About Tin Ming!
Her name
林天命, or Tin Ming Lam, was the name she she had given herself. 天命 Tin Ming, meaning divine destiny. 林 Lam, meaning woods, is pronounced like lum- in lumber, not lam- in lamb.
Her backstory
Please be mindful of potential triggers because this is really messed up, mostly for historical accuracy.
(tw: mention of historical sexism, child marriage, human trafficking etc.)
1878
Born in a small village in Guangdong, China. She was named Yi Mui, literally "second sister", as commoners in rural China then never paid much attention to naming their children, especially girls.
1881
Her eldest sister, 9 years old at the time, was sold to another family to be the wife of their son, who was only an infant. She was going to raise the boy to adulthood and later marry him. (You can learn more about this cultural practice here)
1887
The boy had fallen ill and died, and Yi Mui's sister had later died of unknown causes. Terrified that Yi Mui would repeat her fate, their brother took her to the city away from their family, hoping to support her on his own. She ended up abducted at the pier, and her abductors sold her to a ship of laborers set to sail to the states. The price that she was sold for, was barely enough for half a bag of flour.
1888
She had arrived in America, and she would've been sold to a brothel in Chinatown in Saint Francisco, but a wealthy trader, Mr Sung, took pity on her and bought her to be a maid for him and his wife. He renamed her Siu Siu, literally "smiley", and she learnt to read and write under them, so she could perform the proper duties of a maid.
1891
She had learnt quickly, following Mr Sung around while he ran his medicinal herb business. By this time, Siu Siu had already taken up some English, much to Mr Sung's delight as she could now also act as his translator.
However, Siu Siu had also picked up the clue that Mr Sung was planning to make her his mistress as soon as she "matured", as Mrs Sung had been unable to bear any of his children. Terrified, she realized that Mrs Sung was the only one that could offer her protection. Yet Mrs Sung had been cold towards her, seeing her as a threat and competition.
1892
Siu Siu had realized how loveless the couple's marriage was, and how Mrs Sung had been starved of affection. And so she seduced her, despite how young she was, and with little effort she had succeeded, and Mrs Sung began defending her against her husband's advances. This is how she came to realize that, she could take advantage of older women's loneliness, make them grow fond of her, and use that for her own benefit. (It's an unhealthy mindset she has developed since then.)
1894
Although she started her affair with Mrs Sung purely out of selfish reasons, Siu Siu now found herself attached to Mrs Sung as well. And yet Mr Sung had become more and more pushy to the point where his wife's objection could no longer stop him.
Until one night, Siu Siu walked into their bedroom to find that Mrs Sung had killed her husband. She decided to take all the blame, instructed the woman to blame the murder on her, before running all the way to Saint Denis.
1895
She had taken the name of Tin Ming Lam, Lam being the maiden name of Mrs Sung. And with this new identity she had settled down in Saint Denis, working in a medicine shop while running an opium business.
1899
She had offended some local thugs in the city, and was being beaten up in the alleyway when Javier passed by and intervened. He offered to take her home, but she said she could no longer stay in Saint Denis, and so he took her back to camp, the only place where he figured out could be safe for her.
She learns how to use a gun, but it isn't really her thing. She notices that Arthur collects herbs sometimes, and starts brewing up teas and soups to make the humidity a little easier to bear for everyone, burn some of them to repel mosquitos, and make poultices for treating wounds. But most of the time she just lies around doing nothing, which Miss Grimshaw keeps scolding her for.
Ting Ming in the gang
Tin Ming is not used to suddenly having a community, especially a group of people so culturally different. However she befriended the women fairly quickly. She has a little crush on Javier but it isn't anything important and nothing actually comes out of it (until many years later, but that is another story).
And so she picked up her old habit of showering an older woman with love and affection, just to get away with camp chores. And not just for herself; she notices that when she keeps Susan happy, the woman would be less strict with the other girls too.
Because when you are born into a culture where men could not be relied on, you can only seek protection from other women, and the only way to secure that is by being their pet. Or so you have been led to think.
