Ho Ai Yu, the English name is Grace, the father is Ho Kam Tong, and the uncle is Sir Ho Tung, the richest man in Hong Kong at the time.
Carefully calculated, He Aiyu is too mixed-race. The birth mother is He Gantang's British lover, and the adoptive mother is Zhang Qiongxian. Grandpa Ho was a Jew of Dutch descent, but had German ancestry.
Therefore, the cumbersome old school of the old era made her very unconvinced.
Here, too, tell me the mystery of her origins.
Some people suspect that her grandmother cheated on someone else and gave birth to her father, and from the perspective of blood, there is still a blood distance from her uncle He Dong.
Another theory is that she herself was adopted by her father, who was his 13th concubine.
But in fact, both of these are rumors.
Because according to the rules of the old society, neither father nor daughter would live too well, but in fact, she has always lived a good life in a large family.
Grandpa He Shiwen was a butcher in his ancestors, and he himself was engaged in labor export to make a fortune, and then he was appointed as the Dutch consul in Hong Kong.
When He Shiwen first came to Hong Kong, he bought a rich woman named Shi Di as an aunt, and gave birth to 6 children in ten years, that is, He Dong's brothers and sisters.
In the end, he left Hong Kong because of bankruptcy, and once he left, he did not look back. Changed his name in the United States and got married again.
The abandoned Shi Di is also a visionary and knows the importance of education. Married to Guo Xingxian, he did not want to pay attention to He Dong's children.
But Shi Di succeeded in convincing Guo Xingxian to pay for the children's reading.
This laid the foundation for He Dong's several people to get rich.
(There seems to be a reason why the gambling king Ho Hung-sin has always emphasized the importance of reading)
Later, When Ho Tung became the richest man in Hong Kong, you all know it.
But do you know who hong Kong's second richest man is?
It is He Aiyu's biological father, He Gantang. He has two hobbies, one is to love Cantonese opera performance, and the other is to be a woman.
He Gantang married at the age of 19 and began to take concubines when he got married. At that time, Hong Kong followed the practice of the Qing Dynasty and allowed concubines.
It went all the way to 12 – this was the maximum number of concubines stipulated at that time.
But he still felt that it was not enough, and when he moved to Shanghai to take care of business, he had an English mistress. She gave birth to Ho Ai Yu in 1911. But she did not plan to raise her daughter herself, and later left He Gantang.
And He Gantang took his 13th concubine Zhang Qiongxian in Shanghai, and He Aiyu was returned to her side to raise.
Therefore, He Aiyu has 1/2 Of His British blood, 1/4 of His Dutch Jewish blood, and 1/4 of His Chinese blood.
Because of Zhang Qiongxian's relationship with the Shanghai Concession, He Aiyu did not receive a traditional Chinese education, but studied French and Western medicine.
Because she had witnessed the painful experience of her adoptive mother and 12 other aunts competing for favors at a young age, she was determined to live a different life in the future, and monogamy was certain.
At the age of 18, she came to Hong Kong from Shanghai, lived in the mansion of her uncle Ho Tung, and began her daily life as a social celebrity.
At the age of 20, He Aiyu was rich, independent or single, which was very rare in the society at that time.
The He family planned to set her a door-to-door affair, but she met Li Haiquan, who came to the He family to sing and perform.
Li Haiquan was ten years older than her.
Unlike He Aiyu's smooth life, Li Haiquan's family is very poor.
Bruce Lee's grandfather, Li Zhenbiao, whose family lived in Jiangwei, Shunde, Foshan, was plagued by bad luck as if he had been cursed, and a high fever at a young age almost killed him, and then he had a throat problem and could not speak.
Life was even more difficult, he worked as a dart master and as a fisherman.
Li Haiquan wore clothes that picked up his brother, because the shouting songs he sang when he solicited diners on the street were very humorous and interesting, and he was photographed by a famous actor in Yue opera. When he heard the news that his son was going to become an apprentice, Li Zhenbiao was very excited, because in this way, the family would have one less mouth to eat.
And the whole family will have a good craft that can make money.
Li Haiquan also lived up to expectations, and the cause of Cantonese opera has improved. Like most Southerners, he developed, and his brothers were pulled together to make a fortune.
The family moved from Foshan to Hong Kong.
He Aiyu is in love with such a Li Haiquan, even if his family opposes it, he must marry.
After getting married, He Aiyu and Li Haiquan were crammed into a small apartment, living together with the 5 children left by their brother and the eldest sister-in-law.
From a socialite to a poor housewife, He Aiyu's adaptability is surprisingly strong.
Having always received a Western education, she can also quickly understand the concept of multiple children and many blessings that Chinese value.
However, the misfortune of future generations always crushed her.
The first child was a son, and the family was overjoyed, but the child died after only 3 months, at which time the curse theory of the father-in-law Li Zhenbiao was mentioned again.
No way, the couple took a very feudal approach.
When they became pregnant again to the 8th month, they adopted a daughter, the eldest daughter Li Qiuyuan.
It is said that the second child is a girl, so that the health of the second child can be guaranteed.
Sure enough, He Aiyu gave birth to a healthy eldest daughter, Li Qiufeng.
The couple, feeling that the curse had been removed, were very happy and soon became pregnant with their third child, Bruce Lee's brother Li Zhongchen.
But in order to prevent the tragedy of the first child, Li Zhongchen's ear was pierced.
Bruce Lee and his sister and brother
In the autumn of 1939, Li Haiquan's troupe went to the United States to perform in order to raise funds to support China's War of Resistance.
At that time, Li Zhongchen was less than two months old, and He Aiyu was not sure whether he should accompany her husband. At this time, the mother-in-law stood up and said that she must go, and the three children in the family did not have to worry, because only by following him, "your husband will not be hooked!" ”
With this understanding, He Aiyu and her husband Li Haiquan arrived in San Francisco, and the theater of the commercial performance arranged an apartment, and around the corner was Donghua Hospital.
At that time, it was the only hospital that received Chinese patients.
That's where Bruce Lee was born.
When he was born, Li Haiquan was arranged to perform in New York, although he was not willing to go, but there was no way. He Aiyu, who remained, was helped into the hospital by a neighbor walking.
Ho Ai-yu's application form for Bruce Lee to return to the United States
Bruce Lee was born at 7:12 a.m. on November 27, 1940. Li Haiquan, who was still performing on the stage, learned that he was a son and gave cigarettes to the actors of the whole crew to celebrate.
Because everyone was Chinese, the troupe asked when the child was born. After all, the dragon is a sign of great significance, so many Chinese parents want their children to be associated with the Year of the Dragon, the Moon of the Dragon, the Day of the Dragon or the Hour of the Dragon.
Li Haiquan proudly told them that his son was born in the Year of the Dragon, the Moon of the Pig, the Day of the Dog, and the Time of the Dragon, and there were two dragons in his birthday!
In particular, he was born in the Year of the Dragon.
This is considered a sign of good fortune. As a result, the whole troupe was congratulating Li Haiquan.
As far away as Tung Wah Hospital, He Aiyu began to name her son. Originally, it was "Li Zhenpan", "Zhen" was the name she thought was a tribute to the child's grandfather, but her husband Li Haiquan, who was driven back, refused with all her might.
After all, He Aiyu is more Westernized (although he does not take an English name), and always thinks that it is better to associate his name with the previous generation. But Li Haiquan believes that his father's life was insisted that he was cursed by bad luck, and he was very afraid that his son would have misfortune because of it.
Therefore, "Zhen" was changed to "Zhen", and "Li Zhenpan" came from this.
But for the English name Bruce, Li Haiquan complained: "I don't know how to pronounce this word myself!" ”
The couple thought that at the beginning of Bruce Lee's birth, they had helped him avoid danger by name.
But they were wrong.
Counting from his father-in-law Li Zhenbiao, many of the male heirs of this family have died prematurely.
Li Haiquan's brother was gone when he was not yet married. Later, it was Li Haiquan who was responsible for supporting the lives of his sister-in-law and several nephews and nieces.
He Aiyu's eldest son died prematurely, the third son Bruce Lee died of cerebral edema at the age of 32, and grandson Li Guohao left at the age of 28.
Neither husband Li Haiquan nor younger son Li Zhongchen lived past 70 years old.
(In contrast, in He Aiyu's family, her father lived to the age of 83, and there are many elderly people in their eighties and nineties)
Bruce Lee family
When she was young, she longed for independence and fashion, but after marrying into the Li family, she experienced the death of many men in the family.
Picking up Bruce Lee's body at the Airport in Seattle, and daughter-in-law Linda hugged her head and cried, her clenched hand reluctant to let go.
Exactly 20 years later, it was the sudden death of his grandson Li Guohao...
Li Guohao, his mother and sister
The women of this family seem to have been spared.
But He Aiyu is the one who is most troubled.