This is a set of Jingdezhen ceramics, so named because it came from China's "Porcelain Capital" which has been producing porcelain for over a thousand years. My mother was the first of her family to immigrate to the United States in 1995, and this set was a gift from her second brother's teacher. Her brother was studying to become a doctor in Jingdezhen, and while both he and his teacher couldn't walk the path with her, they wanted her to keep a part of them and their culture in a new world. It has been with our family ever since, flying across oceans and many countries before claiming its rightful place on display in our living room. When I look at its colors, I am not only struck but its beauty but also by the contrast between its aura of antiquity, intricacy, and history with the room it is in - non-traditional, full of Ikea furniture, and American. As such, it represents the persistence of my family, but also the determination needed to adapt to change but retain what makes you, you, in any situation, place, or time.

– Eva Yan

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