While I was wandering the neighbourhood of Tai Hang on the eve of the Fire Dragon Dance, I unexpectedly came across a place called the Haw Par Mansion. Nestled quietly among modern apartment buildings, the mansion stood as a beautifully preserved relic of a bygone era. I lingered at the gates, struck by the contrast between the mansion’s ornate design and the urban bustle around it. There was a stillness to the place, as though it existed slightly out of time.

In Chinese culture, names carry profound significance and are selected with great care and consideration. They embody and reflect traditions and beliefs that have been passed down for thousands of years. A carefully chosen name convey hopes and virtues, and is seen as the foundation of a person’s identity and destiny.

The diplomatic corps formed a society of their own and within their profession, where a sense of camaraderie emerged between the members of said corps. Although their relations and intimacy were influenced depending on how well their respective nations got along, they were nonetheless interlocked through the shared necessity of exchanging knowledge. Through these networks, Madame Wellington Koo was able to overcome her difficulties and grow in her role as a diplomat’s wife.

The atmosphere of Shanghai in the 1930s was a sort of fever dream, or at least that is how the golden age of Shanghai is usually perceived. Shanghai was as complex as the emotion of love, creating a bustling port full of fervour. At the same time, the emergence of the global phenomenon of the modern girl in the 1920s and 1930s could also be found in China. Called 摩登小姐 modeng xiaojie in Chinese, she was a result of the changes that swept across the world.

If Oei Hui-lan’s story tells us anything, it is that the contribution and influence of the diplomat’s wives are not to be overlooked. Diplomacy in itself is a masquerade, and diplomats are all attending the same charade, watching each other perform and outperform each other on the world stage. It was here that Oei Hui-lan and her husband V. K. Wellington Koo enacted and personified the aspirations of their country.