Ada Lum MeiMei and DiDi in Silk

Ada Lum Brother & Sister in silk clothes

MeiMei or "Little Sister"

DiDi or "Little Brother"

Hakka Doll

Hakka women photo by Grant Gouldon Flickrcc

The Hakka people are said to have migrated South from north central China in as early as the 1400s due to times of wars and famine. Not being the original peoples of the lands they came to inhabit; they were known as the "guest people," which is the meaning of Hakka (in Chinese 客家 Kejia). Hakka communities can be found in Guandong, Jiangxi, Fujian, as well as other parts of China (including, of course, Hong Kong), all around the South China Sea, and even in Australia and the US. One article I read, referred to them as the gypsies of China.* The Hakka of the mid-1900's were a unique people... due in part to speaking their own dialect, not practicing footbinding of women, in a fondness for education, and in their unusual living structures and cuisine. Though known for their hospitality, some Hakka clans previously resided in round fortress-type multi-story, earth homes called tulou. A tulou could house hundreds of individuals all sharing a common family name. The Hakka people were typically farmers, though there may have been fisherman among them as well. Hakka women worked the fields while the men sought jobs in the cities or as soldiers. Hakka cuisine is notoriously different, as the people are said to "have made an art of salting and preserving ingredients (pickling), as well as developing tasty dishes from whatever cheap produce was available." Their more well known dishes include: ja dai cheung (deep-fried intestines), yim guk gei (salt-baked chicken), and poon choy (literally dinner in a bucket)." (*Lonely Planet: World Food Hong Kong by Richard Sterling and Elizabeth Chong, 2001, p25) Some internationally recognized Hakka include actor Chow Yun-Fat and former government leader of the People's Republic of China Deng Xiaoping. There are actually many others as well. These "guest people," though often left with the least desirable land, living in poverty, and looked down upon; seem to have a persistent, patient will to triumph over their circumstances.

Clearly, Hakka people were a special and distinct part of the cultural diversity that was Hong Kong during the time that linen crafter, business woman, and dollmaker Ada Lum made her life there; as seen in one of her following creations....

Information gleaned from:
Lonely Planet: China's Southwest by Damian Harper, 2007, p372
More information about the tulou can be found in:
Lonely Planet: China by Damian Harper et al, 2005, p340
Frommer's China by Simon Foster et al, 2010, p533
Wikipedia: Hakka People

Ada Lum DiDi

I believe this to be an Ada Lum DiDi (literally translated "little brother" but also used for any very young boy) doll. He is 18" in size with individual fingers, attached ears, and carefully embroidered features. He also has the Chinese style ponytail or cue. Even little children in China today often have part of their heads shaved in warm weather. Usually now, however, a small patch in the front is left unshaven. The interesting thing about this particular doll is that he is wearing split pants. These are typically worn by Chinese children before they are potty trained (which is fairly early), but are fast disappearing in cities with the common use of disposable diapers.

Ada Lum Farmer & Wife

It has been one of my real frustrations to actually live in Asia and not be able to find out any information about Ada Lum and the lovely cloth dolls associated with her. The male doll here is named the "Farmer" and I've seen the lady referred to as "Amah" and also the "Farmer's Wife." They do not have the normal stamped markings as far as I can see without having to dismantle their clothing more than I want. Each one measures 18" in length. Most ebay sellers say these dolls were made between the 1940's and 60's by refugees from mainland China residing in Hong Kong. The Museum of Shanghai Toys (MOST) in Singapore reports the dolls as being from the 1950's. In addition to these two dolls, I have seen eight other types of Ada Lum Chinese dolls listed at different times for sale online:

*a female dressed in a red tunic & pants with a red ribbon bow in her pigtailed hair and a male with a blue tunic, black vest, and black round cap (all in silk)
*Farmer's Wife dressed in a long qipao or cheongsam type cotton tunic over blue pants, she also has black shoes with an colorful embroidered flower, her hair is made up in a bun
*MeiMei (pronounced "maymay," meaning Little Sister) and a companion doll, DiDi ("deedee," Little Brother), both dressed in Chinese style wrap tops and cropped (possibly split) pants
*Precious Jade, a young lady in a qipao or cheongsam (Chinese silk dress) and stockings
*Boy in a white tunic and blue pants
*and a Hakka minority doll dressed in black peasant clothes (top & pants)



Previously on ebay, a seller noted that Ada Lum produced a "Country" and "City" series of these dolls, but I have not found this information posted elsewhere. Unfortunately their price, though generally reasonable for such lovely dolls, tends to be prohibitive for the low-budget doll collector, ranging in cost anywhere from $50-$200 per doll.

This is just an initial posting which I hope to revise and lengthen with time.