2021 04 09
作者 Article by Yvonne Zheng
一個月前收到了大表姊寄來的電郵。這位表姊在六零年代已經移民温哥華。我從來未見過她的真面目。只知她是一位醫生。年紀大到可以做我母親。她是借朋友是聖公會教友的關係, 輾轉得到我妹妹的電郵地址聯絡我們。原來她在退休後寫了幾本書, 有學術性的、也有歷史性的。她聯絡上妹妹和我的目的是為要收集關於她父係家族的資料。用意是要編輯成一本給下一代尋根的網上書。妹妹工作忙, 做資料尋集和寫文章的任務交了給我。忙了幾星期, 文章和舊照片一一寄出。終於可以安靜坐下, 總結一下, 這次為下一代做的事對我自己有甚麼意義。我母親家兄姊眾多。各舅父姨母的後代四散各地。加拿大、美國、英國、澳州都有他們的蹤跡。只有一兩個還在香港居住。其實除了我的表兄、表姊外, 我的堂兄和堂姐妹們也是四散各地的。
有人說落葉歸根。我的根在何處? 我兩個女兒是在加拿大出生的華人。 她們的根在何處? 小孫女是加中混血兒。她的根又在何處? 根是不是很重要? 我們的根是不是和我們的存在价值有不可分割的關係 ? 在現實生活中, 我們的膚色、我們的國藉、我們的傳統都為我們的生活帶來方便或不便。在上帝國度裏, 我們的存在為的是榮耀祂。在上帝的國度裏, 膚色、國藉和傳統都不重要。那裏有愛, 那裏便是上帝的國。
很多人認為尋根是一件非常重要的事。因為根讓我們感到自己的存在、讓我們感到有所依歸。作為基督的門徒讓我們的根加上了一個新層次。我們是屬於上帝的子民。我們在上帝的國度裏是有份的。
I received an email from my oldest cousin on my mother’s side a month ago. This cousin moved to Vancouver in the ’60s and I have never been in contact with her. I only know that she is a doctor and she is old enough to be my mother. She found my sister and me through a mutual church friend who moved from Toronto to Vancouver. The reason she looked for us is because she is in the process of compiling a book about her father’s family and wants to gather information on my mother’s life. It seems that retired people are into writing books. My own father wrote 2 about his family and his experience as a banker in Hong Kong. This cousin has already written 5 books since her retirement - some academic, and some historic. I talked to her over the phone and she explained to me that the book is going to be in PDF format and will be circulated within the family so the next generation gets to know about their family history. She has already contacted a few cousins and they have agreed to help. My part is to contribute an article written in English about my mother and to send her some old family photographs. I spent a few weeks looking through family pictures, old documents, my father’s books, and my parents’ obituaries for information. Finally, I wrote two pages about my mother, scanned many family photographs, and emailed everything to my cousin.
What have I learned from this experience? First, I have a very big family on my mother’s side and I have many cousins whom I have not met. Second, they are spread all over the world including Canada, U.S.A., Australia, Britain with one or two remaining in Hong Kong or China. Third, my cousin is worried that the children of the next generation will lose their “roots” because they do not know much information about their parents and grandparents, and most of them only speak English.
There is an old Chinese saying: “When a leaf falls, it goes back to its roots.” Where are my “roots”? My girls are born in Canada. Where are their “roots”? My granddaughter is bi-racial. Where are her “roots”? Does knowing our “roots” make a difference in our life or our value? In real life, our skin colour, our race, our nationality, and our culture may provide us with some conveniences or some inconveniences in life. In God’s kingdom, our existence is for the sole purpose of bringing Him glory. Skin colour, race, nationality, and cultural differences are not important. Where there is love, there is God’s kingdom.
Many people put great importance in finding one’s “roots” because doing that will help them figure out who they are or where they belong. Being a Christian adds another dimension to our “roots”. We belong to God. Our place is in God’s kingdom.