{"id":2262,"date":"2021-06-03T11:50:38","date_gmt":"2021-06-03T10:50:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp.mychinaroots.com\/?p=2262"},"modified":"2022-11-08T06:19:54","modified_gmt":"2022-11-08T06:19:54","slug":"digital-detectives-war-separated-family-reunites-with-social-media","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.mychinaroots.com\/blog\/stories\/digital-detectives-war-separated-family-reunites-with-social-media\/","title":{"rendered":"Digital Detectives: War-separated family reunites with social media"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Editor\u2019s Note: Names have been changed to respect the family\u2019s privacy.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Erin Ross is the apple of her grandfather\u2019s eye.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cMy family says he was quiet and stoic, but he was always very warm to me,\u201d she recalls. \u201cOf all the grandkids, I was the only one to ask, \u2018Grandpa, can you give me my Chinese name?\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Chen Yiwei would give his beloved granddaughter an auspicious name with double meaning, Si Zhong \u601d\u4e2d: in mid-thought,<\/em> missing China<\/em>. After all, he had journeyed far from home via Rio de Janeiro to southern California, where Erin\u2019s Chinese-Brazilian upbringing often drew curiosity. \u201cWhy? Why do you look the way you do? Why does your mother speak so many languages? Why\u2026?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For Erin, the answers lie in the steppingstones of her grandfather\u2019s story. \u201cHe was a trailblazer in every way,\u201d she says with pride.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Smiling<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

By the age of 12, Yiwei was the most educated person in town. Despite being the youngest son, he attended boarding school when most villagers in Hunan could not. This all changed one fateful day, when Nationalist-Communist infighting blocked his path home from school. Losing all contact with his family at age 14, he eventually followed a neighbor and emigrated to Taiwan.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Resuming his education, Yiwei became the first in his family to graduate from university with an English degree. When a friend recruited him to teach in Brazil, he took the leap overseas. Before long, he learned Portuguese, opened a neon sign business, and started his own family. After the military coups of the 1970\u2019s and the economic instability of the 1980\u2019s, they joined a wave of Brazilian immigration to the U.S., where Erin was born in California.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cHe was very strong to handle all of that,\u201d Erin muses. \u201cAnd smart! He spoke four languages and married an educated girl from a higher social class. My grandma comes from a family of doctors and high political figures. My grandpa comes from very little. He had to be super open-minded.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Black<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Erin treasures three photos of her grandfather\u2019s life before the United States: one wedding portrait and two snapshots with his brothers from 1981 or 1982. Somehow, after more than 35 years, he found a way to re-establish lost contact with his family in China. As Erin\u2019s Chinese name alludes, no matter how far he wandered, his longing to return home never left his mind.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI always dreamed of going back to his hometown with him,\u201d she shares. \u201cWhen he died, my dream was gone too.\u201d Needing time to grieve, she threw herself into her Master\u2019s degree in engineering. After graduation, she felt ready to dream again. \u201cI got sick of waiting and thinking I\u2019ll do it later. I\u2019m just going to do it!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Now if her grandfather could find his family without<\/em> the Internet, couldn\u2019t she find them with<\/em> it? Determined, Erin drafted a social media post, hoping to share his story online. As Facebook is blocked in China, she recruited friends to post it on WeChat on her behalf.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, since WeChat posts are only visible to immediate friends, she still had slim chances of reaching one family out of millions. To make her dream a reality, Erin had to get local. \u201cThat\u2019s when I knew I had to find a company. I googled, and My China Roots came up. Oh, you do this!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Three
To find her family in China, Erin took her search to social media: “Chen Yiwei was born around 1931 in Hunan. He was the youngest of five children. At around 14 years old he was attending a boarding school and lost contact with his family when he was not able to return home because the roads closed due to Nationalist-Communist fighting. After almost 35 years, he returned home in 1981 or 1982 and found his family again. He took pictures with his siblings. Chen Yiwei died in 2017 from Parkinson’s disease. We, his children and grandchildren, are searching for his family to learn more about our heritage and hopefully meet his (our) family.” (Faces blurred for privacy.)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Clues in hand, MCR researcher Liu Jingwen lost no time contacting all possible bridges with Yiwei\u2019s community. She rang every organizational level of the local federation for returned Overseas Chinese, from the Hunan province office to the Hengyang city office. For one month, her calls went unanswered, until she finally got the personal number of a staff person at the county office. As it turns out, the official lines were cut since the federation hadn\u2019t paid their phone bills!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

With the county staff now onboard, the stage was set to circulate Yiwei\u2019s story. At 10 am, his photos were posted in a WeChat group for local village leaders. By 12 pm \u2013 just two hours later \u2013 his family had been found.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhen we got the news, my mom couldn\u2019t believe it,\u201d Erin laughs. \u201cFifteen more cousins? This must be a dream!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It was otherworldly for him to return. His whole family had thought he was dead.<\/p><\/blockquote><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The revelation was a shock for their family in China too. For years, they had also been searching for their kin. Hopeful, they asked the U.S. embassy to trace an old address for Yiwei\u2019s first residence in California. When they learned about his passing, they feared it was a lost cause. Now, the WeChat post gave them a surge of hope. They had the exact same photos as Erin \u2013 and more.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThey had records I had no idea about,\u201d she marvels. \u201cA zupu<\/em> [family tree book] that my mother\u2019s cousin wrote up\u2026 and the letters and photos my grandfather brought back by hand. I could recognize his handwriting.\u201d Finally, she learned the full story behind his family photos.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In 1981, Yiwei had boarded a flight from Brazil to Hong Kong. There, a relative met and guided him back to his hometown. He traveled light, only carrying mementos to bridge his transpacific family.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt was otherworldly for him to return. His whole family had thought he was dead,\u201d says Erin. \u201cWhen he came back, everybody was crying. Cousins, second cousins \u2013 he met family he didn\u2019t even remember.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Four
Presumed dead by his family, Yiwei found his way home to his brothers in 1981. By tapping into local village networks, My China Roots reconnected Erin with the uncle who photographed the emotional family reunion. (Faces blurred for privacy.)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Getting to know her relatives, Erin has even deeper respect and admiration for her grandfather now. \u201cIt\u2019s clear they\u2019re very traditional. Once we\u2019re married, we join our husband\u2019s family. But my grandpa was very different. He took a huge interest in me, and I\u2019m his daughter\u2019s daughter.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Like her grandfather before her, Erin is eager to visit her newfound family in person as soon as international travel reopens. Until then, she\u2019s embracing their digital homecoming, actively using WeChat to stay present in each other\u2019s lives. \u201cWith zero contact, it\u2019s so difficult to find your identity,\u201d she reflects. \u201cConnecting with your roots\u2026 it helps you know who you are in the world.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"A<\/figure>
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Find your ancestral village and connect with Chinese relatives!<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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Consult Our Researchers<\/strong><\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
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If you are interested in finding your ancestral village and connecting with relatives in China, we would love to be of assistance. Our global team of researchers has helped hundreds of families discover their Chinese roots.<\/em>\u00a0Learn more about our services<\/a> or go ahead and get in touch<\/a>!<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

With the global pandemic, My China Roots is offering virtual tours packaged with our research trips to your ancestral village. Check out a demo here!<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A Chinese-Brazilian millennial retraces her grandfather\u2019s footsteps to find family lost in 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