Shang Su Yi

**Shang Su Yi** (1917/18-2015) was one of the main characters of the Crazy Rich Asians series.

She is a major character turned occasional antagonist of *Crazy Rich Asians*, a mentioned character in *China Rich Girlfriend* and a minor character in *Rich People Problems*.

She was the matriarch of the Young family, mostly known by her relatives as Ah Ma.

## Background

Su Yi was a daughter of Shang Loong Ma, a wealthy Chinese-Singaporean businessman, and his main wife. She had multiple siblings, but only Alfred Shang and Alexander ("Ah Jit") are named in the series. Su Yi owned one of the largest single pieces of private real estate in Singapore, Tyersall Park, where she lived for most of her life.

### Early life

Shang Su Yi was born in 1917 or 1918 in Singapore.

When World War II broke out, she was 22 years old, and escaped to India, where she met and fell in love with a member of the Thai royal family, Prince Jirasit. However, during the height of the Japanese occupation of Singapore, Su Yi was able to sneak back into Singapore, and started a covert operation aiding Allied operatives right inside of Tyersall Park, while it was also being used simultaneously as the Japanese command center. Su Yi was able to disguise the spies as her own servants, which the Japanese never discovered. The death of her elder brother, Alexander, who was tortured to death by the Japanese, also motivated Su Yi to continue the fight. After the war ended, Su Yi was thanked personally in a letter from King George VI of England.

### Marriage to James Young

Later, Su Yi's father forced her to marry James Young, a war hero and surgeon, against her will. She heavily resisted the marriage and treated her husband coldly during the first years of her marriage, even rekindling her relationship with Prince Jirasit. The affair ended with her pregnancy, which forced Su Yi to face her husband, who, contrary to her expectations, forgave her and promised to accept the child as his own. From this point, Su Yi fell deeply and truly in love with her husband.

## Crazy Rich Asians

### Novel

Su Yi first meets her grandson Nick Young and his girlfriend Rachel at a banquet she hosted at her estate, Tyersall Park. Despite warnings from her relatives, she does not initially believe that the relationship was serious, claiming that her grandson would not do anything without her consent.

When Nick informs his mother Eleanor Young of his plans to marry Rachel, she panics and immediately goes to Su Yi to prevent the marriage from happening. When Su Yi confronted her grandson, he insults her and insists on going on with the marriage, leading to a deep rift between him and the stunned Su Yi, which does not heal until the end of the series.

### Film

Initially in the movie, she had been friendly towards Rachel until Eleanor shows her the files she collected about how Rachel has lied about her family past, she immediately blames Eleanor for being a terrible mother. She was not seen again after this, neither was at the party Rachel and Nick had for their engagement, leaving her fate unknown.

## Rich People Problems

Su Yi suffers a heart attack and remains bedridden for most of the novel, with her family members all returning to Singapore to visit her, hoping to receive her massive fortune after her passing.

After her passing, her will was presented by her lawyer Freddie Tan to the family. Su Yi's possessions were split up among family members with most of her fortune bequeathed to her longtime staff.

Unexpectedly, her estate Tyersall Park was split up in different shares to her descendants. It was also revealed by her brother, Alfred Shang, that she was never given any share of Shang Enterprises because their father was extremely old fashioned and sexist. All of her living expenses were paid for by a Trust fund. As a result, she never had income nor any holdings, never having the massive fortune her family thought she had.