Chinese 'Perfume' Breaks the Ice

Architect William Ming Sing Lee was originally born in Shanghai in 1932 to one of China's wealthier families. (see post one.) Unfortunately, money did not protect him from the potentially-fatal Scarlet Fever. (see post two.) While his mother grew frustrated over his lack of recovery, his father gently encouraged Billy. (see post three.) So, when Billy expressed a desire to join Shanghai American School after the war, his father was all for it. (see post four.)  

Billy boarded a ship to the U.S.--Phillips Academy Andover in Massachusetts-- when he was 15 with his father's hopes, fears, and warnings in the back of his mind. One of those was, "Some people may pick on you humorously. Don't take insults too seriously." At Andover, Billy was housed with a bunch of teenagers his age. He had his own bedroom, but they all shared a common bathroom.

"Try some Chinese perfume."

“I came from China with double-breasted suits and Vitalis hair tonic. Every morning, I would put on the Vitalis hair tonic and comb my hair. Somebody realized that I kept the Vitalis hair tonic in the medicine cabinet. One day, when I took it out, somehow it didn’t smell right. I all of a sudden realized that outside the bathroom door this group of American kids was waiting for the moment (when I would put the tonic on my hair.) Instead, I just grabbed this bottle and sprayed it on them and said, ‘Try some Chinese perfume.’ 

“It was urine.
“They laughed like crazy. That broke the ice, and I became one of the guys.”

Billy graduated from Phillips Academy, and matriculated to Yale University for both his Bachelor’s and Master’s in architecture.
In the midst of all of this, however, disaster of the worst kind had struck at home.

(To be continued. Next: Father Targeted as China's Top Traitor)