Catherine Cho comes from a cultured, literary family. Her grandfather, Cho Chunyung, was a famous calligrapher; her father, Cho Yi-lai, a professor at Peking University. The house was a treasure trove of ancient books, scrolls, and paintings. "I grew up playing hide-and-seek among stacks of books," she recalls.
她出身書香世家，祖父卓君庸是留日的書法家，父親卓宜來為北京大學教授，從小宅中四壁、眼見耳聞皆是古書字畫，「我是躲在書堆裡玩捉迷藏長大的」，卓以玉說。