu-I., they haven’t had a conversation ever since. Three years later YU-I gave birth to her first son, Hsu Chia-Kai. A year later her husband left for more studying the west and about within four years Yu-I’s In-laws sent her over to join Chih-mo. Again, Chih-mo was still cold towards her. There, Yu-I had her second son, but after three months of pregnant Hsu Chih-mo divorced her for another woman.

During, her emotional breakdown, she learns to stay strong because of the child. Therefore, she traveled to Germany to study and get an education. Yu-I met a friend, Dora Berger, who goes to the same University as she goes to, and became good friends. On February 24 1922 Yu-I gave birth to her second son . He was named Bide which meant Peter in German. Dora treated Peter as her own son. After the first year Peter started getting the sick spell diarrhea and breathing problems. In the spring of 1923 the doctors found out, Peter had a worm in his intestine and he was growing weaker each day. He tummy grew bigger in the winter of 1924. In spring of March 19, 1925 Peter died in pain. The death of Peter cause Dora to fall into physical and emotional breakdown and contacted Pneumonia, and it did not recover.

After, the horrible breakdown Yu-I went back to her home country, China, and started her new life. She kept her dream of education and became a manager of a Bank. In 1930, Yu-I’s mother-in-law died of asthma, and given Yu-I to keep in charge of the Hsu’s household. One year later after her mother-in-law’s death, Hsu Chih-mo died in a plane crash. Then past a few more years her father-in-law was really ill and died in his sleep.

When Chia-Kai turned 21, he was married, with Yu-I’s son and daughter-in-law. They immigrated to United States. In 1953, Yu-I married a man, Dr.Su, who fell in love with her. He had 4 teenage children and was a doctor. Sadly, in 1972 died of a worm in the intestine just like Peter died. Throughout Yu-I’s life sometimes she enjoyed it, but most of the time she was hurt. When Chang Pang-mei, author of this book, ask her about has she forgiven Hsu Chih-mo. Yu-I will always answer no but it is very different how she answered, until the day she dies, on the evening of January 20, 1989, suffering from bronchitis. Her answer is still the same, but that is because she still loves him, and never can, Hsu Chih-mo.