This article was written by Esther Lee’s older sister, (Grace) Shu-min Hsieh for Esther’s 1992 Congressional campaign. Possibly at the request of news media or for press release.
The Esther Lee Whom I Know
by (Grace) Shu-min Hsieh
Esther is my second younger sister, born near the end of the war of resistance against Japanese aggression. At the time, Father was the leader of his military unit and fighting on the front lines, his fate was uncertain. As a result, Mother and the two of us wandered from place to place. Because of the poverty, Esther came down with a serious case of rickets/calcium deficiency as a result of malnutrition. She couldn't stand straight even at two years old, and not only was she often feverish, but it was quite severe. Every time the symptoms hit, she would seize up, have difficulty breathing, her hands clutched into fists and her eyes rolled into her head--a terrifying sight. Mother took her to see every doctor she could, but all the hospitals refused to take her in. "Lady, just go home! She's not going to make it!" With tears in her eyes, Mother would massage Esther's chest and pray: "Lord, you've given me this child, let me raise her!" Mother's faith and prayer were granted by God, as Esther would always come back from the edge of despair.
After the war was won, Father came home to reunite with us, and decided to rename Esther from Lee Shu Qing to Lee Shu Xin, because she escaped the clutches of death through my mother's faith. (Xin means Faith in Chinese.)
The first year we arrived in Taiwan, Esther was 5 years old, and already sturdy. Her limbs were especially dexterous, running and jumping around like a boy, and short tempered besides. I remember when we lived in Tainan, Mother would often take fruit over to the neighbors to apologize, mostly because Esther got into trouble: she'd hit someone else's children, or broke a window. Mother would shake her head: "I didn't provide her with a good environment for her during the war, and now she's like a little bandit. When I was pregnant with her, your father was at war, and all I could think of was about fighting, killing, and death; we didn't have a moment of peace."
The fruit vendor at the end of the alley didn't just have my mother as his best customer, but even my sister’s “admiration.” One day on my way home from school, I saw her waving a fan bigger than she was, standing over the vendor. When I asked her what she was doing, she answered: "Helping Uncle gets the flies away." The vendor nodded at me, smiling, as if he approved of this. On the way home, Esther held onto my hand and said: "Sis, when I grow up, I want to marry a fruit vendor." Then as a teenager, I was very surprised: "Why?" She replied very seriously: "That way I’d have fruit to eat for the rest of my life!" Even today we still joke that she has yet to marry the man of her dreams, unless her husband changed jobs.
Later, we moved to Feng Shan, living in front of the elementary school. As a first grader, Esther was the favorite student of her teacher Huang Huan Hua. On the New Year's Eve of that year, our parents gave each of us 5 dollars of lucky money for the holiday. The next day, everyone was busy setting off fireworks and wishing each other a happy New Year—except Esther was missing. At noon, all of a sudden we saw a short child with a head full of curly hair that made it look bigger than her body, a strange sight indeed. Upon closer inspection, we realized that it was the missing Esther. Mom and Dad, very angry, ran up to her to ask where she'd gone and what she'd done. At six years old, she took her money to the hair stylist 3-4 miles away and begged for special consideration to have her hair cut and perm from its original student look style in order to look as her teacher's. Her teacher earlier had told her that they would take a picture together after New Years' festivities were over. Father gave her quite a lecture for this, because in that conservative era, it was unthinkable for a child to get her hair in a perm without parental consent. Her courage was both worrying and encouraging. That picture taken with her teacher is still treasured to this day.
After our family moved to Taipei, mother began to work, and our family financial situation gradually began to improve, but Esther always seemed boyish: full of energy and not placid enough. When Mother was offered to give two sisters piano lessons in exchange for Mother and Esther to practice an hour in their house daily Esther began her piano lessons. Unexpectedly, Esther fell in love with music from then on. Every evening after school, she walked the twenty minute route to practice regardless of weather. One year later, when our diplomat uncle's whole family came back from South Africa, he brought a piano for us. (At that time Taiwan didn't produce any pianos, and had to import them). From there Esther began her journey in music, as if finding her own paradise. No longer did she get into trouble, nor did we hear the youthful laughter and teasing any more. She focused all of her energy into the world of keyboard. During summer vacations, she was happy to practice 7-8 hours every day. Mother soon realized that she wasn't a match for her daughter, and asked Ms. Hannah Wu, later Professors Zhang Cai Xiang, and Dr. Robert Shultz and other famous teachers to guide her. Though Esther loved music, she also endured a lot of polishing and discipline under the harsh tutelage of her teachers. I often saw her wiping her tears as she practiced, especially when she got into a difficult portion. She would always practice it many times, determined to get it exactly right until she was happy with the result. We all admired that kind of willpower. Even our old driver said: "I've never seen Esther so serious about anything, even becoming teary eyed.” Now, if she does not practice the piano, she’d read, and has no time to make trouble. Even I can't believe she's changed so much! From now on, no-one should call her “naughty child!" Music truly has divine properties. It can subtly change even the most stubborn child into a lady.
Mother cultivated Esther like she was making a useful vessel both to serve God and other people. Starting at the age of 14, Esther began playing piano for the church. I remember when she first began accompanying Handel's Messiah, she was somewhat nervous, but eventually she was able to play as she pleased.
In her service to the church, Esther learned the virtues of humility and submission. In light of the truth of the Bible, she developed an attitude of optimism and enterprising; this became a great influence for her further growth.
Music and faith became like two sails for her, leading her into Taipei Second Girls' High School for middle school, Taipei First Girl's High School for high school, and the National Taiwan Normal University. She continued pressing on her education with music endeavor, wishing that she could have 48 hours in a day. In addition to her own homework, she had to take piano lessons and practice a lot. Meanwhile, she gave piano lessons to young people and accompanied the choir, direct the choir . . . Fortunately, she was skillful in time management and devoted herself wholeheartedly into every endeavor. When focusing on one task, she would completely tune out the rest of the world and care nothing else. In 1965 she won the all-Taiwan piano competition. Encouraged, but not satisfied with this result, she continued to work hard with no signs of letting up.
Before she left Taiwan for studying in the United States, she held a farewell concert at the Taipei National Army Cultural Center, and raised enough funds for her plane tickets to America. Then, she finished her Master’s degree at Northern Illinois University via a scholarship, and then received a fellowship from Purdue to finish her PhD. Since her education didn't cause any financial burden, mother was very grateful: "God knows my circumstances. It was very expensive for Esther to learn the piano, so she was able to save some on her schooling."
At the end of 1964, I was able to hear Stanton Yao’s piano playing at a Purdue University's Chinese Student Association event. His music was beautiful, clearing, and touching. Among the applause I saw his tall, thin figure rise and bow; this air of polite civility left a deep impression on me. When I met him again during my Bible study, I learned that he was senior of studying Electrical Engineering, and had been the president of the Chinese Student Association. In middle school, his aunt led him to the Lord, and he had always been the pianist for his Bible study ever since. I thought to myself: this excellent scholar has similar life goals as Esther, and the two of them would make an ideal pair. At the time, they were in opposite corners of the world. (Esther was a freshman at National Taiwan Normal University at the time.) They both were busy meeting their own opposite-sex friends, so there is no need for me to intrude. I'd never thought that fate would bring the two of them together. To my surprise, I got the happy news that Stanton and Esther were wed one year after I and my husband left Purdue. In his letter, Stanton wrote: "I finally found a girl I like. I know that Esther can help me and encourage me, I need a companion like her . . . "
In these twenty some years, Esther has served her husband and two daughters with everything she has. Every day when she gets home from work, she takes off her high heels, changes into casual clothes, and gets to cooking dinner, as well as watching over her children's studies and piano practice. If her children go swimming or other extra-curricular activities, she will take care of the chores over the phone instead. If some dish takes many minutes to be cooked, she'll use that time to clean the rug, or mop the floors and wipe the windows. She often does more than two things simultaneously and never wastes any time. When my little brother (David) Shu Chuan first arrived at America as a 9th grader, he lived at Esther's house and was under her strict discipline. Thinking back to those times, he is still full of respect and awe for her. Today, he sings and performs in such a spirited manner; one can see her influence on him. When she was still alive, Mother would also often praise her: "My daughter is a woman of many talents!" Indeed, she can play the piano, write essays, handle pots and pans, attend the gardens and wield a mop. Whenever their house has guests over, everyone has a good time, because Esther is a woman of such good taste and cooking skills. She even can single-handedly treat up to a hundred guests' worth of food from the main course to dessert.
Her daughters have also been taught to have many talents as well. Although common wisdom is to never educate one's own children, she disregarded this belief and taught her daughters Chinese and piano. In these dozen or so years, the results have been outstanding and a cut above the rest. Her patience and perseverance is definitely something to be admired. What awes me the most is that she makes everything from her daughters' clothes to the drapes and bedspreads herself with such a sense of color and pattern that it looks like the work of a professional.
She has an excellent grasp of priorities and has everything well-organized. All us siblings know: if we just want to talk or vent, go to big sis (me), but if we want something done, ask Esther. The busier she gets, the more efficient she becomes. Esther can listen to you (or talk on the phone), think, and type at the same time. Once you're done with talking, she'll confirm what you meant, and if she got it right, she'll say: "The letter's all type up, you can go mail it now!" She is so fast, it boggles the mind.
After Father passed away in 1974, Mother always lived with her children. She admired Esther's simple straightforwardness and strong sense of responsibility. She was especially touched by her daughter's thoughtfulness. She said: "Living at Esther's house, I see her busy all day long without stop, but before she left the house, she would come to see me in my room. And at night, no matter how late she gets back, she comes into my room. If I haven't fallen asleep yet, she would stop by to chat. This must be her way of honoring the traditional custom of greeting me both in the morning and evening!"
Early this summer, I went to Washington D.C for a conference, and I had a chance to have a long talk with Esther’s congressional campaign. Being more conservative, I felt that it was difficult enough for her to be a professor and a government official (at the time she was a deputy director of the Department of Education under President Bush [Sr.]. I didn't understand why she'd seek public office and run around raising campaign funds as if she was begging for money. She'd speak in such a humble way that I as her big sister felt bad for her. On the other hand, she felt that she had a mission, and she'd have to be able to endure difficulty and look at the long-term goal with courage, not worry about her personal gains and losses or the short term outcome. During her appointment in Washington D.C., she witnessed many injustices and unreasonable conducts, as well as much work that was yet to be done. She asked me: "How have Africans Americans changed in the past 20-30 years? Yet the Chinese Americans have merely been busy seeking after their own benefits and accomplishments with no concern for politics. In the past 160 years, the Chinese Americans went from unskilled laborers (coolies) working on the railroads and digging in mines to being today's professors, doctors, and engineers, but only a scant few are in politics. Somebody has to be that vanguard to pave the road for our children and grandchildren. It may not be easy now, but someone has to blaze that trail in order to create a new paradigm. Think back to when we first came to America; it was unimaginable that we might see African-American mayors, governors, or even presidents. Yet, in those twenty years, it's very common to see African Americans in offices like mayor, governor, senator, or representative, and everyone has accepted that as the status quo. If it wasn't for them striving for this with all their strength, would they have such as scene as [it is] now?" She continued: "I feel that I have a mission. For the last ten years I've written columns in the World Journal calling and encouraging Asian Americans to join in politics and speak for their people, directly affecting American political dialogue and policy. Now that my daughters are grown, it's time for me to lead by example and throw myself into politics full-time."
Esther takes the long view and has quite discerning eye. Many ideas have become a reality in her hands. If she thinks something is the right to do, she'll forge ahead courageously no matter how difficult it may be. She can also humbly accept criticism from others, thinking it to be like a forging fire, believing that one can actually backslide without it. She says of herself: "My best 'advantage' is that I'm forgetful, as I don't remember animosities or hold grudges. If someone wants to be mad at me, they're just making trouble for themselves, because I don't have time to be angry." Without that burden in her heart, she is a focused person who can be responsible, and yet let go at right time. Being her elder sister, now I understand her wish and aspiration. Moreover, I am truly touched by her ideas and strength of will. Her whole family supports her and also hopes that she can achieve her dream of winning more rights for her fellow Asian immigrants in the United States.
Fall of 1991
Translated by Mary M. Lin of Orlando, FL in Nov. 2012.
The Esther Lee Whom I Know
by (Grace) Shu-min Hsieh
Esther is my second younger sister, born near the end of the war of resistance against Japanese aggression. At the time, Father was the leader of his military unit and fighting on the front lines, his fate was uncertain. As a result, Mother and the two of us wandered from place to place. Because of the poverty, Esther came down with a serious case of rickets/calcium deficiency as a result of malnutrition. She couldn't stand straight even at two years old, and not only was she often feverish, but it was quite severe. Every time the symptoms hit, she would seize up, have difficulty breathing, her hands clutched into fists and her eyes rolled into her head--a terrifying sight. Mother took her to see every doctor she could, but all the hospitals refused to take her in. "Lady, just go home! She's not going to make it!" With tears in her eyes, Mother would massage Esther's chest and pray: "Lord, you've given me this child, let me raise her!" Mother's faith and prayer were granted by God, as Esther would always come back from the edge of despair.
After the war was won, Father came home to reunite with us, and decided to rename Esther from Lee Shu Qing to Lee Shu Xin, because she escaped the clutches of death through my mother's faith. (Xin means Faith in Chinese.)
The first year we arrived in Taiwan, Esther was 5 years old, and already sturdy. Her limbs were especially dexterous, running and jumping around like a boy, and short tempered besides. I remember when we lived in Tainan, Mother would often take fruit over to the neighbors to apologize, mostly because Esther got into trouble: she'd hit someone else's children, or broke a window. Mother would shake her head: "I didn't provide her with a good environment for her during the war, and now she's like a little bandit. When I was pregnant with her, your father was at war, and all I could think of was about fighting, killing, and death; we didn't have a moment of peace."
The fruit vendor at the end of the alley didn't just have my mother as his best customer, but even my sister’s “admiration.” One day on my way home from school, I saw her waving a fan bigger than she was, standing over the vendor. When I asked her what she was doing, she answered: "Helping Uncle gets the flies away." The vendor nodded at me, smiling, as if he approved of this. On the way home, Esther held onto my hand and said: "Sis, when I grow up, I want to marry a fruit vendor." Then as a teenager, I was very surprised: "Why?" She replied very seriously: "That way I’d have fruit to eat for the rest of my life!" Even today we still joke that she has yet to marry the man of her dreams, unless her husband changed jobs.
Later, we moved to Feng Shan, living in front of the elementary school. As a first grader, Esther was the favorite student of her teacher Huang Huan Hua. On the New Year's Eve of that year, our parents gave each of us 5 dollars of lucky money for the holiday. The next day, everyone was busy setting off fireworks and wishing each other a happy New Year—except Esther was missing. At noon, all of a sudden we saw a short child with a head full of curly hair that made it look bigger than her body, a strange sight indeed. Upon closer inspection, we realized that it was the missing Esther. Mom and Dad, very angry, ran up to her to ask where she'd gone and what she'd done. At six years old, she took her money to the hair stylist 3-4 miles away and begged for special consideration to have her hair cut and perm from its original student look style in order to look as her teacher's. Her teacher earlier had told her that they would take a picture together after New Years' festivities were over. Father gave her quite a lecture for this, because in that conservative era, it was unthinkable for a child to get her hair in a perm without parental consent. Her courage was both worrying and encouraging. That picture taken with her teacher is still treasured to this day.
After our family moved to Taipei, mother began to work, and our family financial situation gradually began to improve, but Esther always seemed boyish: full of energy and not placid enough. When Mother was offered to give two sisters piano lessons in exchange for Mother and Esther to practice an hour in their house daily Esther began her piano lessons. Unexpectedly, Esther fell in love with music from then on. Every evening after school, she walked the twenty minute route to practice regardless of weather. One year later, when our diplomat uncle's whole family came back from South Africa, he brought a piano for us. (At that time Taiwan didn't produce any pianos, and had to import them). From there Esther began her journey in music, as if finding her own paradise. No longer did she get into trouble, nor did we hear the youthful laughter and teasing any more. She focused all of her energy into the world of keyboard. During summer vacations, she was happy to practice 7-8 hours every day. Mother soon realized that she wasn't a match for her daughter, and asked Ms. Hannah Wu, later Professors Zhang Cai Xiang, and Dr. Robert Shultz and other famous teachers to guide her. Though Esther loved music, she also endured a lot of polishing and discipline under the harsh tutelage of her teachers. I often saw her wiping her tears as she practiced, especially when she got into a difficult portion. She would always practice it many times, determined to get it exactly right until she was happy with the result. We all admired that kind of willpower. Even our old driver said: "I've never seen Esther so serious about anything, even becoming teary eyed.” Now, if she does not practice the piano, she’d read, and has no time to make trouble. Even I can't believe she's changed so much! From now on, no-one should call her “naughty child!" Music truly has divine properties. It can subtly change even the most stubborn child into a lady.
Mother cultivated Esther like she was making a useful vessel both to serve God and other people. Starting at the age of 14, Esther began playing piano for the church. I remember when she first began accompanying Handel's Messiah, she was somewhat nervous, but eventually she was able to play as she pleased.
In her service to the church, Esther learned the virtues of humility and submission. In light of the truth of the Bible, she developed an attitude of optimism and enterprising; this became a great influence for her further growth.
Music and faith became like two sails for her, leading her into Taipei Second Girls' High School for middle school, Taipei First Girl's High School for high school, and the National Taiwan Normal University. She continued pressing on her education with music endeavor, wishing that she could have 48 hours in a day. In addition to her own homework, she had to take piano lessons and practice a lot. Meanwhile, she gave piano lessons to young people and accompanied the choir, direct the choir . . . Fortunately, she was skillful in time management and devoted herself wholeheartedly into every endeavor. When focusing on one task, she would completely tune out the rest of the world and care nothing else. In 1965 she won the all-Taiwan piano competition. Encouraged, but not satisfied with this result, she continued to work hard with no signs of letting up.
Before she left Taiwan for studying in the United States, she held a farewell concert at the Taipei National Army Cultural Center, and raised enough funds for her plane tickets to America. Then, she finished her Master’s degree at Northern Illinois University via a scholarship, and then received a fellowship from Purdue to finish her PhD. Since her education didn't cause any financial burden, mother was very grateful: "God knows my circumstances. It was very expensive for Esther to learn the piano, so she was able to save some on her schooling."
At the end of 1964, I was able to hear Stanton Yao’s piano playing at a Purdue University's Chinese Student Association event. His music was beautiful, clearing, and touching. Among the applause I saw his tall, thin figure rise and bow; this air of polite civility left a deep impression on me. When I met him again during my Bible study, I learned that he was senior of studying Electrical Engineering, and had been the president of the Chinese Student Association. In middle school, his aunt led him to the Lord, and he had always been the pianist for his Bible study ever since. I thought to myself: this excellent scholar has similar life goals as Esther, and the two of them would make an ideal pair. At the time, they were in opposite corners of the world. (Esther was a freshman at National Taiwan Normal University at the time.) They both were busy meeting their own opposite-sex friends, so there is no need for me to intrude. I'd never thought that fate would bring the two of them together. To my surprise, I got the happy news that Stanton and Esther were wed one year after I and my husband left Purdue. In his letter, Stanton wrote: "I finally found a girl I like. I know that Esther can help me and encourage me, I need a companion like her . . . "
In these twenty some years, Esther has served her husband and two daughters with everything she has. Every day when she gets home from work, she takes off her high heels, changes into casual clothes, and gets to cooking dinner, as well as watching over her children's studies and piano practice. If her children go swimming or other extra-curricular activities, she will take care of the chores over the phone instead. If some dish takes many minutes to be cooked, she'll use that time to clean the rug, or mop the floors and wipe the windows. She often does more than two things simultaneously and never wastes any time. When my little brother (David) Shu Chuan first arrived at America as a 9th grader, he lived at Esther's house and was under her strict discipline. Thinking back to those times, he is still full of respect and awe for her. Today, he sings and performs in such a spirited manner; one can see her influence on him. When she was still alive, Mother would also often praise her: "My daughter is a woman of many talents!" Indeed, she can play the piano, write essays, handle pots and pans, attend the gardens and wield a mop. Whenever their house has guests over, everyone has a good time, because Esther is a woman of such good taste and cooking skills. She even can single-handedly treat up to a hundred guests' worth of food from the main course to dessert.
Her daughters have also been taught to have many talents as well. Although common wisdom is to never educate one's own children, she disregarded this belief and taught her daughters Chinese and piano. In these dozen or so years, the results have been outstanding and a cut above the rest. Her patience and perseverance is definitely something to be admired. What awes me the most is that she makes everything from her daughters' clothes to the drapes and bedspreads herself with such a sense of color and pattern that it looks like the work of a professional.
She has an excellent grasp of priorities and has everything well-organized. All us siblings know: if we just want to talk or vent, go to big sis (me), but if we want something done, ask Esther. The busier she gets, the more efficient she becomes. Esther can listen to you (or talk on the phone), think, and type at the same time. Once you're done with talking, she'll confirm what you meant, and if she got it right, she'll say: "The letter's all type up, you can go mail it now!" She is so fast, it boggles the mind.
After Father passed away in 1974, Mother always lived with her children. She admired Esther's simple straightforwardness and strong sense of responsibility. She was especially touched by her daughter's thoughtfulness. She said: "Living at Esther's house, I see her busy all day long without stop, but before she left the house, she would come to see me in my room. And at night, no matter how late she gets back, she comes into my room. If I haven't fallen asleep yet, she would stop by to chat. This must be her way of honoring the traditional custom of greeting me both in the morning and evening!"
Early this summer, I went to Washington D.C for a conference, and I had a chance to have a long talk with Esther’s congressional campaign. Being more conservative, I felt that it was difficult enough for her to be a professor and a government official (at the time she was a deputy director of the Department of Education under President Bush [Sr.]. I didn't understand why she'd seek public office and run around raising campaign funds as if she was begging for money. She'd speak in such a humble way that I as her big sister felt bad for her. On the other hand, she felt that she had a mission, and she'd have to be able to endure difficulty and look at the long-term goal with courage, not worry about her personal gains and losses or the short term outcome. During her appointment in Washington D.C., she witnessed many injustices and unreasonable conducts, as well as much work that was yet to be done. She asked me: "How have Africans Americans changed in the past 20-30 years? Yet the Chinese Americans have merely been busy seeking after their own benefits and accomplishments with no concern for politics. In the past 160 years, the Chinese Americans went from unskilled laborers (coolies) working on the railroads and digging in mines to being today's professors, doctors, and engineers, but only a scant few are in politics. Somebody has to be that vanguard to pave the road for our children and grandchildren. It may not be easy now, but someone has to blaze that trail in order to create a new paradigm. Think back to when we first came to America; it was unimaginable that we might see African-American mayors, governors, or even presidents. Yet, in those twenty years, it's very common to see African Americans in offices like mayor, governor, senator, or representative, and everyone has accepted that as the status quo. If it wasn't for them striving for this with all their strength, would they have such as scene as [it is] now?" She continued: "I feel that I have a mission. For the last ten years I've written columns in the World Journal calling and encouraging Asian Americans to join in politics and speak for their people, directly affecting American political dialogue and policy. Now that my daughters are grown, it's time for me to lead by example and throw myself into politics full-time."
Esther takes the long view and has quite discerning eye. Many ideas have become a reality in her hands. If she thinks something is the right to do, she'll forge ahead courageously no matter how difficult it may be. She can also humbly accept criticism from others, thinking it to be like a forging fire, believing that one can actually backslide without it. She says of herself: "My best 'advantage' is that I'm forgetful, as I don't remember animosities or hold grudges. If someone wants to be mad at me, they're just making trouble for themselves, because I don't have time to be angry." Without that burden in her heart, she is a focused person who can be responsible, and yet let go at right time. Being her elder sister, now I understand her wish and aspiration. Moreover, I am truly touched by her ideas and strength of will. Her whole family supports her and also hopes that she can achieve her dream of winning more rights for her fellow Asian immigrants in the United States.
Fall of 1991
Translated by Mary M. Lin of Orlando, FL in Nov. 2012.