Those who know it first-hand are getting older
The uncles and aunties who came from the village themselves can still tell you how it really was. That’s not a question that can wait.
OPEN CALL · STORYTELLERS WANTED
Tell it before it’s gone
We’re starting to record the family’s stories: how the first of us got here, what was left behind in the village, which words and dishes made the journey. We record sound only – no camera. Nothing has been published yet – this is the beginning, and we’re looking for relatives willing to tell theirs first.
One hour of your time stays in the family for a hundred years.
AI IMAGE · NOT A REAL RECORDING01 · WHY NOW
What nobody writes down slips away quietly
The family goes back centuries. Yet it’s the last three generations we know least about, because it all sits in conversations nobody ever recorded.
Every generation speaks a word less
The names of dishes, rituals and places are often only known in Cantonese. Once recorded, they can still be heard – no interpreter at the table needed.
At home, nobody ever asks out loud
With a recorder running, you can. Many families only then find out why their father left, or how the first business got started.
02 · WHAT IT’LL BE
A family archive that keeps growing
01
Sound recording with a transcriptSound only, in Dutch or Cantonese, with the text underneath so you can read it back and search it.
02
Clips alongside the rest of the siteA memory of Ching Ming next to the tradition itself, a story about the village next to the map of San Tin.
03
Recipes, names and routes written downWhat was always done by feel gets written down: the dishes, the village names, the route from leaving to arriving here.
04
By the family, for the familyYou read your own conversation back before anything goes online, and you can take out whatever you like. You decide what’s public and what stays within the family.
AI IMAGE · WHAT IT COULD LOOK LIKE03 · THE SET-UP
Five questions, the same for every generation
There’s nothing to prepare. You get the questions in advance, and you can skip anything you’d rather not talk about.
- 01Who was the first in your branch to leave, and why?
- 02What’s your earliest memory of the family together?
- 03What language do you speak at home – and who can you no longer speak it with?
- 04How do you know San Tin – from way back, from a visit, or from stories?
- 05What do you want to pass on to those who come after you?
Got a story that doesn’t fit these? Tell it anyway – the questions are a starting point, not a form.
04 · WHO WE’RE LOOKING FOR
Four voices to start with
You don’t need a remarkable story. Ordinary life is the story – we’ll ask the questions.
AI IMAGETHE FIRST GENERATION
Those who came from the village themselves
From San Tin, Chau Tau, Tai Hang or thereabouts: about the journey, the work in that first kitchen and the letters home. Cantonese is fine too – we’ll take care of the translation.
AI IMAGETHE SECOND GENERATION
Raised between two languages
Above the restaurant, at school here, summers over there. What it was like being your parents’ interpreter.
AI IMAGETHE THIRD GENERATION
Born here, rooted there
What you were given, what you lost and what you’d like to get back. Even if you feel you don’t know enough.
YOUR PORTRAIT
OUTSIDE THE NETHERLANDS
The family across the rest of Europe
Belgium, Germany, England, Hong Kong. Distance is no problem: we ring you and record the sound.
Sign up05 · TAKING PART
Tell your story
A conversation takes about an hour, at your home or somewhere you choose. There’s no camera: just a recorder on the table. You decide what gets published – the sound, the text only, or just part of it.
You read your conversation back first, and you can take out anything you’d rather not share.
Not sure your story is interesting enough? Sign up anyway. That’s exactly what everyone thinks.
Or email us directly at info@familieman.nl – a few lines will do, and we’ll ring you back.
HOW IT WORKS
01
Sign upAn email is enough; we’ll ring you back.
02
A chat beforehandYou get the questions in advance, in Dutch or Cantonese.
03
The recordingOne hour of sound, at an easy pace, no script.
04
You read it backTake out whatever you like; nothing goes online without your say-so.
06 · HELPING OUT
Rather help than talk?
We’re also looking for relatives who’d like to hold a conversation themselves, type up recordings or translate from Cantonese. Half a day per conversation is plenty.