‘Transcend language barriers’: Young and senior Chinese Canadians exchange letters in project

Shanna Cheng’s grandparents served as a bridge to connect with her Chinese heritage and culture.

Knowing this experience is shared by many second and third-generation Chinese Canadians, she reached out to community organizations in Vancouver’s Chinatown and universities’ alumni clubs for those interested in writing a letter to their parents and grandparents.

The letters aimed to express what the younger generation wished their parents and grandparents knew about them, from childhood memories to the struggles of assimilating in Canada.

Later Cheng, along with project co-lead Michelle Ha, compiled the readings into the Letters to My (Grand)Parents publication, which will be celebrated through a launch event on May 30 at Vancouver’s Sun Wah Centre.

Cheng, who doesn’t speak Cantonese or any other Chinese dialect, says many Chinese Canadians are missing their home language, leaving them tied to the culture while still feeling disconnected.

“So that’s what started this project — [to] transcend language barriers…. It’s a letter to your parents and your grandparents, finding a way to connect with your family but also your heritage,” Cheng says.

“For myself, I was healing from not having that language to share with my grandparents.”

A lot of applicants responded to her call, which Cheng found reassuring to know that people had similar sentiments.

“We had a hard time choosing because the letters that they wrote were so vulnerable,” Cheng says. “It was a very emotional time to be jurying these letters.” 

In the end, 10 young adult writers were selected for the project, in addition to 10 seniors. Cheng also wrote a letter, where she shared memories of her grandfather who raised her when she was young.

The letters touch on topics including longing for connection, funny stories, and immigration, among others.

Another emotional part of the process was a workshop where surrogate grandparents responded to their grandchildren, Cheng says. 

Ha illustrated the book’s cover and accompanying images based on the letters, Cheng says, adding that the two also had an English and Chinese translator for the entries. 

The launch event will feature an open mic with selected presenters, followed by an opportunity for anyone in the audience to share stories and read letters out loud. There will also be a live performance from the Neo Harmonia music duo featuring traditional Chinese instruments, presented by Health Arts Society. Afterwards, attendees can learn mahjong and take part in printmaking.

For Cheng, the project was extremely personal.

“I wanted to connect with my grandfather in a way that I wasn’t able to before. But since he’s passed, I wasn’t able to have the opportunity to say what I wanted to say,” Cheng says, adding it was emotional to write words that expressed her love and gratitude.

Ultimately, Cheng’s mission with the project was to connect younger and older generations.

“The large theme is you’re not alone in this experience. There’s a community out there for you and there’s a place that you can belong [to] because we are in this weird in between.”

For more information and to register, visit www.linktr.ee/letters.project_.