Yeung Sau-king

Yeung Sau-king, also Yvonne Tan,[1] Yang Xiuqiong and Yang Hsiu-chiung (simplified Chinese: 杨秀琼; traditional Chinese: 楊秀瓊; 25 April 1919 – 10 October 1982) was a Hong Kong Chinese swimmer. She was born in Tai Hang, Hong Kong.

In this Chinese name, the family name is Yeung.
Yeung Sau-king
1933 magazine cover of The Young Companion featuring Yeung
Personal information
Nickname(s)China's Mermaid
Born(1919-04-25)25 April 1919
Hong Kong
Died10 October 1982(1982-10-10) (aged 63)
Vancouver, Canada
Sport
SportSwimming

Swimming

Yeung's talent in swimming was inspired by her parents, members of the South China Athletic Association of Hong Kong, and learnt swimming at the age of 10 at the SCAA's Tsat Tsz Mui swimming shed.[2]

Yeung began swimming competitively around 1930, representing the South China Athletic Association. As an 11-year-old girl, she was the winner of the annual harbour race for women on 14 October 1930 with a record-breaking time of 32 minutes and 39 seconds.[3] In October 1933, Yeung represented Hong Kong in the 5th National Games held in Nanking. She made a splash by winning all five women's swimming events, including 50-metre freestyle, 100-metre freestyle, 100-metre backstroke, 200-metre breaststroke and 200-metre relay.[4]

In May 1934, Yeung represented the Republic of China in the 10th Far Eastern Championship Games in the Philippines. She became a star by winning 4 gold medals in 5 women's events she participated in—50-metre freestyle, 100-metre freestyle, 100-metre backstroke and 200-metre relay—breaking the Chinese national records in all.[5] She also won the 200-metre breaststroke but was subsequently disqualified for not touching the wall when turning. Many Filipinos called her "Miss China", and some Chinese citizens even praised her as a national heroine. In October 1935, she again represented Hong Kong in the 6th National Games held in Shanghai. She won the women's 100-metre backstroke[6] and 100-metre freestyle,[7] breaking the national and Far Eastern records for both events.

Yeung competed in two events—100-metre freestyle and 100-metre backstroke—at the 1936 Summer Olympics but did not advance beyond the preliminary heats.[8] The last swimming competition she participated in before retiring was likely the 14th Annual Swimming Championships of the South China Athletic Association held in September 1939. She won the women's 100-metre backstroke.[9]

Personal life

Yeung's father Yeung Chu-nam was born in Dongguan but moved to Hong Kong at a young age. Her mother was born in Hong Kong. Yeung had an elder sister and a younger brother. She married jockey TAO Bo Lin (B. L. Tao) in 1939 and had a daughter and a son.[10] Between 1942 and 1943, Yeung served as a special intelligence officer for the Chinese government in Japanese-occupied Hong Kong, and was interrogated by the Japanese Kenpeitai on 1 May 1943.[11] She moved to Shanghai in October 1943. She divorced her husband in Hong Kong in 1947 and got custody of their two children. She re-married in Shanghai in October 1948 and her second husband TAN Tjin Koan (T. K. Tan) was a Chinese Indonesian businessman. After the wedding, they moved to Thailand and their two daughters were born there. The family moved to Hong Kong in 1953 and Yeung became the founding chairman of the Ladies Section of the Hong Kong Life Guards' Club (later renamed The Hong Kong Life Saving Society) on 12 October 1962, serving until 1966. She was one of the Hong Kong representatives who attended the Commonwealth Life Guards Conference in London in July 1966, and was invited to attend an evening reception at the Buckingham Palace. At that time, she had been a captain of the Hong Kong Life Guards' Club for five years, and was the first woman chancellor of the Royal Life Saving Society, Hong Kong Branch.[12]

Yeung moved to Vancouver, Canada in 1978 and opened a gift shop called Creation Boutique (at 5641 Dunbar Street) in 1982 shortly before her death.[13] She died after falling from a ladder in her home,[1] and is buried in the Ocean View Burial Park in Burnaby.

References
  1. "'China's Mermaid' dies". The Vancouver Sun. 13 October 1982. Retrieved 30 November 2019.
  2. Yeung, Sau-king (1938). 楊秀瓊自傳 (Autobiography of Yeung Sau-king) (in Chinese). Hong Kong: 新華出版社 (Sun Wah Publisher).
  3. "A young 'mermaid': Chinese girl wins open harbour race". The China Mail (Hong Kong). 15 October 1930.
  4. "女游泳決賽總成績 (Final results of women's swimming finals)". 申報 (Shun Pao) (Shanghai, in Chinese). 20 October 1933.
  5. "中國小姐名揚海外 (Miss China became famous overseas)". 時報 (Eastern Times) (Shanghai, in Chinese). 19 May 1934.
  6. "楊秀瓊壓倒穎嫻 (Yeung Sau-king overpowers Wing-han)". 工商日報 (The Industrial and Commerce Daily Press) (Hong Kong, in Chinese). 18 October 1935.
  7. "游泳新記錄愈多 (More swimming records)". 工商日報 (The Industrial and Commerce Daily Press) (Hong Kong, in Chinese). 19 October 1935.
  8. Evans, Hilary; Gjerde, Arild; Heijmans, Jeroen; Mallon, Bill; et al. "Yeung Sauking Olympic Results". Olympics at Sports-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on 18 April 2020. Retrieved 16 September 2016.
  9. "南華水運昨決賽 (South China Swimming Championship finals held yesterday)". 工商日報 (The Industrial and Commerce Daily Press) (Hong Kong, in Chinese). 22 September 1939.
  10. 潘惠蓮 (Pun, Wai Lin) (2019). 尋找美人魚楊秀瓊──香港一代女泳將抗日秘辛 (In search of 'Mermaid' Yeung Sau-king) (in Chinese). Hong Kong: Pun Wai Lin. ISBN 978-988-7956006.
  11. 姫田, 光義 (1988). 重慶中国国民党在港秘密機関検挙状況. 十五年戦争極秘資料集. Japan: 不二出版 (Fuji Shuppan). ISBN 978-4-8350-1008-3.
  12. "'China Mermaid' to meet the Queen". South China Morning Post (Hong Kong). 10 July 1966.
  13. "At Creation Boutique Yvonne Tan trades treasures". Chinatown News. 3 September 1982.

Further reading

潘惠蓮 (Pun, Wai Lin) (2019). 尋找美人魚楊秀瓊──香港一代女泳將抗日秘辛 (In search of 'Mermaid' Yeung Sau-king) (in Chinese). Hong Kong: Pun Wai Lin. ISBN 978-988-7956006.

A Brief Biography of Yeung Sau King—in 《尋找美人魚楊秀瓊》後續........ (Addendum blog of the book In search of 'Mermaid' Yeung Sau-king).

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