Braving Irrationality by Florence Kuek, 2025, published.
Do not let the convoluted title of this book deter you from reading it.
This is the only English book on the life of Han Su Yin.
Born Rosalie Matilda Kuanghu Chou in 1917 to a union between a Hakka Chinese and a Belgian mother, she adopted the pen name Han Su Yin. It means ‘a plain voice for the Han people.’
This book uses her autobiography, published in 6 books and written from 1956 to 1992, to discuss her life in China and the prejudices she and her siblings faced as Eurasians.
They were not accepted by the Chinese or the whites. They were considered half-breeds in a nation that was conservative and torn apart by the Opium Wars and other civil wars.
She narrates how China’s continuity of culture was destroyed by the wars of the 19th century.
The tradition of her Chou clan in Meixian receiving formal visits from representatives of the branch in Szechuan from 1720 to 1820 was destroyed by the Opium Wars and the Taiping uprising. (p. 5).
Han Su Yin migrated to Johor Bahru, where she opened a clinic from 1953 to 1964. (P 67). Chow Dispensary was located at 24 Jalan Ibrahim, JB, which is now a car park. (p. 57).
Han Suyin had 3 husbands. According to Kuek, her first husband, Pao, was abusive and prone to jealousy.
Her second, Leon Comber, loved her, but it was an unrequited love. She merely wanted a husband to secure a home for her adopted daughter, Yungmei. (P 74)
Her third husband, Vincent Ruthaswamy, was a colonel in the Indian army. He was a pillar of strength to her. They moved to Lausanne (p. 11).
The details of her three husbands, I must say, are purely based on what Kuek wrote. In the absence of supporting endnotes and sources cited, I shall accept the facts as presented.