Richard Hsung – Reconnecting with your heritage

Richard Perkins Hsung was born in China in 1966 and was one of the first teens to leave China legally after Mao’s Cultural Revolution. He earned a Ph.D. in chemistry from the University of Chicago and became a professor at the University of Minnesota-Twin Cities and the University of Wisconsin-Madison, retiring in 2022.

For the last ten years Richard has also meticulously compiled and edited the writings of his mother Jean Tren-Hwa Perkins, MD, adding family photographs and historical details to create the 3-volume Spring Flower, which spans the 83 years of her life (1931–2014). The three-volume memoir chronicles her life as an adopted child of American medical missionaries, survivor of China's brutal communist regime, ophthalmologist, immigrant, and mother.

In this podcast:.

  • How Richard has reconnected with his heritage and learnt more about his family's history.

  • Richard’s mother's experience during the Chinese 1931 flood that killed millions.

  • Richard’s family's historical experiences during the Japanese and Korean wars.

  • The political dynamics between China and America.

  • The resilience of Chinese culture

  • The importance of human connections within social contexts

You can find out more about Richard and his family story at Yangtze River by the Hudson

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