Trip to the past (and Tianjin)

Elisa and I have been slowly watching the TV series Poker Face. An episode a week. We both like it because there's a murder mystery that's solved. During a recent viewing, Elisa mentioned that she's never been to Tianjin. I was pretty sure she had but she didn't remember so that's the same as not having been. So, Sabrina arranged a trip for the four of us plus Kobe to go to Tianjin on Easter weekend.

One of the reasons Elisa wanted to go to Tianjin was to see the house her grandmother grew up in. Her grandma, Pan Yihong, is 92 years old and still quite active. I suggested to Elisa that while her mom side grandparents are still around that it would be good to learn about their past. That I know some but not much of my grandparents life. It was with this, and walking along the backstreets of Tianjin that Elisa started to tell me the story of her great grandfather, Pan Zhongwen.

Pan Zhongwen was born in 1896, in northern China, the son of a man who served the city and then the army. Pan Zhongwen was an exceptional student and in primary school was classmates with Zhou Enlai. Supposedly a non insignificant part of the May 4th movement in 1916. When he was ready for college he was recommended to Tsinghua University - just one problem - the prestigious university did not admit students from the Dongbei region of China. He got permission to take the test, did well enough and was admitted. He did well at Tsinghua and after graduation went to the US for further studies. Supposedly Hoover was his instructor at Michigan and he also studied at Columbia.

When Pan Zhongwen returned to China in the mid 1920s he married the daughter of a famous government official and he himself worked as a diplomat in Tianjin. The marriage did not last long, as the wife died. He remarried. The second wife also died. Then he married his third wife. They had a daugher, who would turn out to be Elisa's grandmother. The third wife also died, when Elisa's grandmother was 10 years old. At this point in the story, I told Elisa that we should start an investigation and a true crime podcast. Pan Zhongwen took a fourth with and as far as I know she lived a long life. I heard she was mean as hell. Pan Zhongwen died in 1974 at the age of 78.

By the time Elisa had finished telling me the story we were at her grandmother's childhood home. I think I had visited maybe 19 years before when first moving to China. I beleive the step mom was still living there. But it was a different home. This one was in the french concession, where some of the foreigners in Tianjin lived at the time. The home was behind in a small complex of six homes behind a stone fence. We could not go inside and I took a picture of Elisa standing out front. The entire area, with its preserved western style architecture, shops, bars, and restaurants was crowded with tourists.

We spend the rest of the Tianjin trip sightseeing. The Italian concession. The American concession. The aircraft carrier driveby. We'd often return to Pan Zhongwen and his story. How much we didn't know. Sure, three dead wives. It was the time of disease; wasn't it. Now..can I just do a little bit more research.