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Adeline Yen Mah was born in Tianjin, Republic of China on 30 November 1937, to Joseph Yen (Yen Tse-Rung), a businessman, and Ren Yong-ping, an accountant.
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Two weeks after her birth, her mother died of puerperal fever and according to traditional Chinese beliefs, Yen Mah was branded as 'bad luck' by the rest of her family.
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When Adeline was a year old in 1938, Joseph Yen became infatuated and married a half-French, half-Chinese 17-year-old named Jeanne Virginie Prosperi.
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Adeline started kindergarden at St Joseph's French Convent.
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She left for the United Kingdom in August 1952, and read medicine at London Hospital Medical School, eventually establishing a medical practise in California.
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She received an inspiring letter from Aunt Baba, after four long years.
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Adeline started school at Sacred Heart Canossian College in Shanghai.