As we all know, the United States is an immigrant country, and its ethnic subjects are not only whites who originally immigrated from Europe, but also a large number of blacks, yellows, Indians and other immigrants from different countries of different skin colors around the world.
In the midst of the wars of the last century, the United States was the only place that was not severely damaged by the world war, so the country's immigration fever has not been interrupted to this day.
In the 19th century, the land of the United States, as a new continent, was a paradise for countless gold diggers, criminals, and people who were expelled from their hometowns, and it was a new continent for many people with tragic fates.
Born as a monster, his life is miserable
In the early 19th century, Zeng and Yin (also known as "Chang" and "Eun") were conjoined twins born in Siam (present-day Thailand).
Their father was Chinese and their mother was a Thai-Chinese mixed-race child, and due to the medical technology of the time and other reasons, their bodies could not be separated by surgery, so they lived conjoined throughout their lives.
Zeng Heyin's family of origin is in a difficult situation, belonging to the poor residents of Suriname Province in Thailand, with no formal education, and mainly living by growing sesame, corn, rice and other fruits and vegetables.
Their parents worked as servants in the local manor owner's family, and their daily job was to serve the manor family and do farm work.
Due to the lack of modern medical equipment and technology, Zeng and Yin's parents were unable to provide them with adequate medical help and care.
In Thai society, conjoined babies are discriminated against and ostracized a lot, and many people around them even think that they are a bad omen and curse.
Despite the difficult situation of Zeng and Yin's family of origin, their parents have been trying their best to take care of them and take them to various places to seek medical treatment.
Their parents even took Zeng and Yin to places like Bangkok, hoping to find a surgeon who could separate them.
Zeng and Yin's family belong to the poor of 80% of the inhabitants, and there is not much time for them, and after giving up treatment, they become eccentrics in the crowd.
In Thailand, conjoined babies are rare, and due to the lack of modern medical equipment and technology, few conjoined babies survive to adulthood, and the survival of Zeng and Yin has become a local miracle.
When they were discovered, the conjoined babies became one of the topics of conversation among local residents, attracting many people to watch, and later even alarming King Rama III of Thailand.
The king ordered to see the magical twins, and the two brothers were brought into the palace wrapped in a hammock.
Like animals released from their cages, they were ordered to climb under the king's throne.
As they approached the king's position, their sticky bodies became more and more visible, and at this time, the vast and majestic palace was like a gorgeous prison for the conjoined children.
They were always under the watchful eye of the king and his ministers, and whether they could see it or not, they were to submit to this power and be at the mercy of others.
Perhaps the people of Thailand at that time were still living in exploited poverty, but no one questioned that the king was the chosen one, and the Buddhist Thai had long regarded obedience as a quality, but Zeng and Yin could not even have this quality.
Because they do not belong to the general "normal person".
Zeng He in the court felt that he was being treated inhumanely in his heart, and his attention was attracted by a few swallows that suddenly flew in.
The rules of palace etiquette required them to keep a certain distance from the king and did not allow them to speak directly to the king, but Rama III's curiosity led him to bypass this rule and ask them directly: "Who are you?" Why does it look like this? ”
Hearing this question, the twin brothers finally had the opportunity to answer the king directly: "We are conjoined children, because our bodies are not separated at birth." ”
When the king heard this, he couldn't help but straighten up in surprise and opened the yellow silk curtain in front of him, wanting to get a closer look at this strange pair of "creatures".
However, the twin brothers felt a hint of indescribable unease, because Siam's palace etiquette was an insult to anyone's direct gaze, let alone the king?
They began to worry about whether they would be able to leave the court safely, and they could not help but feel a pang of fear and uneasiness in their hearts.
In Thai society at that time, the religious atmosphere was strong, and if it was associated with some bad natural phenomena, it would be difficult to escape the disgust and rejection of everyone.
Thailand is in the tropics, with earthquakes, tsunamis and tropical diseases, which many people consider to be a bad omen and curse, and Zeng Heyin's parents can only be helpless in the face of this relentless blow and discrimination.
A blessing in disguise, an unexpected turnaround
In 1829, at the age of 18, Zeng and because they were favored by British businessman Robert Hunt and American captain Abel Coffin, the two decided to bring the conjoined man to the United States, package it and perform commercially.
Faced with the economic dealings of American merchants, Rama III finally agreed to let the conjoined child leave Siam and become the "Three Jewels of Siam" along with the white elephant and the Siamese cat.
Siamese began his career performing in various circuses in North America and Europe.
The twin brothers had to leave their home country and become one of the "Three Jewels of Siam", but perhaps this was the turning point in their lives.
They were sent to the circuses of North America and Europe to begin a new journey in life, and although their lives underwent a huge transformation—always seen as outliers, curious and ridiculed by audiences—they never took their lives lightly.
To add visual effects, they need to put in elaborate makeup before each performance to make themselves look more exotic and bizarre.
For example, they have to play various roles on stage to shock the audience, and although this kind of life may seem unimaginable to ordinary people, for Zeng and Yin, it has become their only way of life.
They gradually adapt to this life, learn how to remain optimistic and determined in difficult circumstances, believe that they were born different, and do not prevent them from pursuing their dreams and freedom.
In the end, they became the stars of the much-anticipated entertainment industry, and thus got bargaining chips with their bosses.
Performances in circuses were once part of the tourism and entertainment industry, causing a strong sensation in different countries.
Today, it seems that Zeng Heyin, who usually performed in the circus as a "human spectacle", did not treat them as human beings in the slightest, and the laws and society of the time could not have given him a just identity and better living conditions.
If you think that this is enough to awaken them, then you are wrong, and what happened afterwards may be the reason why Zeng He decided to leave.
To add to the gimmick and exposure, their agents, Robert Hunt and Abel Coffin, invite Dr. Warren to examine the conjoined child's body, but not out of real concern, but to obtain his diagnosis.
Because the diagnosis of professional doctors can prove that conjoined children are not monsters and are an important evidence for continued popularity, they pay more attention to Dr. Warren's diagnosis results than really judge whether surgery is necessary.
As a respected surgeon in New England at the time, Dr. Warren once expressed his opinion on whether conjoined children should undergo separation surgery, arguing that the peritoneum of conjoined children is connected together, and there are certain risks in performing surgery, but it is not fatal.
However, in the end, the decision whether to perform surgery does not lie with the conjoined children themselves, but with the agent, and if the operation is really performed, what is the use of raising them?
In this story, not all doctors are as virtuous as Warren, and there are some doctors who are not very humane, as is the case with Peter Roger, a doctor of the Royal Society in London, who is unconcerned about the suffering of Siamese children and undergoes a series of medical examinations.
For example, he stripped Zeng and Yin of their clothes, conducted electrical induction experiments on body junctions, and examined their urethra and genitals.
These tests lasted for a full four hours, and in the end, they found nothing unusual except that Zeng's urine smelled stronger.
Dr. Peter Roger is simply a "perverted voyeur" exam, and he uses conjoined children as visual objects to satisfy his intellectual desires.
After being treated as "guinea pigs" by being treated more inhumanely than in the Thai royal palace, they decided to leave the agent and develop alone.
In 1832, the conjoined child was finally freed, but the process was very difficult.
Their masters, Mr. and Mrs. Kaufen, had used various means to coerce, induce, and use both grace and power, but Zeng Heyin firmly maintained his position and was not forced to change.
Under the original contract, they would be free after the age of 21, but the Cowfin couple repeatedly delayed, making it impossible for them to leave.
However, the brothers also refused to perform various performances, and the profiteers, who saw that they could not get any benefits, had to compromise, and finally returned the deed of sale to the two.
Although the money for the performance was appropriated by the Kaufen couple, Zeng and Yin also learned how to live in the United States.
Self-marketing for a new lease of life
Zeng and Yin finally gained physical freedom and began touring the southern United States, after which most of the income was held by themselves, and there were no more middlemen to make the difference.
However, on October 28, 1833, while performing in a small town in the south, they suffered an unreasonable request from a local village doctor who asked to examine the "joints" of the twins.
When the doctor made this request, the audience immediately applauded, they felt that even if they only looked at this part, the ticket price was worth it.
However, the twins politely refused the doctor's request, but the doctor did not comply, inciting the audience's emotions and forcing the two to comply.
This time, Zeng and Yin did not flinch, but began a fierce confrontation, they angrily walked in front of the doctor, one of them directly struck the doctor with a fist, and they vented all their grievances on the head of this uninteresting doctor.
After that, they became famous in the southern United States, and even began to tour, performing in Europe and the United States for many years, winning the recognition and popularity of European and American audiences.
The content of Zeng Heyin's performance is much simpler than the previous over-packaged, but it mainly shows their unique body structure and physiological characteristics, including the difficulty of the combined body and various daily activities.
Their performances span a variety of fields, including entertainment, science and medicine, and attract celebrities, dignitaries and royalty.
In 1843, through shrewd business management and slave trading, Zeng He transformed from a former "monster" into a southern aristocracy.
They bought large amounts of land, black slaves, settled in North Carolina, and married two white sisters.
The two couples gave birth to a total of eleven sons and eleven daughters, a total of 22 people.
Zeng Heyin, who owned slave owners, was also involved in politics, and in the American Civil War, they firmly sided with the Confederate and fought back against the invasion of the North.
Surprisingly, they actively participated in political activities and local elections, and donated money and goods during the civil war, even sending their two sons to the front.
At the same time, Zeng Heyin also firmly supported the Federal Government's Fugitive Slave Act of 1850 and consolidated his farms and wealth in the South, which showed that they had become their masters, and even human beings.
By example, it is possible to confirm their status as "honorary whites".
Once, a black man came to their home and knocked on his door from the front door.
However, according to the tradition of the American South at that time, blacks could only enter the white man's house through the back door, and when Zeng and Yin saw the black man standing at the front door, they immediately realized this mistake of the black man, and the two quickly looked away and showed a contemptuous attitude.
And this black man also immediately understood his identity and disappeared from their sight in ashes.
The Siamese who were treated like monsters are now users of white customs, which is proof of the huge change in identity of Zeng He.
summary
In his acting career, Zeng Heyin finally gained freedom through perseverance and hard work.
They bought property in the American South, bought large numbers of black slaves, became American citizens, married white American sisters, and had 22 healthy children.
Zeng Heyin died in 1874. Although they are long gone, their story has left a deep impression on the hearts of the world, and Zeng and Yin's liver is still preserved in the Matt Museum in Philadelphia, becoming synonymous with the United States.
In short, Zeng Heyin's life has lived a happy and satisfying life through a series of processes such as perseverance and hard work, and at the same time, it has also set an example for the existence of later joint people, and has shown the world the courage and perseverance of special people.
Their stories will be remembered forever.
Bibliography:
1 Liu Bai." "Gaze" and "Anti-Gaze": On Body Consumption and Identity Construction in Conjoined Life[J]. Studies in Chinese Literature,2020,(03):180-186.]
2 ZHANG Zhun. A preliminary study on the relationship between cultural changes in the South and the "three rural problems" in the South after the American Civil War[J]. Journal of Jiangsu Normal University (Philosophy and Social Sciences Edition), 2020,46(04):48-58+123.
District 3 Tingtao. The inheritance and development of European circus industry (Part II)[J]. Acrobatics and Magic,2008,(01):55-56.
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Author: Yeonjin
Editor: Murray