American Odyssey: from Beijing to Washington

By Rose Hong

This book marks a major milestone in my life that I have truly lived an American Dream through my thirty-year odyssey. Meanwhile, this book also marks the beginning of another chapter in my life. I will continue to contribute and give back to this great nation that has changed my life and my children's lives for generations to come.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Rose Hong
• Release date: Jun 16, 2021
• ISBN: 9781801282345

Book preview

About the Author

The author Rose Hong comes out with her autobiography that tells the fascinating story of how she grew up in China and now living a true American dream!  

As a first-generation Chinese immigrant, Hong had a front seat to major political events and situations in China and America, which deeply impacted her personal life as well. She has made a name for herself in the television media as one of the cultural ambassadors who helped the China-America relationship. She is now ready to tell the tale of how her cross-cultural experiences and some major moments in Chinese and American history affected her life and the lives of many.

Dedication

Isaac Newton once wrote that If I have seen further than others, it is by standing upon the shoulders of giants.  There is no simple way to thank those who have helped and shaped my life because there are so MANY!

I have traveled around the world; I have met people from different parts of the world with diverse backgrounds; I have tasted the delicacies from the West to the East; I have been doing so many things that were not possible for a girl from a small town in China.  All because that I have the following people who have supported me, loved me and inspired me and I am standing on their shoulders:

My husband, Stuart, whose unconditional love and support give me a solid foundation to do all the things that I have been doing.

My children, Michael, and Adam for giving my life a purpose.

My parents, Mo Chen and Chen Lan Huang for sacrificing so much to give me a new life!

My sisters and brother, Grace Chen, Ya Ying Chen and Xiao Lu Chen. Grace has been my inspiration and always stands in the shadow to let me shine!

My teachers and professors, especially Dr. Puyang, and Dr. Eric Bentley, whose book changed my life!

Acknowledgment

My husband, Stuart has always there for me. No matter how far and how long that I have traveled, he is always there to greet me at home. His family, Father Robert, Mother Linda, his brothers Allen and Steve and our beloved decreased mother, Mrs. Elsie Hitchings all accepted me into their family as one of their own even when I had nothing.

I would also like to thank my first husband, Benjamin and his family. Mother Carol and Father Benjamin Snowden, greeted me with loving arms when I first arrived in the U.S.  They have loved and supported me and my two boys even to this day.

Preface

It is with mixed emotions that I write this preface. This book marks a major milestone in my life that I have truly lived an American Dream through my thirty-year odyssey. Meanwhile, this book also marks the beginning of another chapter in my life. I will continue to contribute and give back to this great nation that has changed my life and my children’s lives for generations to come.

The Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic has had an unprecedented impact on how we live and work.

It is unfortunate that we are unable to visit our loved ones, especially grandparents and parents to whom we are in debt for so much, yet I finally have time to write this book and to spend time with my beloved husband and children.

We frequently visited the farms and wineries in the Loudon Wine Country, one of the oldest wine regions in the country.

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(Fleet Wood Farm Winery, 2020)

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(Dry Mill Vineyards, 2020)

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(Chrysalis Vineyards in VA)

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(Life without wine is like a day without sunshine!)

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(Wine tasting during COVID means we must stay inside the circle!)

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(I also have time to enjoy our garden!)

Due to the pandemic, I can work at home to complete this book. I am eternally grateful to my family, friends, and supporters over the years for making this book possible.

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(This is where I wrote this book, my home in the suburb of Washington D.C. I called it my castle. With over 7,000 SF of space, I am truly blessed to stay at home and work during the pandemic!)

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I would like to honor all the lives lost during the pandemic. If there is anything that we can learn from this pandemic, it is that there is nothing more precious than human lives. God gives us only one life. We must take good care of ourselves, so we can love and care for others.

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Birds sing after a storm, why shouldn’t people feel as free to delight in whatever sunlight remains to them? As Rose Kennedy said.

We must continue to live, love, and fight for a better life for ourselves and our children!

Contents

About the Author

Dedication

Acknowledgment

Preface

Chapter 1: One Must Not Forget the Source of Happiness or Success

Chapter 2: Absorb Knowledge as If You Are Hungry or Thirsty for Life

Chapter 3: Restoring Waste Land

Chapter 4: Like a Duck to Water   – College Years

Chapter 5: Starting from Zero  – Coming to America

Chapter 6: Long Journey Starts with the First Step  – Learning the Ropes

Chapter 7: With Great Power Comes Great Responsibility – Washington Years

Chapter 8: The Pursuit of Happiness

8-1 Madam Anna Chennault & The Flying Tigers

8-2 Peking Opera Master Mei Baojiu

8-3 Sergi Carreras & Carmen

8-4 Deana Martin and Her Father Dean Martin

8-5 Michael York & Cabaret

8-6 Tony Lo Bianco & The French Connection

8-7 Chuck Todd and Meet the Press

8-8 Michael Uslan and The Man Behind the Batman

8-9 Sam Mok & Who’s Who of Asian Americans

8-10 Judy Chu & Acupuncture for Heroes Act

8-11 Dr. Victor Wahby & Healing the World

8-12 Yao Ming & Sino-American Relations

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Chapter 1: One Must Not Forget the Source of Happiness or Success

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I put on a new, white-colored cheongsam dress with blue floral embroidery. My hair was tied in a neat bun. Looking at myself in the mirror, I thought I looked formal and beautiful. If only my mother could see me, she would burst with pride and joy. I was not the first person in our family to do something great for our nation, but being invited as an honored guest by the Chinese government to the People’s Palace to meet the President was quite impressive, if I can say so myself.

I could say with a 100 percent guarantee that it was the best moment of my life, and I knew nothing could ever top it. The entire thing felt like a dream to me – unreal and unimaginable, as if it were happening to someone else and not me. I always thought of myself as an ordinary person who did good things every so often. But that day was the most extraordinary of my life, and no, it’s not hyperbole.

While getting dressed and applying makeup, I wondered how many people would love to be in my place. To receive such an honor from your nation was something not everyone is blessed to have. I was at the People’s Palace of China, surrounded by the most notable individuals in the country. I couldn’t help but flash back to how it all started.

I was born in Yinchuan, an industrial city nicknamed the Pheonix City in the northwest region of Ningxia, China, during the 1960s. My life was a whirlwind of twists and turns. Happy and sad moments, just like everyone else, plagued my life too. But my journey to Washington, United States of America in the later years of my life made my story different and unique.

As an Asian American, I saw both sides of the coin. I was born in a typical Asian household and went through the many phases of Chinese history that affected my family the most until the moment I realized the meaning of the American Dream. Like many other immigrants, I moved to America for a better life. I planned to make the most of the land of opportunities and was ambitious to make something of myself.

Standing in the People’s Palace as an honored guest made me realize that I had made it. I had accomplished my dream and made my nation proud at the same time. It took a lot of pain, heartache, and suffering for me to reach that point, though. All my accomplishments wouldn’t have been possible if it weren’t for what my family and I went through together during my journey. Life hadn’t always been so kind or good to me. However, my ancestors proved that no matter what, we can always persevere through whatever life throws at us. Or, as the Americans like to say, When life gives you lemons, make lemonade. That’s what we did.

The family tree grew with the very first Chen, my ancestor. Recently, my family and I discovered the accurate genealogy of our ancestors, going back to some 4,500 years ago. The first-ever Chen was a common man who was offered a piece of land near the Yellow River in the kingdom of Chen. The land wasn’t too large, but ancestor Chen used it as an opportunity to nurture an entire community. He established a school to educate people around him and teach them about the wonders of the world. That was the first school ever built in the history of China.

The school helped people educate themselves and their children from an early age. It also helped the community to grow and prosper. It flourished so well and so much that the emperor took notice and sent his advisor to investigate what made the little region so peaceful and prosperous. When the advisor came to explore the village, what he found was a community happy with a strong sense of togetherness.

The people were receiving an education, the children were going to school, and the adults were farming in peace. Everyone had a routine and they stuck to it with rarely any conflict arising in the small community. All of ancient China had heard by then of how well-managed the place was and how the community thrived. The dogs in the community, too, were well-trained and disciplined. They were obedient and ate the food rationed to them, never fighting back or begging for more. The emperor’s advisor once saw a dog take too much of a portion that was offered to it. Curious, he followed the dog only to find that it was taking the food to feed other dogs. The man was awed and amazed because it proved the way the community lived.

The people in the village all took care of each other and never took more than they needed. So the man reported back to the emperor that the stories about the community were true. They were all very respectful, disciplined, and polite, even their dogs. They took care of each other and never stole.

I am quite proud to say that these traits were passed on to each generation of the Chen family tree as my ancestors were determined to help others, especially the ones in their community. Our family has also followed the theme of education strongly. My great grandfather and father were both educators and very charitable people.

Our family branch can be traced back to the military trunk that set the roots of my upbringing. My great grandfather wasn’t a general but an officer in the military. He was transferred to northwest China from the South to what we now know as the province of Gansu. Since he was stationed there, he continued helping the people in the area and building up a community. There were mostly farmers in the vicinity. My great grandfather had a great piece of land to his name. There, he built a school to educate the children of the locals.

He soon became famous for providing something similar to a soup kitchen to the people when the harvest was bad. He would have a huge pot of food or soup for anyone who had nothing to eat and often fed the entire community with no fee. His charitable and selfless acts made the people refer to him as ‘Charity Chen.’ He was educating the farmers’ children while also keeping everyone fed when they needed it. His actions would always stay with us because Chinese people believe in the fact that good fortune never goes to waste and that it carries over with generations.

I have many stories that prove the good fortune and deeds of my ancestors. I believe this helped me achieve all that I have today. Every bit of good luck and fortune that I have today is thanks to the deeds of my ancestors. From my great grandfather, grandfather, and father, every generation did much charitable work and helped many people in need. I cannot ignore how much that has helped me and others of my family by bringing us good fortune.

There is a list of the hundred most notable family names in China, and Chen (陈) ranks as the top fifth. However, our family ancestry went through a lot to get to the point of good fortune it now embodies.

After the emperor sent his advisor to investigate the village prospering under ancestor Chen, he felt threatened by the ever-growing influence. It scared him that the fame and reverence Chen was receiving from the people might overthrow his influence in the kingdom. So he gave orders to break up the Chen family to decrease their power and influence in the region.

After our ancestors were uprooted and scattered to different regions in the country, our family branch was separated from the rest. Fast forward to 1963, when I was born, there were many things I had to understand that impacted my family immensely. What set everything in motion, however, was when the 1940s rolled around and China became a Communist country. Then, in 1956, the country went through a political movement where the government took control of the land and property owned by the commoners and private business owners. My grandfather was one of the largest landowners. But in the recently established communist rule, that did not work out well for him or the family. The Communist Party took away all of his lands and assets, classifying him as a landlord. During that time, classification worked in such a way that those classified as landlords or landowners were considered capitalists. That label stuck with my family until the end. It made my family go through the worst of times because it was a label that announced we were against our own people.

There were other classifications, too, such as Peasant Class, Worker Class, and Soldier Class. But ours meant that we were the enemy of the people. It was so severe and extreme that since my great grandfather, grandfather, and father were all landowners, our birth certificates had a section that classified us as landlords. And so, the label followed us everywhere, being attached with all the records in our life. It was so bad that it even obstructed my education and school activities. I still remember how I was restricted from being a part of the leagues because I belonged to the landlord class.

I faced discrimination from the age of six or seven at school because of the classification. Every child my age was part of something, but I was alone and with nothing to be a part of. I felt like I didn’t belong and didn’t have a place in this world. The labels had already ruined so much of my life by that time. However, my father made a decision that helped me and let me focus on my studies without having to face constant discrimination. He helped me receive private education in the comfort of our home. He was homeschooled, too, because it was quite common back in his days. It was a tradition for private tutors to teach children who came from affluent families, starting at a young age.

My parents also changed my last name to Hong later for similar reasons. They wanted me to have more opportunities that they did not have. My last name was changed to my mother’s maiden name. Her family had been classified as Peasant Class. It was one of the best classifications because you had no limit or restriction when it came to opportunities in life, and they weren’t ostracized by the entire society. I passed the so-called Political Clearance because of my new name. I have kept it till now as a keepsake of nostalgia and honor.

My family also faced one of the darkest times in Chinese history. During the years 1959 and 1961, the Great Chinese Famine wiped out millions of the country’s population. I’ve heard stories about that horrible era from both my family and other people. The famine caused around 36 million deaths, even though the government only claimed that it was around 20 million. The worst part was that the world wasn’t even aware of what China was going through under the rule of Chairman Mao because he made sure the radio and newspapers boasted about China’s grain production.

When my sister was born, China was in such poor condition that my mother didn’t even have enough food to be able to breastfeed my sister. They both had little to no nutrition, so my mother made sure to give her some broth made of rice grain. That was the condition of my family, who was considered upper middle class in those times, so imagine how much worse it was for others. My mother told me stories of how my grandmother was surviving on tree balk and suffered from stomach bloating after my grandfather was sent to prison. The truth about the famine only came out during the 1980s, and then the 1999 edition of the British Encyclopedia recorded the event as one of the two worst famines of the 20th century.

My childhood was better because, by that time, the worst was over, but we had to survive on rations. I remember going out to the grocery store in the early hours of the cold morning. I had to line up at the earliest for fear that they would run out of the things we needed. I would take food