Thomas Hemenway, born in 1957, is a descendant of the Hemenway family and currently resides in Orlando, Florida, U.S. He formerly worked as a business manager in the technology industry and is now retired.

For the past 25 years, Thomas has been dedicated to researching his family history. He has revisited the farm where Ruth V. Hemenway (also known as Han Lude by her Chinese name) was raised, deepening his understanding of her life and medical service in China. Passionate about preserving and sharing her legacy, Thomas is currently working on a documentary about her remarkable story.

Ruth V. Hemenway

Ruth V. Hemenway was born in 1894 in Williamsburg, Massachusetts, and graduated from Tufts Medical School in 1921. While studying medicine, she became aware of the dire state of healthcare in China and resolved to serve where medical help was most needed. After joining the Methodist Episcopal Church, she arrived in China in January 1924 as a medical missionary, working at a hospital in Minqing county, Fujian province.

During her 12 years in Minqing, Hemenway frequently traveled to rural villages to provide medical care, visited leprosy villages and prisons, and made three trips to Kuliang. Her former residence in Kuliang still stands today and now serves as the Life on the Mountain Museum. While in China, she adopted two daughters, Hua Hui and Hua Xing. Hua Xing's granddaughter, Huang Yao, is a writer and translator based in Beijing.

In 1936, Hemenway moved to Nanchang, Jiangxi province to continue her work. Following the outbreak of the Chinese People's War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, she was unable to return to Minqing but went on to treat wounded soldiers in Chongqing and Sichuan. Overwork took a toll on her health, and she returned to the United States for treatment in 1941. She passed away in 1974 at the age of 80.

Her memoir, A Memoir of Revolutionary China, 1924–1941, based on years of her detailed diaries, was published in the United States in January 1977. A Chinese edition, translated by Zhang Tianrun, was released by Social Sciences Academic Press (China) in May 2013. Today, Huang Yao is working on a new translation of the memoir, aiming to bring Hemenway's story to a broader audience.