Book Review
Title: The Chinese in America
Author: Iris Chang
Publisher: Viking, The United States, 2003
Synopsis
In an epic story that spans 150 years and continues to the present day, Iris Chang tells of a people’s search for a better life and the determination of the Chinese to forge an identity and a destiny in a strange land and, often against great obstacles, to find success. She chronicles the many accomplishments of the Chinese immigrants and their descendents in America: building the infrastructure of their adopted country, fighting racist and exclusionary laws, walking the racial tightrope between black and white, contributing to major scientific and technological advances, expanding the literary canon, and influencing the way we think about racial and ethnic groups. Interweaving political, social, economic, and cultural history, as well as the stories of individuals, Chang offers a bracing view of not only what it means to be Chinese American, but also of what it is to be American.
Thoughts and reflections
I came to the Bay Area not having done much reading except for Amy Tan’s Joy Luck Club and May Tung’s psychological book on identity (Thankfully Stephanie provided the balance by reading a lot and photocopying stacks of background reading for me to read on the plane) Upon arriving in the Bay Area, the inertia for reading increased as I kept thinking to myself: “If I want to read I could always do that back in Singapore or in the UK. Why should I fly across half the globe only to coop myself in the library? I should be going out to meet people and talk to them.” However, chancing upon Iris Chang’s book in Victor’s (one of our Chinese American interviewee who became our friend) home, I decided to pick it up and the book was so engaging that I could not put it down till I’ve finished reading.
I remember that prior to reading this book, most of the time I displayed little interest in dates and I could never figure out how Victor and Stephanie could remember things like “ The Chinese Exclusion Act” or “ Paper Sons” etc as if it was in their blood. Despite explanations about how the Chinese Exclusion Act passed in May 6 1882 restricted the number of Chinese immigrants to the US, somehow to me, these were merely distant dates. It was only after reading Iris Chang’s chapter on the Exclusion Act that I manage to get a better picture of the history of the Chinese in America. I saw how difficult it was for them to settle down in the United States, the kind of subtle racism that they faced. Sometimes I find it difficult to tell people exactly what I learnt from my readings. It could be because I didn’t learn much or learn well, or perhaps reading and understanding the history just provided me with some sort of “invisible glue”, such that next time when an interviewee says something, I’ll be able to piece the pieces together based on what I’ve read. It is the “Oh yes, Iris Chang also mentioned something like that about the Chinese American in her book” kind of response that tells me I have not read the book in vain.
I had such experience in the Silicon Valley. Having read the chapter “High Tec vs Low Tech” prior to interviewing the Chinese American in the Valley, I felt that I could identify a lot of their responses with what Iris Chang wrote. Somehow because our interviewees were mainly white collared workers in the Valley, I felt that when asked about their identity, most of them were able to bring out their professional identity readily. They also appeared to be more confident and comfortable about their Chinese identity, perhaps because they are able to look beyond their outward appearance, and are fully aware of their value to their respective organizations.
Learning points on identity
In her introduction, Iris Chang clearly states that in this book she seeks to
1. Identify the push and pull factors of immigration
2. Chronicle what happened after immigration. Did assimilation take place?
She also highlights an important caveat that immigration does not occur overnight, rather it happens in different waves. Hence, the identity of the Chinese American immigrants would most likely differ based on their different experiences and circumstances.
· The first wave (1849 era) of Chinese immigrants was known as the “gold men” who came primarily because of the gold rush in California. They came to the United States in search of a better life and fortune. However, many also suffered as miners and countless died while building the railway linking the East and West coast.
· The second wave (post 1949) comprised mainly anti-communist elites. They also had smart and scientifically directed children.
· Finally, the third wave (1980s onwards) encompassed Chinese of all socioeconomic groups and backgrounds, who arrived as Sino-American relations thawed and as the People’s Republic of China began its rocky transition from a pariah communist state to a tenuously connected capitalist one.
Understanding the reason for Chinese immigration provided a sense of history which aided in my understanding of why perhaps first generation migrants felt more attached to China and their Chinese heritage, as compared to the second wave of migrants who came to America because of the push factor back in China.
Chang also introduced two pertinent principles relating to identity formation
· Judicial principle of jus soli which means the “law of the soil”
· Racial principle of jus sanguinis which means the “law of blood”
According to Chang, ethnic identity is a matter of personal choice as much as indisputable racial appearance and heritage. Increasingly, the concept of Chinese American is being replaced by a new racial identity of “Asian American” because of interracial marriages. In 1967, the number of interracial marriage soared after the Supreme Court declared all anti-miscegenation laws unconstitutional. The word “Happas” which originated in Hawaii was originally used to describe children of white merchants and native Hawaiians. Now “Happas” is used to describe all mixed race people of some Asian ancestry.
As the Happas grow in number, they are asserting their freedom to celebrate the richness of their heritage, as are other multiethnic individuals. These trends provoke new questions like: What is racial identity? Who gets to decide it? The government? The experts? Or the people themselves?
Below is an excerpt from Chang’s conclusion that I believe help to shed light on the trenchant questions raised.
“ Though some find it convenient to see race as solid blocs of humanity, easily organized and controlled by bureaucracies on the basis of shared interests, the reality of individual life defies such neat compartmentalization. In reality, race is----and has always been---a set of arbitrary dividing lines on a wide spectrum of color, blending, almost imperceptibly, from one shade to the next.
Perhaps one day we will rediscover a basic truth---that while identity may be shaped and exploited by the powerful, its essence belongs, ultimately, to the individual. America was founded on this concept, but never achieved its ideal.
The subjugation of individual rights to the group, leading inevitably to ultranationalism, has long been a cause and justification for war and genocide across the planet. It was to escape the oppression of group identity---the burden of racial antagonisms, inherited by blood---that thousands of Chinese and other immigrants abandoned the homes of their ancestors, for unknown future in a strange land. Only time can tell if their journey will have been successful. This will depend entirely on whether America can continue to evolve towards the basic egalitarian concept upon which it was founded--- that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their creators to certain unalienable Rights, that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness. For it was the haunting, elusive dream that such a place really existed that first drew many of the Chinese to American shores.”
Author: Iris Chang
Publisher: Viking, The United States, 2003
Synopsis
In an epic story that spans 150 years and continues to the present day, Iris Chang tells of a people’s search for a better life and the determination of the Chinese to forge an identity and a destiny in a strange land and, often against great obstacles, to find success. She chronicles the many accomplishments of the Chinese immigrants and their descendents in America: building the infrastructure of their adopted country, fighting racist and exclusionary laws, walking the racial tightrope between black and white, contributing to major scientific and technological advances, expanding the literary canon, and influencing the way we think about racial and ethnic groups. Interweaving political, social, economic, and cultural history, as well as the stories of individuals, Chang offers a bracing view of not only what it means to be Chinese American, but also of what it is to be American.
Thoughts and reflections
I came to the Bay Area not having done much reading except for Amy Tan’s Joy Luck Club and May Tung’s psychological book on identity (Thankfully Stephanie provided the balance by reading a lot and photocopying stacks of background reading for me to read on the plane) Upon arriving in the Bay Area, the inertia for reading increased as I kept thinking to myself: “If I want to read I could always do that back in Singapore or in the UK. Why should I fly across half the globe only to coop myself in the library? I should be going out to meet people and talk to them.” However, chancing upon Iris Chang’s book in Victor’s (one of our Chinese American interviewee who became our friend) home, I decided to pick it up and the book was so engaging that I could not put it down till I’ve finished reading.
I remember that prior to reading this book, most of the time I displayed little interest in dates and I could never figure out how Victor and Stephanie could remember things like “ The Chinese Exclusion Act” or “ Paper Sons” etc as if it was in their blood. Despite explanations about how the Chinese Exclusion Act passed in May 6 1882 restricted the number of Chinese immigrants to the US, somehow to me, these were merely distant dates. It was only after reading Iris Chang’s chapter on the Exclusion Act that I manage to get a better picture of the history of the Chinese in America. I saw how difficult it was for them to settle down in the United States, the kind of subtle racism that they faced. Sometimes I find it difficult to tell people exactly what I learnt from my readings. It could be because I didn’t learn much or learn well, or perhaps reading and understanding the history just provided me with some sort of “invisible glue”, such that next time when an interviewee says something, I’ll be able to piece the pieces together based on what I’ve read. It is the “Oh yes, Iris Chang also mentioned something like that about the Chinese American in her book” kind of response that tells me I have not read the book in vain.
I had such experience in the Silicon Valley. Having read the chapter “High Tec vs Low Tech” prior to interviewing the Chinese American in the Valley, I felt that I could identify a lot of their responses with what Iris Chang wrote. Somehow because our interviewees were mainly white collared workers in the Valley, I felt that when asked about their identity, most of them were able to bring out their professional identity readily. They also appeared to be more confident and comfortable about their Chinese identity, perhaps because they are able to look beyond their outward appearance, and are fully aware of their value to their respective organizations.
Learning points on identity
In her introduction, Iris Chang clearly states that in this book she seeks to
1. Identify the push and pull factors of immigration
2. Chronicle what happened after immigration. Did assimilation take place?
She also highlights an important caveat that immigration does not occur overnight, rather it happens in different waves. Hence, the identity of the Chinese American immigrants would most likely differ based on their different experiences and circumstances.
· The first wave (1849 era) of Chinese immigrants was known as the “gold men” who came primarily because of the gold rush in California. They came to the United States in search of a better life and fortune. However, many also suffered as miners and countless died while building the railway linking the East and West coast.
· The second wave (post 1949) comprised mainly anti-communist elites. They also had smart and scientifically directed children.
· Finally, the third wave (1980s onwards) encompassed Chinese of all socioeconomic groups and backgrounds, who arrived as Sino-American relations thawed and as the People’s Republic of China began its rocky transition from a pariah communist state to a tenuously connected capitalist one.
Understanding the reason for Chinese immigration provided a sense of history which aided in my understanding of why perhaps first generation migrants felt more attached to China and their Chinese heritage, as compared to the second wave of migrants who came to America because of the push factor back in China.
Chang also introduced two pertinent principles relating to identity formation
· Judicial principle of jus soli which means the “law of the soil”
· Racial principle of jus sanguinis which means the “law of blood”
According to Chang, ethnic identity is a matter of personal choice as much as indisputable racial appearance and heritage. Increasingly, the concept of Chinese American is being replaced by a new racial identity of “Asian American” because of interracial marriages. In 1967, the number of interracial marriage soared after the Supreme Court declared all anti-miscegenation laws unconstitutional. The word “Happas” which originated in Hawaii was originally used to describe children of white merchants and native Hawaiians. Now “Happas” is used to describe all mixed race people of some Asian ancestry.
As the Happas grow in number, they are asserting their freedom to celebrate the richness of their heritage, as are other multiethnic individuals. These trends provoke new questions like: What is racial identity? Who gets to decide it? The government? The experts? Or the people themselves?
Below is an excerpt from Chang’s conclusion that I believe help to shed light on the trenchant questions raised.
“ Though some find it convenient to see race as solid blocs of humanity, easily organized and controlled by bureaucracies on the basis of shared interests, the reality of individual life defies such neat compartmentalization. In reality, race is----and has always been---a set of arbitrary dividing lines on a wide spectrum of color, blending, almost imperceptibly, from one shade to the next.
Perhaps one day we will rediscover a basic truth---that while identity may be shaped and exploited by the powerful, its essence belongs, ultimately, to the individual. America was founded on this concept, but never achieved its ideal.
The subjugation of individual rights to the group, leading inevitably to ultranationalism, has long been a cause and justification for war and genocide across the planet. It was to escape the oppression of group identity---the burden of racial antagonisms, inherited by blood---that thousands of Chinese and other immigrants abandoned the homes of their ancestors, for unknown future in a strange land. Only time can tell if their journey will have been successful. This will depend entirely on whether America can continue to evolve towards the basic egalitarian concept upon which it was founded--- that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their creators to certain unalienable Rights, that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness. For it was the haunting, elusive dream that such a place really existed that first drew many of the Chinese to American shores.”
posted by Stuffy | 8:40 AM
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