浦 (pu) ; riverbank, shore, delta

Pu is my family’s surname. In a country of billions of people, there’s surprisingly not many with the last name Pu.

According to Baidu.com and to the old folk of my grandparent’s village, the Pu family can be traced back all the way to the Song Dynasty. Long ago, there was a general who won many wars and gained the emperor’s favor. To reward him for his military might, he was gifted the surname Pu and a plot of land in the Jiangnan Province along the Huangpu River. And, we’ve been there ever since. Generation after generation. Until my dad immigrated to America that is.

For most of my childhood, all I wanted to be was normal. To assimilate into America and become as close to whiteness as possible. After all, having a last name pronounced poo puts you at the mercy of endless bathroom jokes.

But, then I realized that I was singular, one of one, and that the Chinese American experience was a beautifully, rare burden and privilege.

Its funny, my family’s surname is quite similar to the Chinese character for ocean. Probably, because we’ve lived connected to the ocean for a while.

Sometimes, when you trace your way back to your roots — or in my case from the riverbank to the ocean — you find a part of you so innate and true that it changes you for ever And with that knowing, you can bring change to the next generation. New Waves, if you will.

That is the dream of New Wave. That by connecting with our past, we can bring hope to the future. We are sappy, but genuine and we’d love to see you join us on this journey.

Love,

Becca