On September 23, 1938, my grandmother left her life and family in China. This is an opportunity for you to leave the country,'' said Bernice.

'The Japanese were invading China and her mother said to her that 'If you have an opportunity to tour again you must take it. 'They wanted their culture in an art form, but they also wanted to raise money for China to fight the Japanese,' explained Shirley Hune, my aunt and Gar Yin's eldest child.īy 1937, the Second Sino-Japanese war had started. She soon started performing locally and eventually toured in Southeast Asia.Īt this time the Chinese Freemasons were sponsoring groups of Opera performers to go perform in Chinatowns across North America. Gar Yin was mentored by other female performers.

She had to leave school at a young age after her father refused to pay tuition for his daughter. 'So she went to work in the opera company as a performer,' my mother and Gar Yin's youngest daughter, Bernice Hune, told me. (City of Toronto Archives, Globe and Mail Fonds 1266, Item 101788) Gar Yin Hune learned to read by memorizing opera scores.

Chinese opera singer