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.)
China
stories are told at wenhousecrafts.com
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