A Promise to His Mother: Richard Hsung on Legacy, Loss, and the Power of Story

When Richard Hsung promised his dying mother he’d finish her memoir, he didn’t yet understand the weight of that vow—or the decade-long journey it would set in motion. In this episode, Richard shares his deeply personal path of honoring his mother’s extraordinary life as an adopted child of American missionaries in pre-Communist China, a refugee from revolution, and a resilient physician under Mao. Together, we explore identity, inheritance, immigration, and what it means to find yourself between cultures while keeping a promise that spans generations.

Interview recorded in Madison, WI.

Key Takeaways:

• Richard’s mother, Jean Tren-Hwa Perkins, was adopted by American missionaries after surviving the 1931 Yangtze River Flood
• Her extraordinary life took her across China, India, and the U.S. during wartime and political upheaval
• She was separated from her adoptive parents for decades after the Communist revolution
• Despite being trapped in China, she became a surgeon and survived persecution with the help of unlikely allies
• Richard immigrated to the U.S. at 14, leaving behind his father and sister and navigating identity loss and cultural dislocation
• He spent nearly 10 years completing his mother’s memoir as a redemptive act of healing and honoring her legacy
• Richard reflects on the “third culture” experience—belonging fully to neither country but shaped deeply by both
• Compassion, for Richard, starts with listening deeply and without judgment

Richard Hsung’s Bio:

Richard P. (Perkins) Hsung was born in China and immigrated to the U.S. as a kid with his mother. 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 (https://richardperkinshsung.com). Richard spent ten years editing and completing "Spring Flower," written by his mother, Jean Tren-Hwa Perkins, MD. This three-volume memoir, published by Earnshaw Books (https://earnshawbooks.com), chronicles his mother's life as an adopted child of American medical missionaries, which began shortly after the catastrophic Yangtze River Flood in 1931 that killed millions. Learn more at Yangtze River by the Hudson Bay (https://www.yangtzeriverbythehudsonbay.site/home-page.html).

Connect with Richard:

https://richardperkinshsung.com/

https://www.yangtzeriverbythehudsonbay.site/home-page.html

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Can you pinpoint a moment in time when your life changed? Maybe it wasn’t a moment, maybe it was a complicated chain of events that led you to where you are today. Or maybe, it was a generational impact that started before you were even born. Regardless of what it contains, all humans have a story. And those stories are the building blocks of who we are, at our very core. Join host, Jennifer Peterkin - lover and collector of stories, as she interviews humans from all walks of life. Tune in every week to hear stories of love and loss, triumph and defeat, and all that exist in between.