tsien married jiang ying (蒋英), a famed opera singer and the daughter of jiang baili (蒋百里) and his wife, japanese nurse satô yato. the elder jiang was a military strategist and adviser to kuomintang leader chiang kai-shek. the tsiens were married on september 14, 1947 in shanghai, and had two children; their son qian yonggang (钱永刚, also known as yucon tsien) was born in boston on october 13, 1948, while their daughter qian yongzhen (钱永真) was born in early 1950 when the family was residing in pasadena, california.