Family bonds forged in hardship and joy
Print Edition
Although Li Diping, a resident in Jinyangyuan community, is 89, she can still sing and dance with the best of them, and is a stalwart in the “Old Moms’ Chorus” there.
Li was widowed at 36, leaving her to care for four daughters, a son and her mother-in-law. The youngest child was only 4, and Li faced a struggle raising her brood.
Now she is the matriarch at the head of a family of 18 — all of whom sing and dance and enjoy lively and fun family gatherings.
For Li’s 80th birthday, her children prepared a celebration banquet at a restaurant with a stage, inviting a fashion model team, a chorus and a Yueju Opera troupe of retired women to perform.
Li’s children also wrote and recited a poem at the party, thanking their mother for her efforts raising them.
Li has also found TV fame — winning first prize in a weekly talent show. When competing for the monthly title, two of her daughters helped her in the performance with playing guitar, dancing Latin dances and staging fashion shows. If this wasn’t enough, the family also created a sitcom, “Upstairs, Downstairs,” which won second prize in the district.
Li has two very special family photos at home. The first in black and white was taken in 1969 with her children surrounding her. At that time, one of her daughters was about to be sent to work and live in rural areas and the photo was taken before their departure. If her daughters were homesick, the photo would make them feel their mother was at their side.
The second (above) taken in 2013, was given to Li by her children as Mother’s Day gift. Li is dressed in a purple qipao, surrounded by her family. Now that a great-grandchild is going to the United States to study, the family photo will help relieve homesickness, just as the black and white picture did more than 45 years ago.
Looking at the 2013 photograph, Li can see how her family has grown, but still united by strong bonds of sharing hardships and happiness.
How did Li educate her children to be so respectful? She replies with a single sentence: “Be an honest person and a diligent worker.”
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