“People thought I was crazy to open a store. I had no business...

“People thought I was crazy to open a store. I had no business experience. I’d just gotten my PhD in chemistry. And there was a trade embargo with China, so there were no stores selling Chinese goods, even in Chinatown. But I was idealistic. I thought: ‘Maybe I can help connect our two countries. If I traded with China, just a little, maybe we would understand each other more.’ Technically it was smuggling. But the rules were very gray. And if you gave the Canadian border agent a little tip, nobody seemed to mind. I named the store ‘Pearl River,’ which is the biggest river in the Canton Province. I wanted to remind Chinese immigrants of their home. And I thought: ‘Nobody can hate a river.’ We stocked our shelves with products that many immigrants hadn’t seen for twenty years. These were products from their childhood: their favorite soy sauce, their favorite soap, their favorite tea. Word spread quickly in the community. Everything I put on the shelves was gone the next day. It was beginner’s luck. We were in the right place at the right time. This was the early seventies—the time of Vietnam. And American students were becoming anti-war, anti-establishment. I’d drive to the Harvard campus with boxes of Mao jackets and political posters, and all of them would be sold. The FBI interviewed me many times. They thought for sure I was a communist agent. They’d ask me: ‘Why else start a store like this?’ But I would tell them: ‘I just want people to learn more about China.’ Art is not the only way to understand other cultures. Business is major too. Maybe customer will pick up some tea off the shelf, and I will explain the history of tea in China. Or maybe customer will pick up this traditional cough medicine called Pei Pa Koa. It was invented hundreds of years ago. And it’s made of roots and loquat, a fruit only found in China. Maybe this will make the customer curious. Maybe they will leave with a question. And they will be inspired to learn more about China. This brings us closer together. And that’s why trade is such a big part of peace. Every product has a story. And every product is a chance for connection.”