I am a Di. The irony of having a short surname in the US has both plagued and tickled me. It takes no time at all to write. My digital security identities for academia and the professional world are often just three keystrokes.
On the other hand, verbally conveying a short surname poses quite a challenge. Di is so short that I invariably am asked to repeat the two-letter spelling, sometimes multiple times.
An ABC (American-Born Chinese), I often felt discomfort over my seemingly unusual last name. I was surrounded by Smiths, Garcias, even Nguyens and Vaclaviks, but I never met anyone with a surname as short as mine until college. That's 18 years of life feeling weird.
Some might consider agonizing over one's surname overkill. In Chinese culture, however, the surname or family name dictates a large part of one's identity. Yet it didn't occur to me until my mid-30s to truly dig deeper into what it means to be a Di. In 2019, my grandmother passed away, and I realized that despite her having Alzheimer's for the last decade of her life, I had an unfinished draft of her autobiography. I dug it out, read it, and re-read it. I wondered where these people, the House of Di, came from, and about other Dis out there who shared my roots. Moreover, I wanted to know about the Scottish Browns in my roots, the unknown Japanese couple whose daughter became my great grandmother, and the Turkish lineage beyond by maternal grandfather.
And so I embarked on this project. I would call this journey an awakening. It has been fascinating, and at times shocking. (Who knew my great-grandfather had multiple wives?) I imagine that like many Chinese families, information hit a perceivable break around 1949, the Cultural Revolution, and is only slowly picking up after that.
This site shares our family's exploration and expansion of the Di lineage. We hope our discoveries are informative and interesting.
~Francine Di (Houston TX)
OLD DI ESTATE, SHANGHAI: Though the estate was torn down years ago by the government, Maureen received photos from relatives in China that capture the exquisite garden.
WORKS BY JUDITH (DI) HUANG, CALGARY: In 2006, Judith celebrated her 100th birthday. These were some of the pieces on display in her Calgary home.
For weeks I searched unsuccessfully for a family tree template that fit my needs. So in true Di style, I learned how to make leaves and lines in Adobe Illustrator and created this vine forest. For any family members who have additional information or corrections, please let me know and I'll update it as soon as possible.
