Wang Ye’an (Australia)
Nomination Award
Author’s Bio:
Pen name: Yi An. Real name: Wang Ye’an, born in Shanghai, ancestral home in Hunan.
Holds a Ph.D. in Molecular Biology from the University of Sydney. Currently resides in Sydney, Australia.
An enthusiast of Chinese literary writing, she is a member of the New South Wales Chinese Writers’ Association.
Her works have appeared in various Chinese-language newspapers, magazines, and anthologies in Australia and abroad.
She is the author of the novel Dreaming Waves (梦激浪).
Awarded Work: The Story of Ma Kai (68 Episodes)
Story Synopsis:
Lily, Ma Kai’s niece, is an illegitimate child who was almost abandoned by her mother and has endured discrimination both in society and within her own family. She lived in a Girl’s Home twice. Ma Kai’s mother-in-law, Maria, admired and trusted Ma Kai, entrusting young Lily to her care. Thus began the intertwined destinies of two women from society’s margins — Lily and Ma Kai.
Ma Kai was born into a family of traditional Chinese medicine and witnessed the hardships faced by Chinese immigrants under the White Australia Policy. Her uncle’s furniture shop in Sydney was vandalized by racist thugs, forcing the family to return to China. Ma Kai excelled in school and learned cooking from her mother, who passed away early. She also studied Chinese medicine under her father and cultivated a love for Chinese poetry, calligraphy, and painting. Her father’s adopted son, Niu Xin, developed feelings for her, but Ma Kai always treated him as a younger brother.
Ma Kai later married Jack, an Australian, and suffered from racial prejudice both socially and within the family. Because of her yellow skin, she was even barred from entering a church. At home, Jack and their two sons, Stephen and Gray, disliked Chinese food. When Lily entered her life, she brought Ma Kai great comfort — Lily loved her Chinese cooking and learned to sing from her, revealing her natural musical talent. The two were once stopped at the church doors together, finding solace in each other amid adversity.
Lily’s beautiful singing voice was discovered by the head of the Girl’s Home. Once excluded from the church, she was invited to sing there on Christmas. With support from the headmistress and her uncle John, Lily later attended a music school and eventually became a famous singer.
Lily always considered Ma Kai’s home her own, returning there during every holiday. Ma Kai repeatedly tried to reconcile Lily with her mother, but Lily’s mother was fickle and careless in love. Lily also had a half-brother — another illegitimate child — yet her mother cruelly forbade them from meeting. Her mother had once been legally married, but that relationship too was unstable and fragmented.
Jack’s eldest brother, John, a wealthy businessman, respected Ma Kai after she translated a poem inscribed on one of his Chinese paintings, recognizing her literary talent. The second brother, Bill, was prejudiced against her. Yet Ma Kai, with patience and compassion, cured Bill’s illness with Chinese herbal medicine, softening his racist attitude and earning his apology.
Tragedy, however, continued to shadow Ma Kai’s life. Her elder son Stephen, who looked European, died in a car accident at age nine. Her younger son Gray, who resembled his Asian mother, fell hopelessly in love with Lily and took his own life at twenty-five. Ma Kai endured unbearable pain and loss, with Lily offering her comfort and emotional strength.
Although Jack was not racist, his early rejection of Chinese food hurt Ma Kai deeply. Apart from family picnics, they seldom ate together — the joy of family life was almost lost. Lily became the bridge between them. Eventually, Jack learned to appreciate Chinese food and tried to make amends. When he learned that Ma Kai was terminally ill, he cherished her all the more. Despite their deep love, fate was unkind — Ma Kai died of cancer at forty-five.
Before her death, Ma Kai visited her father in China and reunited with her uncle’s family. Under her father’s traditional Chinese medical care, she miraculously extended her life beyond doctors’ predictions of only three months. During this time, she was overjoyed to be reunited with Lily. Lily, in turn, discovered that Niu Xin’s girlfriend was her old friend Linda from the Girl’s Home and warmly invited them to her concert performance.
In her final days, Ma Kai discovered her husband’s gift for poetry and encouraged him to pursue it. After enduring one tragedy after another, Jack found solace and inspiration in her memory. Following her death, Ma Kai appeared in his dreams, rekindling his passion for writing. He began publishing poems in newspapers and won several awards, ultimately becoming a distinguished poet.
Professional Commentary:
This drama vividly portrays the intertwined fates of two Chinese women — Ma Kai and the illegitimate girl Lily — spanning generations and revealing the emotional depths of racial discrimination, cultural conflict, family fracture, and feminine resilience. With its mix of sorrow and hope, its layered narrative, and its compelling emotional arc, it stands as a moving micro-series on immigrant life and the growth of women in adversity.
