Seventeen Years Ago Today!

Posted on January 31, 2015 by CJ Murdoch

My Tiger Child…

“A Tiger Child could be a bundle of joy and a holy terror at the same time.  A little live wire who dashes about sparkling with activity, the Tigress will throw herself into the thick of things.  Even a very quiet one will know exactly where the action is and make a bee line for it.”

Li Qi Ying was born in 1998 in the city of Qichun, Hubei Province, in the People’s Republic of China.  Qichun is the birthplace of famous herbalist Li Shizhen, who was born and lived in Qizhou town, on the southern edge of the county alongside the Yangtze River.  It is known in China as the “County of Scholars” as more professors and doctors were born there than in any other county in China.

Ying 1

“… She is charming, bright and a self confident chatterbox, and there will be no holding her back.  Her insatiable curiosity and inquisitiveness will lead her to pounce at anything that moves…”

At about 7:00 p.m. on Monday, February 1, 1999 we are in the Lijiang Hotel in Wuhan, the capital of Hubei Province.   Wuhan is a beautiful city full of history which lies in the eastern Jianghan Plain at the intersection of the middle reaches of the Yangtze and Han rivers.

Ying 2 a

“People will be naturally drawn to her by her warm, affectionate and gregarious character.  The Tigress will express her feelings outright… she will have strong opinions and will air her views without hesitation… “

Waiting on the 7th floor we watch the numbers on the elevator, holding our breath each time the light nears our floor, exhaling loudly with grumbling complaints and nervous laughter as it passes us by!  We are eight couples, one grandma, two grandpas and one soon to be older sister.

Ying 3a

Finally, the elevator light stopped on the 7th floor – the doors opened and, along with their nannies; five of the most beautiful baby girls exited the overcrowded elevator and entered our world.

“…she won’t be herself if she does not keep testing the boundaries and limits set for her… the earlier she realizes who is boss, the better for her and everyone else… given the proper stimuli of discipline, coupled with love, warmth and loads of understanding, no other child will respond as spontaneously as the lovable little Tigress.”

Ying 4a

One petite, exquisite little girl came home with me and has filled all the empty spaces in my heart.

“Having a little Tigress is a reward in itself”!  Li Qi Ying I love you!  

Excerpts from the Handbook of Chinese Horoscopes by Theodora Lau

About CJ Murdoch

Looking For "Dead People"! My Journey Back In Time - Tracing my ancestors and researching the counties, cities and towns where they resided. Taking a “Glimpse” into their lives and stories and the times in which they lived; all in an effort to learn about their “Dash”! “I read of a man who stood to speak at the funeral of his friend. He referred to the dates on her tombstone from the beginning – to the end. He noted that first came the date of her birth and spoke of the second with tears, but he said that what mattered most of all was the dash between those years.” I have always been interested in researching my family tree and “hanging out” in cemeteries. Like most of us... I didn't ask enough questions when elderly family were still living. Oh, what I would give for 24 hours and a camera with my ancestors… just to sit and listen! I'm researching many family lines, including: Murdoch, Wilson, Berry, Love, Scott, Beattie/Beatty, Hendren, Sweeney, Robinson and Elvin; just to name a few. My families are predominantly from counties Antrim, Donegal and Londonderry. However, it seems that many of them, both maternal and paternal lines, originally hailed from Co. Donegal. I was born and raised in Northern Ireland and now live in Ottawa, Canada, making frequent trips back home to visit with my family. Of course those visits also include treks to the many burial grounds of my ancestors. My most recent trip back home was during the summer of 2019! Looking forward to August of 2020 when I will return. If you are interested in help tracing your ancestors I’d love to hear from you!
This entry was posted in China, Family History, Geneaology, Hubei, Qichun, Wuhan. Bookmark the permalink.

12 Responses to Seventeen Years Ago Today!

  1. Amy says:
    January 31, 2015 at 3:49 pm

    Just beautiful—your daughter and your words.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
  2. Rachelle says:
    January 31, 2015 at 5:08 pm

    I love the pictures of you and your daughter….I know you feel blessed to have found one another!

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
  3. CJ Murdoch says:
    February 2, 2016 at 7:46 am

    Reblogged this on TWISTED LIMBS & CROOKED BRANCHES and commented:

    It’s now seventeen years later and they’ve been the best seventeen years of my life! Love you Peanut! ❤

    Like

    Reply
  4. Luanne @ TFK says:
    February 2, 2016 at 8:07 pm

    Such a pretty girl! My kids are also Asian adoptees (Korean). How do you reconcile working on genealogy and having an adopted child? Do you find any difficulties? How does she feel about it?

    Liked by 1 person

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    • CJ Murdoch says:
      February 3, 2016 at 7:03 am

      Hi Luanne, good question. When I had started my “journey” into research I was initially concerned about the effect it would have on my family as my husband is also an adoptee. My concerns were unfounded… my husband is interested to a point and then I see his “eyes glaze over”, somewhat like mine do when he’s talking about the Ulster Grand Prix! 🙂 My daughter is a young woman who is confident and comfortable in her own skin and happy with all of who she is. She is proud of being Chinese, proud of being Canadian and absolutely loves Ireland and all our family there. 🙂 We travel to Ireland often, she even considered attending Queen’s in Belfast for her Bachelor’s, ultimately deciding to remain in Ottawa until her Master’s. When she was younger (she’s 17 now in her first year of university) she’d pop into my home office and say, “so, mom how many dead people have you found today”! 🙂 Initially she was keeping a list of countries where I connected with 2nd and 3rd cousins – suggesting that we needed to visit ALL of them! She has absolutely no problem with my research and is convinced that I’m going to discover that we are 10th cousins 3x removed! 😀 Colleen

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      • Luanne @ TFK says:
        February 3, 2016 at 2:43 pm

        So interesting, Colleen. I think it actually does bother my brother a little bit, but it’s easy just to keep it off my Facebook where he might see it. My kids don’t really care because we talk about other things, but they really are not very interested in history, etc.

        Liked by 1 person

  5. Gladys Baart says:
    February 3, 2016 at 9:28 am

    Hi Colleen, I love you and Ying and Jace just for who and where you are. I also love you for making all those connections, for appreciating life with all its facets. I love my brilliant, strong and gentle grand daughter Ying whose goodness blesses us beyond imagining, and I adore my son even if his eyes glaze over and he forgets to pretend interest when he is off in his own fascinating world.
    Thanks for taking the time and effort to reflect with us Colleen.

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  6. Rosemary says:
    February 8, 2016 at 2:36 am

    I could feel the love in every word.

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