小時候依稀記得母親提過她有一位堂姐鄭漢英(我應稱她為表姑)是空軍飛行員，但除了一張模糊的照片外，其他一無所知。卻沒想到，日前竟然收到加拿大的女作家Patti Gully的信，她將表姑鄭漢英的生平寫成書：《Sisters of Heaven 》，中譯本：《飛天名媛—中國第一代女飛行家三人傳》，且這位女作家及她的朋友為表姑重修了墓碑並經常前往墳前獻花致意。這世界真奇妙，透過一位素不相識的外國人，讓我的尋根之旅越來越豐富了~~~
鄭漢英(1915~ 1943)，母親的堂姊，廣東寶安(今深圳市)西鄉人，中國第一位女律師鄭毓秀的侄女。她是中國空軍第一位女官—飛行中尉，加拿大第一個持有國際飛行執照的女飛行員。鄭漢英與其嫂、上世紀20年代名噪一時的上海電影明星李霞卿，堪稱中國最早的航空先驅姊妹花。那個年代，女子騎自行車的尚屬鳳毛麟角，開飛機近乎天方夜譚。
鄭漢英（後排中）與家族姊妹及我的母親（前排中）
鄭氏家族出飛行員，可稱為飛行世家 Family of Heaven
清末民初母親的家族子女多接受西式教育，思想開放勇於冒險，我的姑婆鄭毓秀更鼓勵家族年輕人冒險犯難，不只母親的堂姊漢英，母親的二哥和四哥都是飛行員，甚至大姊與三妹的丈夫都是飛行員，可謂飛行世家
母親與三位哥哥攝於北京天壇，當代的年輕人都有從軍報國的熱情，又受到堂姊鄭漢英和堂嫂李秀霞的影響，都投身空軍飛行員
母親的四位兄長及三姊妹
應該是三姨與三姨夫或是四舅與四舅媽? 這張照片是在母親過世後才在她的遺物中找出來的，母親生前說三姨很年輕過世，而四舅於飛行事故中死亡，因此這張照片裡的人物究竟是誰，盼望有一天，有幸遇到母親寶安鄭氏家族後人能予指認
Revealing lost stories
Patti攜新著為鄭漢英掃墓
In Burnaby’s Ocean View Burial Park lies the unmarked grave of a mysterious woman with an extraordinary past: Flight Lieut. “Jessie” Hanying Zheng.
Born in China and educated abroad, Zheng was one of three female pilots sent to North Americaduring and leading up to the Second World War. Their task: to raise support and money for China, which was under Japanese attack.
Zheng was a pioneer in her own right. She was the only woman officer in the Chinese air force and the first Chinese woman to take flying lessons in Hong Kong. An overseas love affair and the birth of a child brought her to Vancouver, where she lived until her death at age 28.
She was given a military funeral of honour, and her coffin was carried through the streets. Divisions of the Royal Canadian Air Force played The Last Post and fired volleys into the air as her coffin, draped with the Chinese flag, was lowered into the earth. But for all the pageantry, Zheng lies in an unmarked grave beneath a patch of grass. Why she was buried in Burnabyis still a bit of a mystery.
Zheng is one of three women featured in Sisters of Heaven: China’s Barnstorming Aviatrixes: Modernity, Feminism, and Popular Imagination in Asia and the West, a new book by Patti Gully.
Gully spent seven years researching the book, rescuing the female pilots from obscurity. Gully took Mandarin lessons to help decipher the clues she found. The women in her book became like daughters to her and exemplified success in the face of adversity, she said.
“They’re profoundly modern women, especially coming from a land where a lot of the women’s feet were bound,” she said. ” (The) women rose above and were an inspiration to all kinds of people to help the war effort.
“They are amazing role models for women today, as they were at the time,” said Patti Gully, author of “Sisters of Heaven”.
加拿大女作家帕蒂哥莉（PattiGully）用七年時間撰寫Sister of Heaven這本書，通過大量研究重現這段幾乎為世人所遺忘的歷史，並向世人展現這三位中國最早的航空之花傳奇的人生，特別是國難當頭之時她們勇敢飛翔的壯舉與愛國情懷。書中還揭秘她們不為世人所知的情感掙紮及私人生活……
在衆多優秀的廣東女兒中，有一對航空先驅姐妹花——李霞卿和鄭漢英值得一提。在抗日戰争時期，她們曾爲祖國作過重大的貢獻，如今卻被世人遺忘。題圖爲中國第一位空軍女軍官鄭漢英。
李霞卿和鄭漢英都出生在中國有權勢而富有的家庭。李霞卿生于1912年，廣東番禺人；鄭漢英生于1915年，廣東寶安人。家裏有錢供她們在外國受最好的教育，她們學習西方的語言和生活方式，穿衣打扮都是巴黎的時尚，完全像西方女子。但是，她們的中國心并不因此而改變。
李霞卿的祖母許佩蘭曾以“木蘭”爲名,并鼓勵兩個兒子跟随自己的革命步伐。這兩兄弟就是李霞卿的父親李應生和叔父李沛基。李沛基用炸彈暗殺清朝的将軍，自己也犧牲了。李應生是中國最早的電影人之一，于1926年在上海創立影片公司。他引導女兒霞卿拍電影，爲她取藝名“李旦旦”，霞卿後來成爲著名女星。
鄭漢英的家族有不少革命者。她的姑姑鄭毓秀是中國第一個女立法會委員，曾參與起草民法，是早期國民黨黨員。鄭毓秀利用自己是清政府官員女兒的身份，以外交特權爲國民黨在火車上運送炸彈。她曾自願參加暗殺清政府一個部長，因行動被警察發覺，才被迫中止。
1929年，鄭毓秀安排李霞卿同她的侄子鄭白峰結婚，鄭白峰當時是國際聯盟的秘書。兩家結成姻親，漢英和霞卿成了姑嫂。霞卿随丈夫到日内瓦居住期間，在那裏讀了飛行課程。她不僅改變了自己的生活，還鼓勵漢英學習飛行并取得飛行執照。
抗日戰争爆發後，李霞卿被中國政府派到美國，于1938年下半年開始系列飛行和演講，足迹遍及美國北部、南部和中部，主持集會支援中國抗戰。鄭漢英于1940年被派往加拿大任中國外交部代表,她是中國空軍第一個女官——飛行中尉，第一個派到加拿大任公職的中國女子，加拿大第一個持有國際飛行執照的女飛行員。1941年開始，她在加拿大和美國進行一系列慈善飛行。
女子駕駛飛機在當時是罕見的，加上她們的美貌和魅力，引起人們極大的興趣，有關她們的報道和照片上了當地報紙的頭版。李霞卿總是穿光彩的旗袍，頭發上紮一朵絲花。鄭漢英喜歡穿深色衣服和戴很少首飾。對軍人演講時，這位飛行中尉穿着中國空軍的制服，黑色裙子，有金翼紋飾的亮紅色束腰上裝。在演講中，她們講述了中國人民面對苦難的勇氣，打動了聽衆的心，得到了大量捐款支援中國抗戰。
她們連續地飛行和演講，有時甚至一天三場。李霞卿曾對一位美國記者說：“我國人民永遠有堅強的勇氣保衛祖國，祖國利益高于一切。”鄭漢英也對溫哥華一家報紙說：“我所做的一切都是爲了祖國人民。”一位對李霞卿留下深刻印象的銀行家這樣贊揚她：“你爲了我們的共同事業的出色工作，應當受到我們所有同盟國人民的高度贊譽。”他寫了一張大數目的支票捐款，以此來證明他的贊賞。
1943年9月，鄭漢英在溫哥華死于肺結核。她在加拿大享有盛名，她去世的消息刊登在當地各報紙的頭版。她的葬禮﹐由加拿大皇家空軍男女分隊完全按軍隊的榮譽葬儀舉行。她的靈柩覆蓋着中國國旗﹐由榮譽衛隊擡着﹐通過幾個街區到墓園安葬。靈柩下葬時﹐一個号手吹奏《最後的安息》，鳴槍隊對空發射三響禮炮。她口述的遺囑要求把她所有的文件燒毀，只把她的飛行執照呈給中國空軍。她在溫哥華“海景墓園”的墳墓，不知何故沒有墓碑(墓園有完整的檔案記錄)。
很意外的，日前竟然收到原作者Patti Gully的來函，她已和她的朋友重修了墓碑，且經常前往墳前獻花致意，以下是她的來函：
Dear Mr Shih,
I’m sorry I cannot speak Chinese and must write in English. My name is Patti Gully, and I am the author of the book, Sisters of Heaven, that tells the story of 鄭漢英.
Last night I was so surprised to find your family digest and delighted to read that you are related to 鄭漢英: http://daddytoday.com/our-stories/family-digest/sisters-of-heaven/
For many years, I have been looking for her family and am very happy to have found you.
Patti Gully 為鄭漢英籌資所製墓碑
I don’t know if you are aware, but 鄭漢英 now has a grave marker. It was paid for by two fine gentlemen, the son of her lover, Wilfred Seto, and his cousin, Brandt Louie. This year, my book was translated and published in Guangzhou 《飛天名媛—中國第一代女飛行家三人傳》 and I was able to include that information and a photo of the grave marker. Just yesterday, I visited 鄭漢英 with a Chinese friend named 谢昂 — he designed her lovely grave marker. We lit incense, said prayers and left flowers. Attached is a photo I took at Qingming 2012. It was the same day I received the first Chinese copy of my book so I took it to the cemetery to show her that the Chinese people will now be aware of her courage and sacrifice.
The grave is just a few minutes’ walk from my house, and I thought you might like to know that, although she is far from home, she is always cared for and remembered.
By the way, I am happy to say you look very much like her!
Warm regards,
Patti Gully