“There is no such thing as a new person, only a new beginning.”

“世上没有全新的人，只有新的开始。”

Kaohsiung in 1982 was the second-largest city in Taiwan, with a population of about 1.2 million. It was a typical industrial port city, where the air was always filled with the scent of machine oil and the salty sea breeze. Cranes busily loaded and unloaded containers, while the sounds of factories echoed across the city. For Taiwan, it was an era of rapid economic growth, and it was in this very atmosphere that I was born.

1982 年的高雄，是台湾的第二大城市，大概有一百二十万人口。那是一座典型的工业港口城市，空气里总是带着一点机油味和咸咸的海风。吊臂忙着装卸货柜，工厂的声音此起彼落。对台湾来说，那是一个经济快速起飞的年代，而我，就是在这样的氛围里出生的。

For my parents, my arrival was a big event. During an ultrasound, the doctor had told my mother that I would likely be a boy. My father was thrilled when he heard the news, believing that having a son as their first child was a great blessing to the family. But when I was born and turned out to be a girl, his expression reportedly grew complicated. Later, he often laughed when recalling: “The moment you were born, you cried so loudly, like a little boy. Too bad you turned out to be a little girl!”

对我的父母来说，我的到来是一件大事。当时妈妈去照超音波，医生说应该是个男孩。爸爸听到这个消息非常开心，觉得第一胎就是儿子，这对家庭来说是很大的祝福。可是，当我出生那一刻，他看到其实是个女孩，他的表情据说变得有点复杂。后来他常常笑着回忆说：“妳一出生就哭得特别大声，像个小男孩，可惜偏偏是个小丫头！”

As a child, my cries were especially loud—so loud they felt like they could blow the roof off. My father often joked, “Your crying drove me crazy! I almost wanted to throw you out of the window a few times!” Of course, my mother always stopped him. Looking back now, I realize that was just my father’s unique sense of humor.

我小时候的哭声特别响，常常哭到好像要把屋顶掀翻一样。爸爸还常开玩笑说：“我都被妳哭到快崩溃了，几次差点想把妳丢出窗外！”当然这句话每次都会被妈妈阻止。现在回头想，那其实是爸爸独特的幽默。

I weighed over four kilograms at birth, truly a “giant baby.” My mother suffered greatly in labor because she gave birth naturally, and she was completely exhausted afterward. What’s more, since she had taken some Chinese medicine during pregnancy, I was born covered in golden hair. My father joked that I looked like a “little golden monkey.” Though everyone found it funny at the time, no one could deny that I was a healthy and adorable baby.

我出生的时候超过四公斤，是个名副其实的“巨婴”。妈妈为了自然产吃了不少苦，生完累坏了。而且因为她怀孕时吃了太多补品，我一出生全身披着一层金色胎毛，爸爸笑说我像一只“金毛猴子”。虽然当时大家都觉得好笑，但没有人能否认——我是一个健康又可爱的宝宝。

My father was a straightforward man and carried a bit of the traditional preference for boys over girls. He often teased me by saying I had been picked up from a garbage heap, which made me angry and cry. Every time, he had to coax me for a long while until I forgave him. As a child, those words hurt, but as I grew older, I realized that was his clumsy way of showing love. Especially in his later years, he would often say: “You and your older sister are the most thoughtful. If I had known earlier, I would have had more daughters.” Those words always warmed my heart.

爸爸的性格很直接，也带着一点传统的重男轻女观念。他常常说我是从垃圾堆捡回来的，逗得我气哭。每次都要他哄很久我才会破涕为笑。小时候这些话真的会让我受伤，可是长大以后我才慢慢明白，那是他笨拙表达爱的方式。特别是在他晚年的时候，他常对我说：“妳和妳姐姐最贴心，早知道就多生几个女儿了。”这句话总是让我觉得很温暖。

Now, when I look back, my name, my birth, and these little stories are all part of the very beginning of my life. They are not just pieces of family memory but also reminders that each of us was welcomed into this world within a specific time and cultural background. These memories have accompanied me to this day and have become the foundation of my understanding of family and culture.

现在回想，我的名字、我的出生、还有这些小故事，都是我生命最初的起点。它们不只是家族记忆的一部分，也提醒我：我们每个人都是在特定的时代背景里被迎接到这个世界的。这些记忆陪我走到今天，也成为我理解家庭和文化的基石。

Thank you for walking with me through my birth story today. As you listen, I hope you can also recall the moment you first came into this world, and how your family welcomed you in their own way.

谢谢妳今天和我一起走进我的出生故事。希望妳在听的时候，也能回想起自己来到这个世界的那一刻，还有妳的家人，如何用他们的方式迎接妳。

我的网站：flywithlily.com