I recall having mentioned that when my maternal grandfather, Yee Chen Kong, first left China for Malaya in the late 1800s, he was already married with three children (Read here). However, other than he was from Xingning, a county-level city in today's Meizhou city in Guangtong, not much was known about his family in China.
Similar to the thousands of Chinese in the period from 1850s and 1930s who left China to Nanyang in search of better economic opportunities to help their families back home, just like the story depicted in the recent movie, "Dear You" (Read here), I believe my grandfather's plan was to return to China and be reunited with his family once he had made enough money. Sadly, he never returned to China. During his life in North Borneo (now Sabah), he married a local indigenous Dusun girl, Lotimboi binti Gumpai, my maternal grandmother, and began a new family in this part of the world for over twenty years until his death on 25 May 1950.
My mother was aware that her father had a family back in China. Throughout her adult life, she had hoped to meet them. During a tour to Guangdong with my sister, Teck Yun around mid1990's, one of her intentions was to meet up with these relatives in China. Unfortunately, the tour schedule did not allow her to fulfil this long-held dream.
It was my late maternal aunt in Kota Belud who eventually managed to meet the family during her trip to Meizhou, China. She whom we called in the Hakka dialect, "En Yi" or Aunti En, one of the children of Yee Sip Yin (余習仁), a brother of my grandfather, Yee Chen Kong and the mother of my cousin, Christopher Foo (Read here).
By then, my grandfather’s wife in China had already passed away. Aunti En was, however, able to meet Yee Chao Chun (余超群), the son of my mother’s half-brother, Yee Tshan Shin as well as the rest of his family.
Since her visit, communication was established. I had also chatted with this China maternal cousin, Yee Chao Chun through WeChat with the most recent on 8 October 2026.
Previously, in his chat with a brother of mine, Tak Vui, he sent a copy of his family photo in 2018.
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The name Yee Tshan Shin, the son of Yee Chen Kong, also known as Yee Chen Thiam in China, shares the same generation name, “Tshan,” with my uncle, Yee Tshan Fah (余赞華), and my mother’s sister. This shared name clearly confirms the family connection between the two branches of the family (Read here).
I remember that in the 1970s, my mother occasionally sent money to her relatives in China. At that time, China was still a relatively poor country, and many families depended on support from relatives living overseas, similar to stories in the movie, "Dear You".
A major turning point came in 1978, when China began its economic reform and opening-up policy under Deng Xiaoping. Over the past five decades, the country has undergone remarkable economic and social transformation. Many Chinese who once depended on rural agricultural activities have moved to cities and urban areas in search of better opportunities and a different way of life.
My relatives in China are no exception. As younger generations have moved away from their ancestral villages to pursue new opportunities, many ancestral homes have been left vacant and abandoned. Yet, these old houses remain silent witnesses to the lives of our forefathers. Though no longer occupied, they stand as enduring reminders of the hardships they endured, their perseverance in overcoming adversity, and the foundations they laid for the generations that followed.
