Hometown

Returning to 南京
Aug 30 ’09
My grandmother lives with my uncle’s* family and they’re moving to a new house. I was helping her pack up when I came across this portrait of my grandfather taken after he had fallen terminally ill. I’ve never met my paternal grandfather; he passed away from gullbladder cancer a couple years before I was born. I stared at the portrait for a good ten minutes before taking a picture of it. It felt comforting to finally put a face to the man central to so much family folklore. *In Chinese culture, relatives are denoted with special terms by which side of the family they are related to you by and their seniority in their generation. My grandmother lives with my 2nd Paternal Uncle. 2nd means he is the second oldest son. He has two older sisters, but they are counted separately.

My grandmother lives with my uncle’s* family and they’re moving to a new house. I was helping her pack up when I came across this portrait of my grandfather taken after he had fallen terminally ill. I’ve never met my paternal grandfather; he passed away from gullbladder cancer a couple years before I was born.

I stared at the portrait for a good ten minutes before taking a picture of it. It felt comforting to finally put a face to the man central to so much family folklore.

*In Chinese culture, relatives are denoted with special terms by which side of the family they are related to you by and their seniority in their generation. My grandmother lives with my 2nd Paternal Uncle. 2nd means he is the second oldest son. He has two older sisters, but they are counted separately.

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