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Chinese painting and calligraphy
Pepin, WI
A Chinese Princess in Wisconsin
As Yem Han walked through the park in Pepin recently, a friend hollered out, “Hello there Princess!”
He wasn’t calling her a name; he was referring to her somewhat recent discovery—Yem Han’s ancestors were Chinese royalty.
Yem Han learned about her royal ancestry about ten years ago during a phone conversation with her father. She had called him because she was excited to tell him she had been invited to speak at the Walker Art Center in Minneapolis.
“I said, ‘Dad, guess what? I’m going be a guest speaker and I’m going to be talking about Chinese calligraphy.’"
"Then Dad said, 'Oh, do you know you’re a princess?'”
"And I’m going, ‘Wow, really Dad?’”
Yem Han's father explained the lineage this way:
In 1127, Fong Yee Ping of the Soong dynasty was a member of Emperor Soong Goe Dong's cabinet. Yee Ping was an excellent judge. The Emperor rewarded him by marrying his daughter and giving him the name Kwong. From then on, his name was Kwong Yee Ping.
Yem Han is descended from Kwong Yee Ping and from his daughter, the Empress.
Return to Yem Han’s Traditions Page
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