Qing Li talks about her feelings on going back to China to visit.

QL: This is a, so, like, a weird feeling, so I love here. But I miss China. And I go back to China I feel—it’s different, so I feel so good too. And, the, the one words I maybe understand. Just because I’m boyfriend and the girlfriend. Finish relationship about for a few years. You go back to see, wow, I don’t know what, how to see the feelings. I go to China, feels, feels, feels part of my home. And I miss China, beginning, because I have families, friends, and, beginning I can’t go back to China more often and then after I met my husband and I getting used to my husband. First year we difficult because, like, some cultures, and after getting better and better, I understand more each other. So, and then now I feel, real home is here now, I don’t much miss China now. And husband is here and son is here. Yeah.

Qing Li Murphy was born in Sichuan Chengdu, China in 1964. She grew up in severe poverty and survived serious complications from childhood malnutrition. She has three living siblings. When Qing Li was 15, she started learning acupuncture from her uncle. She attended university in Chengdu then worked as an acupuncturist in both hospitals and independently. Her father suggested she bring her son to Canada for better opportunities. They arrived in fall 2004, first living in Ottawa then moving to Halifax. Qing Li met her husband a few months after arriving in Halifax at a street party. She originally planned to stay two years to help her son settle then return to China, but married and became a Canadian citizen. Her son finished high school in Canada then went to acupuncture school. He then spent three years in China and returned to work with Qing Li.

Video oral history conducted by Lindsay Van Dyk on 19 October 2015 at the Shadow House Studio in Halifax, Nova Scotia. This interview is unrestricted; please contact Museum staff for access to full interview.

Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 4.0

You are free to:

- Share — copy and redistribute the material in any medium or format

The licensor cannot revoke these freedoms as long as you follow the license terms.

Under the following terms:

- Attribution — You must give appropriate credit, provide a link to the license, and indicate if changes were made. You may do so in any reasonable manner, but not in any way that suggests the licensor endorses you or your use.

Credit format: [Name], arrived from [Country], [Date of Arrival]. Canadian Museum of Immigration at Pier 21 [Object ID Number].

- NonCommercial — You may not use the material for commercial purposes.

- NoDerivatives — If you remix, transform, or build upon the material, you may not distribute the modified material.

- No additional restrictions — You may not apply legal terms or technological measures that legally restrict others from doing anything the license permits.

Notices:

You do not have to comply with the license for elements of the material in the public domain or where your use is permitted by an applicable exception or limitation.

No warranties are given. The license may not give you all of the permissions necessary for your intended use. For example, other rights such as publicity, privacy, or moral rights may limit how you use the material.