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Frank Hoel Jr.
Ma Shouying is Winston Ma’s father and Mimi Ma’s grandfather, though she never meets him. A Chinese Muslim living in Shanghai, Shouying becomes a wealthy and powerful man through the silk business. He is also an art scholar, calligrapher, and has three wives. He gives Winston (then Sih Hsuin) the three jade rings and the arhat scroll to take with him to the U.S., knowing that soon the Communists will take over China. It’s implied that Shouying is placed in a prison camp for years but is later released.
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Ma Shouying Character Timeline in The Overstory
The timeline below shows where the character Ma Shouying appears in The Overstory. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Part 1: Roots—Mimi Ma
...electrical engineering student, is preparing to leave for America. He sits with his father Ma Shouying, a wealthy businessman and scholar, discussing their family. They speak English—Shouying’s English is aristocratic and...
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Shouying then takes Sih Hsuin to another room where he unlocks a secret safe hidden behind...
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Shouying hands Sih Hsuin the third ring, explaining that the third tree is the tree of...
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...these treasures, and he realizes that his family is much wealthier than he ever imagined. Shouying tells him that he must take these objects with him to America, because otherwise the...
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