Enduring Romance

In her manner of dress and speech, she is much like the other local silver-haired ladies along the hutong (a small neighborhood street) in the Dongcheng District of Beijing, but her eyes are blue. The neighborhood kids call her “grandma,” and very few know how to pronounce her elegant Western name, Vilma Ilse Hogan Vorb.

Wilma first came to China with her mother shortly after the founding of the People’s Republic of China. But at that time, she never dreamed she would settle in the exotic foreign land, with its strange food and environment. And, certainly, it never occurred to her then that she might take a Chinese husband. But certainty came when she fell in love with that young handsome man, and for more than 50 years she has shared her life in China with him.

A Fortunate Collision

Vilma Ilse Hogan Vorb and Yang Baolu were married on January 1, 1960. (Image: China Pictorial)In recounting his first meeting with the beautiful young Dutch woman at the No. 5 Bus Station in Beijing those many years ago, Yang Baolu, now 84, can not suppress his smile.

“After I graduated from the Department of Mechanics, Peking University, I was always busy as a chief engineer, and when I finally got off work I was in a hurry to get home. So after work one day when the bus arrived I rushed to get on. But I bumped into a young foreign lady who was getting off with a lot of bags and her stuff scattered all over the place. ‘Hey, young man!’ I was amazed that she spoke my language without hesitation, staring at me. ‘You should be more careful.’ I apologized straight away and helped her pick up her stuff. Remember, this was so many years ago, and this young foreign lady could speak in such a perfect Beijing dialect.”

As Yang recounts, their eyes met and they each slowed down while picking up her things. They exchanged addresses.

“Now he is my lover, first and last. That evening I visited his family, and we talked and talked, about everything. We didn’t know where to start and where to end. The history of China, life in Beijing, my childhood in my hometown far away…so much more.”

However, the unfolding of their love story was not perfect. His parents could hardly accept a blue-eyed daughter-in-law from another country; and her relatives didn’t understand why she wanted to marry an intellectual from a poor family. “You’ll be back within three months if you go back to China.” declared Wilma’s brother-in-law.
He was wrong. On January 1, 1960, the couple married. In keeping with Chinese tradition, the Dutch girl’s family name was changed into her husband’s, and the Yang’s took residence in the family’s traditional one-story Beijing home.

A Life Together

After they married, Wilma lived with her husband’s family. Her life soon became very typical of a Chinese woman, in that three generations lived under one roof. Within a few years the couple had a son and a daughter.

Wilma was born into an upper-class Dutch family. But in marrying Yang she gladly accepted a life like that of average Chinese women in Beijing. She had to change her old life style to match the new and, of course, her role in the family differed. For instance, a daughter-in-law in China is expected to look after her parentsin- law, while being a good wife and a caring mother. She supported the entire family with her daily chores, like shopping, cooking, and storing Chinese cabbages ahead of the long winter.

Wilma with her family. (Image: China Pictorial)Wilma did not begin to work outside the home until her kids were grown. Because of her talent in speaking English, Dutch, French, German, and Chinese, she was invited to teach at well-known institutes of higher learning, including Tsinghua and Peking Universities. “I don’t remember how many students I’ve taught,” Wilma says, smiling. The senior couple’s life has been casual yet busy since their retirement. “Too much to do,” they say. “We have a little cat. We grow vegetables and flowers. We practice Chinese calligraphy. And we write books on the best of Chinese and Western food.”

“Have you ever quarreled?” this reporter asks. “No way!” says Yang, “Never. She has done so much for everyone in the family … and that’s sure not an easy job. I’m so happy and feel so lucky to have a wonderful wife like her!”