Cover Viscountess May Lin de Chezelles
Viscountess May Lin de Chezelles
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In this interview, she shares some personal insights behind her latest book
In the book titled Yellow Mountain, Viscountess May Lin de Chezelles shares a biographical fiction of her grandfather’s migration from China to Malaya, based on her mother’s diaries. It creates an arresting portrayal of the pain endured by countless Chinese gentry, known as the Mandarins, who were forced to leave behind their ancestral, spiritual and cultural identities to reinvent themselves in new lands.
Her grandfather, Loke Wang-Lei, was a judge, military man and confidante to the imperial court in China. Loke took two years to plan their migration as it involved taking a large family and an entourage of staff from Canton to Singapore, and then north in the Malay peninsula where they eventually settled in Taiping. On the boat out of China, Loke and his daughter, Susan, forged a bond that strengthened as they created a new life in an alien land.
De Chezelles, who’s a consulting economist for China, has waited 22 years to write Yellow Mountain because work kept her busy. She shares her story behind the inspiration for the book.
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What inspired you to write the book?
The writings and diaries of both my grandfather and my mother inspired me. Also, the last three years have been poignant for me for personal reasons. That really created the inspiration to write.
'Yellow Mountain' has been adapted from the diaries of Susan Loke. Who is she to you?
My mother.
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Above The cover sleeve of 'Yellow Mountain'
The cover sleeve of 'Yellow Mountain'
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What was the writing process like for you? Did you encounter any setbacks or challenges along the way?
The main challenge was to do research into 4,000 years of Chinese history, simply to understand [my grandfather’s] stories in the diaries.
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Is becoming an author something you had always wanted to do?
I write books for the sheer creative joy of telling a story. However, it always requires much research beforehand. I write to think of how life can be improved because of what we’ve learnt. I was particularly impressed with Ban Zhao who lived in the Han Dynasty. She wrote, amongst other books, Letters for Women. I think Letters For Women and Ban Zhao’s attitude that a wife should always be subservient to her husband was a radical one, if one looks at the times we live in. She argues that this domestic harmony was the cornerstone of the Chinese family... proceeding to harmony in the village, province, and then nation. This characteristic still remains in Chinese culture today. It also remains one of the attributes as to how the culture has contributed to the longevity of the Chinese race overall.
When you’re not writing, what are your other interests?
Opera.
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Elizabeth Soong is the managing editor of Malaysia Tatler. She loves a good laugh, but is serious when it comes to work, and gets a high from dancing, cats purring, plus enjoys musicals or binge-watching a good TV series. Continually inspired by the people she meets, edits and writes about, you're welcome to see what she's up to on her Instagram @lizsoong.
