One Couple Two Cultures - Softcover

Softcover

ISBN 10: 9889761009 ISBN 13: 9789889761004

Publisher: MCCM Creations, 2005

Synopsis

Up to World War Two, Western-Chinese inter-marriage was not accepted in 'polite' society, neither by the British nor by the Chinese. Nevertheless Ho Kai (later Sir Kai Ho Kai) of Hong Kong did marry Alice Walkden, in London, in 1881. There are those who believe this was the first Anglo-Chinese marriage ever. It took place in racist, Victorian Society when views contrasted strikingly with those held by most people today. Examples of Western-Chinese marriages, post World War Two, include: the late Bruce Lee, the late Sir Piers Jacobs, Sir Jimmy McGregor, Jack Edwards and Elsie Tu. One could go on. While a certain amount has been written about Blacks married to Whites, and Whites to Pakistani, and so on, next to nothing has been written about Westerners married to Chinese. Researched and written by Dr Dan Waters, who can claim approaching half a century of actual experience in such a marriage, is the best person to research the subject of mixed marriages. There are those who believe a Western-Chinese marriage is no different, say, to a blond marrying a red-head, although there are others who are more cautious and say that two sometimes antagonistic cultures inevitably add heat to the mix and an added dimension to marriage. There are also opposing views and beliefs having been raised on different codes of conduct and varying lifestyles. After marriage what sort of lifestyles do such couples lead? There can be compatibility and communication problems, not just with each other, but also with in-laws and partners' friends. What cuisines do they prefer? How do they raise their Eurasian children?

About this title

About the Author:

Dan Waters was born in 1920 in Norwich, England, a city of pubs and churches. With the advent of World War Two, Waters accepted the 'King's Shilling,' pledging loyalty to Monarch and Country, and facing combat in North African deserts and later in Salerno and Anzio, Italy. He was wounded three times and Mentioned in Despatches. After demobilisation, he rejoined the family building business established by his great-grandfather in 1853 and later became managing director, all the while studying and then teaching at Norwich City College. In 1954, before he had even met a Chinese person, Waters joined the Colonial Service and set sail for Hong Kong where, as a member of the Government Education Department, he taught at the Technical College that has since become the Hong Kong Polytechnic University. In the late 1960s, he became Principal of the Morrison Hill Technical Institute, was then transferred to the Education Department Headquarters for planning and administration, and was eventually made a Companion of the Imperial Service Order by Her Majesty the Queen for his work in education. Waters also co-authored three volumes of Understanding Technical English, of which Volume One has sold over a million copies. Dan and his Hong Kong Chinese wife, Vera Chan, were married on the Queen's Birthday in 1960, and they have lived together in Hong Kong ever since. Dan's athletics also spans cultures: an Eastern-Counties weight-lifting champion in England in his younger years, he obtained a Black-Belt in Karate at the age of fifty-seven, ran marathons in his mid-sixties and holds Hong Kong All-comers records at 800 and 1,500 metres in the Over Seventy, Veterans Class. His education also embraces his adopted homeland of Hong Kong. After studies at Portsmouth Polytechnic and Manchester University, his Ph.D, on the history of Hong Kong education, was conferred on him by Loughborough University.

Review:

One Couple Two Cultures is based on original research of eighty-one couples involving among others Chinese from the People's Republic of China and Caucasians of different nationalities. Examples included in this book are of both successful and not-so-successful unions. --Reviewer

About this edition

• Publisher: MCCM Creations
• Publication date: 2005
• ISBN 10: 9889761009
• ISBN 13: 9789889761004
• Binding: Paperback
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 276