Early Life
The son of Chinese trader Cheng Zhiping (Chinese: 程志平 Chéng Zhìpíng) of Wenzhou descent, and a Gabonese mother, Jean Ping was born in Omboué, Etimbwé Department, Ogooué-Maritime Province. Cheng immigrated to Gabon in the 1930s as a trader and married the daughter of a local tribal leader. The villagers initially called Ping the "son of Ping." In demonstrating respect to his wife's Christian beliefs, Cheng took his son to get baptized when he was a month old and named him "Jean." Cheng also attained substantial wealth through his many successful business enterprises in his newly adopted country. He sold china, wood, and seafood, and he also ran a bakery. Because of his good relationship with the locals, Cheng was elected to the local assembly three times.
Ping claims to have inherited his frugality, industry, and honesty from his father. Ping holds a doctorate in economics from the University of Paris I (Panthéon-Sorbonne).
Read more about this topic: Jean Ping
Famous quotes containing the words early life, early and/or life:
“Many a woman shudders ... at the terrible eclipse of those intellectual powers which in early life seemed prophetic of usefulness and happiness, hence the army of martyrs among our married and unmarried women who, not having cultivated a taste for science, art or literature, form a corps of nervous patients who make fortunes for agreeable physicians ...”
—Sarah M. Grimke (1792–1873)
“I looked at my daughters, and my boyhood picture, and appreciated the gift of parenthood, at that moment, more than any other gift I have ever been given. For what person, except one’s own children, would want so deeply and sincerely to have shared your childhood? Who else would think your insignificant and petty life so precious in the living, so rich in its expressiveness, that it would be worth partaking of what you were, to understand what you are?”
—Gerald Early (20th century)
“All mothers need instruction, nurturing, and an understanding mentor after the birth of a baby, but in this age of fast foods, fast tracks, and fast lanes, it doesn’t always happen. While we live in a society that provides recognition for just about every life event—from baptisms to bar mitzvahs, from wedding vows to funeral rites—the entry into parenting seems to be a solo flight, with nothing and no one to mark formally the new mom’s entry into motherhood.”
—Sally Placksin (20th century)