American Born Chinese

Yang, Gene Lueh. American Born Chinese. 2006. 233p. ISBN 978-1-59643-208-6. Available in the Graphic Novels section of the library.

Jin Wang’s parents are Chinese, and arrived in America only a week apart, yet did not meet until a year and a half later. They dated and married, and eventually Jin was born. The family lived in San Francisco’s Chinatown for nine years before moving out. Jin went to a new elementary school, where he was the only Asian student in 3rd grade, aside from Suzy Nakamura. Jin had to acclimate to a hostile classroom where many of the kids picked on him. In 5th grade, he meets Wen Chen, a new student from Taiwan. Wen tries to make friends with Jin, but Jin is not interested, until Wen takes out a new Transformer. They then become best friends.

The Monkey King is one of the many deities of the Chinese. Rulers of all monkeys in Flower Fruit Mountain, he was denied entry at a deity party, and took it out on all of them by fighting them and winning. Already a Kung Fu master but feeling excluded, he decided to learn more and achieved even more enlightenment. Angry with him, the other gods try to arrest him, only to be defeated again. Eventually, Tze-Yo-Tzuh, He who was, is, and will ever be talked to him. In his hubris, the Monkey King defied his wishes, and was sentenced to lay under a pile of rocks for 500 years.

Cousin Chin-Kee comes to visit Danny once a year, and every time he manages to embarrass Danny so profoundly that he has to change school. This year is no exception. Danny is furious that his cousin is here. A perfect Chinese stereotype, Chin-Kee is smart, too eager, and mispronounces his Ls and Rs. And he manages to humiliate Danny at every turn by being too Chinese.

These three stories all merge to form one tale of acceptance of oneself and one’s ethnic heritage. In this fast-paced graphic novel, Jin discovers that to be happy he needs to be true to himself and his Chinese origins.

Outrun the Moon

Lee, Stacey. Outrun the Moon. 2016. 391p. 607 mins. Available as an audiobook from Overdrive.

Mercy Wong is dedicated to achieving her goal of owning her own enterprise and pulling her family out of poverty. Living with her little brother, her mother, and her father in a small apartment in San Francisco’s Chinatown in 1906, Mercy experiences daily discrimination. Her father runs a laundromat and works sixteen hours a day, seven days a week. Her younger brother is sick and frequently needs medicines. Her mother is a fortune teller who has predicted her own death. Americans dislike the Chinese and have closed off their borders to more Chinese immigration, so even though Mercy is born in the United States and therefore a citizen, she’s considered an alien by the local population.

Having read and thoroughly internalized a treatise on business, Mercy embarks on a mission to join the most prestigious high school for girls in San Francisco, the St. Clare’s School for Girls, where the scions of San Francisco’s rich families go to perfect their education and social graces before meeting a husband. Mercy, however, plans on developing her business acumen and make contacts. Her friend Tom, whom she is romantically interested in, wants to build air machines and refuses to join his father in his herbalist business, planning instead to move to Seattle to work with a certain individual named Boeing.

Mercy convinces Mister Du Lac, a board member of the school and the owner of the most prestigious chocolate maker in the country to help her join the school. She has to pretend to be a Chinese heiress even though she’s never been to China and doesn’t know many of her culture’s more refined customs. None of that deters Mercy, however, who will persevere through mean girls at the boarding school, a strict and disciplinarian headmistress, and the 1906 San Francisco earthquake and fires that destroy most of the city to achieve her goals of not only succeeding in American society but changing it as well. Filled with humor, this book provides a great look at a relatively unknown period of American history.

Terra-Cotta Soldiers: Army of Stone

Dean, Arlan. Terra-Cotta Soldiers: Army of Stone. Part of the Digging Up the Past series. 2005. 48p. ISBN 0-516-25124-4. Available at 931 DEA on the library shelves.

More than 2,200 years ago, China was divided in seven states, all warring with each other for dominance over the region. One of these states was ruled by a strong man named Chao Cheng. Using novel military tactics, he succeeded in conquering all of the six remaining states one at a time until he was able to unify China. He crowned himself emperor and took the name Qin Shi Huangdi.

Among his many accomplishments were the standardization of the Chinese language and of weights and measures. He also reformed the government and the military. Most importantly, though, Qin Shi Huangdi is known for commissioning a large terra-cotta army that would follow him in the afterlife. His tomb was erected at great costs, both in terms of money and in terms of human capital. Covering over 20 square miles, it included palaces, training fields, and all of the comforts he had enjoyed in life. To protect it all he commissioned an army that could guard him in the afterlife.

Each soldier in this 8,000 strong army is modeled after a specific individual, and comes equipped with weapons and armor of the era. Brightly painted, the army also featured horses and wagons. Discovered in 1974 by farmers, the site has been extensively excavated by archaeologists and has been placed on UNESCO’s list of world heritage sites.

Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress

Sijie, Dai. Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress. 2002. 184p. ISBN 9780385722209. Available at FIC DAI on the library shelves as well as an audiobook on Overdrive.

In the 1960s, China underwent a convulsing period of its history called the Cultural Revolution. Chairman Mao unleashed legions of fanatics determined to uproot bourgeois and counter-revolutionaries throughout the country. Those who had the misfortune to be educated or better off than the average were forcibly made to present excuses and to apologize. They were also oftentime sent away for re-education into Communist ideas.

The narrator of this story, along with his best friend Luo, are children of professional families. Luo’s father is a famous dentist and even worked on Mao’s teeth. The narrator’s mother is a famous doctor. Having been declared enemies of the people, they are sent to a mountain to work as peasants in the local fields, where their re-education will instill in them pride in their Communist heritage. Arriving on site, they discover that the peasants are backwards and uncultured. The narrator almost loses his violin, his only possession, but Luo manages to convince the village headman that it is used to play music to glorify Mao.

The two of them settle into a hard working routine, until their talents as storytellers are discovered. Suddenly, they are dispensed from work to attend movies in the closest town, two days’ travel away, and then return to the village to retell the story to everyone. One of the most highly sought person in this region is the seamster, who comes around and creates clothes for the residents. His daughter, also a seamstress, is said to be beautiful. Luo and the narrator eventually meet her and they fall desperately in love.

During one of their trip to town they meet with Four Eyes, who is also on the mountain to be re-educated. His mother is a famous poet, and Four Eyes has made the cardinal sin of taking books with him. Though he has tried to keep them hidden, the boys discover them and eventually badger Four Eyes into lending them a thin book by Balzac. Luo and the narrator decide that they will read this book to the Little Seamstress.

By consuming these foreign and illegal novels in China, they are doing more than corrupting their ideas. They are opening their souls and their sight to other worlds beyond their desperate circumstances. And once out, it is hard to tame desire back into its cage. As the three of them grow ever closer, hard choices will have to be made, and not everyone can live happily.