Colour Is in the Eye of
Beholders
8 November 2006
Yes, they are
twins. But no, no, their names are not
Alicia and Jasmin, but Meilun (美轮) and Meihuan (美奂).
Chinese twin girls:
Meilun (right) and Meihuan (left)
Conceived
naturally, the sisters from Shengyang,
north of China, were born in January this
year.
Both black hair,
black eyes and a light olive complexion,
Mum Ms Yao does not have a Jamaican or
other African heritage, and Daddy Mr Liu
wasn’t bon in Germany or other European
country. They got married in 2004 and
live all their lives in China, and their
parents are and their ancestors were also
married and living all their lives in
China.
Ms Yao said she
was not shocked when she saw how
different her daughters were.
"It amazed
me nothing, I just noticed one was a bit
darker and the another was a bit
lighter," she said. "When they
were born a nurse saw there was a colour
difference straight away. But we didn’t
think much of it. We just found they were
equally beautiful."
"We knew
when I was pregnant that we were going to
have twins. We were delighted and
discussed how
to name them. My husband suggested
that if they were girls, they could be
called Meilun and Meihuan, because when
you put the two names together, they mean
Perfection. So it is truly wonderful we
do get twin girls."
"As they
grow up, they become prettier. When we go
out, people stop and stroke their faces
and touch their noses, or take photos of
them. Sometimes people also ask me if I
was sure there wasn’t a mix-up at the
hospital. I always assured them it was
absolutely impossible."
So far, Ms Yao
has not yet thought about how interesting
it might be when the twins go to school,
or whether by then they will wonder why
they look so different from each other.
But if it happens, one thing is certain,
she won’t be able to find an easy way
to explain. She can’t just say - like
what Australia’s Natasha has intended
– that one took after Mum, one took
after Dad.
But in previous
10 months, Ms Yao didn’t think there
was a need to prepare an answer anyway.
She and her family paid more attention to
the differences of the girls'
personalities than anything else.
Meihuan, the lighter one, is more
light-hearted, eager to show off her
dancing talents and loving to communicate
using her self-invented language. Meilun,
the darker one, seems to be a character
with depth, and her way of communication
is through action and sign. She would
utilise her little chubby fingers
prodding on people’s arm or wink her
eyes to convey her messages. As for the
difference of their skin colours, no one
in the family took much notice of it.
Until very
recently.
Some days ago, a
neighbour showed Ms Yao a newspaper, on
which there was a photo of duel-coloured
twin girls. "Are they Meilun and
Meihuan?" asked she.
Australian twin
girls Alicia and Jasmin
Ms Yao later
reflected on her own reaction: At the
first I thought wow, since when my babies
became so famous in Australia! Then I
realised they were actually not my
daughters. But they look so alike that I
was nearly tricked.
Seemingly the
difference of the colours is less than
skin deep. That is if you do not pay much
attention to it, it does not even exist.
(You can read the
article about the Australian twins at the
Daily Telegraph: Yes, They Are Twins.)
Pre:The
Biggest Cave in China |
Next: Known
Unknowns
Similar
Stories:
List of All Stories
|
