Big idea: Jean Tren-Hwa Perkins was born unwanted during the 1931 Yangtze River Flood, adopted by medical missionaries, brought to the US for a few years, then trapped in Communist China. She was neither American nor Chinese "enough," yearning for acceptance and home her whole life. Her memoir, finished by her son, is an eyewitness account of Chinese history and her own harrowing story.
Why it matters: The Chinese immigrant experience, especially for women, is often overlooked and deserves to be told. Bridging two centuries, this story brings to life themes of displacement, hope, and a woman's coming of age, and brings history to life.
Key messages: Richard Perkins Hsung promised his mother he would complete her memoir. It took him more than ten years. He meticulously compiled and edited her writings, adding family photographs and historical details to create the 3-volume Spring Flower, spanning the 83 years of her life (1931–2014).
The author can also discuss:
• How missionaries played a vital and misunderstood role in 20th century China.
• Why his mother's US citizenship was blocked, despite her adoptive American parents.
• How the rise of Communism destroyed Chinese families for generations.
• How language and displacement struggles triggered his mother's depression.
• How his mother achieved a successful career as an ophthalmologist despite the odds.
• Why he chose to set aside his own career as a professor to complete Spring Flowers.
• How he uncovered secrets and truths about his mother's and his own life.
The source: Richard Perkins Hsung was born in China in 1966 and was one of the first teens to leave China legally after Mao’s Cultural Revolution. He earned a Ph.D. in chemistry from the University of Chicago and became a professor at the University of Minnesota-Twin Cities and the University of Wisconsin-Madison, retiring in 2022. He spent ten years editing and completing Spring Flower (Earnshaw Books) by his mother, Jean Tren-Hwa Perkins, MD. The three-volume memoir chronicles her life as an adopted child of American medical missionaries, survivor of China's brutal communist regime, ophthalmologist, immigrant, and mother. Hsung lives in Madison with his wife, where keeping squirrels from digging up his backyard has become a daily scientific obsession. Learn more at Yangtze River by the Hudson Bay.
Richard Perkins Hsung was born in China in 1966 and was one of the first teens to leave China legally after Mao’s Cultural Revolution. He earned a Ph.D. in chemistry from the University of Chicago and became a professor at the University of Minnesota-Twin Cities and the University of Wisconsin-Madison, retiring in 2022. He spent ten years editing and completing Spring Flower (Earnshaw Books) by his mother, Jean Tren-Hwa Perkins, MD. The three-volume memoir chronicles her life as an adopted child of American medical missionaries, survivor of China's brutal communist regime, ophthalmologist, immigrant, and mother. Hsung lives in Madison with his wife, where keeping squirrels from digging up his backyard has become a daily scientific obsession. Learn more at Yangtze River by the Hudson Bay.
