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our
beginnings

1979 marked the beginning of China's infamous 'One Child Policy,' the government’s method of family planning that granted each household the permission of a single child. For years to come, this policy would have dramatic effects on the country's cultural ideals about family, marriage, and childhood. More importantly, this was a policy that would catalyze the world's transnational adoption industry, transforming it into what it is today.

During this era, due to limited access to birth control, patriarchal beliefs that idolized having sons, and in some cases, forced abortions, thousands of children --mostly infant girls-- were taken away, abandoned, or trafficked, causing a surge in the construction of orphanages and transnational adoption cases across China.

Given this turbluent history, this part of the adoptee's life, from the moment they are separated from their biological family, to the moment they are placed into the arms of their new parents, is at worst a forever mystery, and at best a distant memory. Many adoptees then, rely on their "Finding Story" as a way to reconcile with their past. A Finding Story is a short section in the adoption papers, either written by a police officer or orphanage Aiyi, loosely recounting how the child was found and placed into their orphanage. Although technically 'legal documentation,' the accuracy of the Finding Story in relation to real events/the adoptee's memory varies case by case. The following is a collection of Finding Stories from real adoptees; many of them share common tropes, while others vary greatly in the level of detail. Nonetheless, these Finding Stories serve as a an artifact of our beginnings, an artifact that may can guide us to who we are. . .

"I was told that I was left on a doorstep of some sort, wrapped in a blanket inside a basket. On top of me I had a note with my assumed birthday, which is the one I celebrate today."

-Emily, 19, Tianjin, Olympia WA

"I was told I was left and found outside of a police station."

-Amy, 23, Xiangtan (Hunan), Charlotte NC

"My 'Finding Story' is pretty straight forward. I was found in the early morning outside the gates of a park in Maoming and the rest is history."

-Audrey, 19, Maoming (Guangdong), Tacoma WA

"From what I can recall, I was left on the doorstep of the orphanage on September 15, 2002 and I was identified as around 3 days old."

-Catherine, 19, Chenzhou (Hunan), Anderson SC

"I was found near the entrance of an office building in downtown Maoming, Guangzhou. It was somewhere with a lot of foot traffic, so someone had found me easily."

-Claire, Maoming (Guangdong), Gig Harbor WA

"I left in a cardboard box with my twin sister under a tree outside of a busy supermarket. In the box, I was wrapped in a blanket and surrounded by food. My hand had a marking on it to indicate I was older. A police officer found me and took me to the orphanage, where the doctor deduced that because my umbilical cord was still attached, I was only a few days old. They set my birthday to be March 1, 2002."

-Fiona, Maoming (Guangdong), Olympia WA

"All I know is that I was found on the steps of a government forestry building."

-Elena, 21, Fuling (Chongqing), Mountain View CA

"I was found on a street by a couple policemen who had said that I was born only 1-3 days before being left. It was reported that I still had my umbilical cord but was bundled in layers and layers of clothes to keep me warm with a rope that tied all the clothes and blankets together. I was in a basket on the side of a sidewalk close to a police station. I was told that my parents loved me so much that they wanted me to be found. This made me “lucky” because many unwanted children were left to die in fields, which is honestly a horrifying story to tell a young child."

-KayLi, 20, Nanchang (Jiangxi), Olympia WA

"I was found at a bus stop in a box with baby formula and a spare set of baby clothes. A cleaning lady took me to the police station which sent me to an adoption site."

-Taylor, 19, Dianbai (Guangdong), Tualatin OR

"I was found in front of a police station with a note that had the date that I was born."

-Maya Doran, 19, Jiujiang (Jiangxi), Olympia WA

"1. I was found at a bus stop in a box with baby formula and a spare set of baby clothes. A cleaning lady took me to the police station which sent me to an adoption site.

2. I was found at a fish farm with a small yellow blanket. A local took me to an orphanage."

-Maya Xiaojing, 20, Huaibei (Anhui), Atlanta GA

"I was told that I was found outside of the orphanage gates. I don’t know anything else. I also haven’t seen it written in any of my legal documents, so I’m not sure how my adoptive mother came to learn this information. I’m also not sure if she made it up in order to have more of a ‘story’ when I asked her about my origins."

-Anya, 25, Nanchang (Jianxi), Boston MA

PART II