1. IN CHINA – THE FAMILY CIRCLE
In China, surrounded by family and friends
Yan Dehui, known in France as Yen Te-Fai, was born on July 15, 1908, in Yongjia District, Zhejiang – now district Lu Cheng Ward in Wenzhou.
Yan Dehui,6th left, his brother Yan Zuopeng, 2nd right, 1930s
His father, Yan Shaoyao, was in charge of salt management in the coastal city of Hai-An Suo in Rui-An County, Zhejiang. A fine connoisseur of traditional Chinese literature, loving to devote himself to the practice of calligraphy and poetry, he passed on to his young son his taste for the arts.He also instilled in him the sense of honesty and the rejection of the feudal system, which he regarded as the only path to a better life for the people.
On the back of the photo, Yan Dehui wrote:
“The person on the right is my father – Mr. Yan“
He also saw his mother Yan Shenyan fight against the enslavement of women, first by demonstrating in the streets, then by deciding to unbind her feet and cut her hair short.
Yan Dehui with, from left to right, his mother Yan Shenyan, Ye Haixue and Ye Xiangxue, the children of his elder sister Yan Zhidao and his grandmother Fang
From left to right in the front row, his mother, niece Ye Xiangxue and grandmother Fang, in the back his brother-in-law Ye Lufu, husband of Yan Zhidao, his elder sister next, Yan Huidao, his younger sister and Yan Dehui
The model shown by his parents led him to consider new ideas to put an end to the injustices of the world. At a young age, he discovered the humanist values that would guide his choices throughout his life.
A respected father, an attentive mother, his childhood and adolescence were happy in this family of scholars, although later overshadowed by the loss of his eldest brother, Yan Wenzhou, a promising young officer destined for a brilliant military career, who succumbed to typhoid fever.
He shared strong bonds of deep affection with his remaining brother and two sisters. His second elder brother, Yan Zuopeng, an engineer, lived in Wenzhou and later in Lanzhou where he set up a textile factory. His elder sister, Yan Zhidao, was a teacher at Wenzhou School, while his younger sister, Yan Huidao, chose to work as a nurse and midwife.
Yan Zhidao, his elder sister
Yan Huidao, his younger sister
Yan Dehui and his elder second brother Yan Zuopeng
