American Born Chinese

Last updated
American Born Chinese
GeneYang-AmericanBornChinese-cover.jpg
Cover art of the first edition
Author Gene Luen Yang
IllustratorGene Luen Yang
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Genre Graphic novel
Publisher First Second Books
Publication date
2006
Media typePrint (paperback & hardback collector's edition)
Pages240 pp (paperback edition)
ISBN 978-1-59643-152-2

American Born Chinese is a graphic novel by Gene Luen Yang. Released in 2006 by First Second Books, it was a finalist for the 2006 National Book Awards in the category of Young People's Literature. [1] It won the 2007 Michael L. Printz Award, [2] the 2007 Eisner Award for Best Graphic Album: New, the Publishers Weekly Comics Week Best Comic of the Year, the San Francisco Chronicle Best Book of the Year, the 2006/2007 Best Book Award from The Chinese American Librarians Association, and Amazon.com Best Graphic Novel/Comic of the Year. It also made the Booklist Top Ten Graphic Novel for Youth, the NPR Holiday Pick, and Time Top Ten Comic of the Year. It was colored by cartoonist Lark Pien, who received the 2007 Harvey Award for Best Colorist for her work on the book.

Contents

Synopsis

The story of American Born Chinese consists of three seemingly separate tales, which are tied together at the end of the book.

The first story line is Yang's contemporary rendition of the Chinese story of a Kung Fu practicing Monkey King of Flower-Fruit Mountain, The Monkey King, a character from the classic 16th century Chinese novel Journey to the West . Yang replaces the Buddha from the original story with a Christian influenced deity Tze-Yo-Tzuh. Throughout the story, The Monkey King is unhappy with himself as a monkey and continually tries to become another version of himself. The Monkey King grows larger, taking a more human form. Tze-Yo-Tzuh tries to help The Monkey King accept himself, but when The Monkey King refuses Tze-Yo-Tzuh imprisons him under a mountain of rocks. A monk named Wong Lai-Tsao is sent by Tze-Yo-Tzuh on a mission to carry three packages to the west and is to pick up his disciple, The Monkey King, on his journey. He finds The Monkey King imprisoned under the mountain of rocks and frees him from the mountain by convincing The Monkey King to return to his original form.

The second story line follows a child of Chinese immigrants named Jin Wang. His story links the other two narratives, and fits the form of an ethnic coming-of-age. [3] His family moves from San Francisco's Chinatown to a suburb where he goes to school with only two other Asian students. Jin struggles with his Chinese identity and begins to reject it when he meets a new Asian student, Wei-Chen. Wei-Chen is a Taiwanese immigrant who just came to the United States, and he and Jin become best friends. Jin begins dating Amelia Harris, a Caucasian girl in his class, but her friend Greg asks Jin not to ask her out any more because he felt she needed to protect her image. Jin perceives this as a personal attack on him because of his race and becomes angry. Angry and confused, he kisses Wei-Chen's girlfriend and they have a falling-out. That evening, Jin recalls the fight he had with Wei-Chen and convinces himself that Wei-Chen deserved it. That night, Jin has a dream about a Chinese woman he had met when he was younger. She had told him that he could be anything he wanted if he was willing to give up his soul. He awakens the next morning and looks in the mirror to see himself as a Caucasian boy and he changes his name to Danny.

The third story line follows Danny, an "all-American boy" and his Chinese cousin Chin-Kee, [3] who comes to visit every year. Danny is embarrassed by Chin-Kee, who is depicted as racist stereotype, in traditional queue with buck teeth, speaking in pidgin English. At the end of this narrative, it is revealed that Chin-Kee is actually The Monkey King. Danny is actually Jin Wang, who "transformed" into a White boy after being prevented from pursuing the girl of his dreams because he was Chinese. The Monkey King tells Danny that his son Wei-Chen was sent to live among the mortals without sin for forty years but that he had changed and no longer wanted to follow in the footsteps of his father. That is when The Monkey King decided to visit Danny. Danny realized that the reason Wei-Chen fell into sin was his fault and as he realizes this, he turns back into Jin Wang and embraces his Chinese identity, while also reconciling with Wei-Chen, the Monkey King's son.

Character list

Themes

Racial struggles and stereotypes

According to Min Hyoung Song, [3] American Born Chinese possesses strong themes of racial stereotypes, particularly American stereotypes of the Chinese and other East Asian ethnicities. The primary example of these stereotypes is Chin-Kee, who is the embodiment of the term "coolie," a nineteenth-century racial slur for unskilled Chinese workers. According to Chaney, he is "an incarnation of the 'Yellow Peril' era of racism" [6] which Song defines as "slant-eyes, short stature, sallow skin, predictably Chinese clothing, claw-like fingertips, and long menacing queue". [3] In addition, Chin-Kee continually switches his "L's" and "R's" during speech. The American roots of Chin-Kee's stereotypes are emphasized by the style of the illustrations, which are drawn to simulate an American television show. Song mentions that "[t]o emphasize further that this is an image originally formalized in newspapers and popular entertainment and later largely disseminated through the growth of popular mass media, the words 'clap clap clap' line the entire bottom of the panel...This, and the words 'ha ha ha,' are likewise repeated in other panels, replicating the canned laughter and applause of television sit-coms." [3] Just as the media that have enforced these stereotypes have changed, so have some of the stereotypes themselves. Chin-Kee does not only represent a version of nineteenth-century racial stereotypes, but also of the more contemporary stereotype that all Asians make exceptional students. [3] During class with Danny, Chin-Kee knows the answer to every question in every school subject, including algebra, Spanish, anatomy, chemistry, and U.S. government.

Chin-Kee's academic ability brings to light what Cheryl Gnomes describes as a misguided distinction between "good" stereotypes and "bad" stereotypes. [7] Gnomes mentions that a seemingly "good stereotype" such as Chin-Kee's stellar academic performance is still a negative stereotype overall, because if an Asian student is struggling with a particular academic subject and is believed (and/or expected) to be naturally gifted in the subject, the stereotyped student will feel pressured to perform and fear asking for help. [7]

Chaney argues that the Monkey King serves as a metaphor for minority races and/or ethnicities, particularly those who shun their racial or ethnic backgrounds in order to assimilate into the majority culture. [6] The Monkey King is not allowed into the celestial dinner party because he is a monkey, and therefore inherently inferior in the eyes of the other deities. When he is rejected, he is determined to prove to the world that he is more than just a Monkey, and masters the "four disciplines of invulnerability" in order to become "The Great Sage, Heaven's Equal."

Transformation and understanding identity

The primary characters of American Born Chinese undergo phases of identity crises that are coupled with some sort of mental or physical transformation(s). Chaney [6] states that the novel "celebrates transformations of identity by way of creaturely alterity. Put another way, Yang's characters become not simply other than what they are, but the other that they are." Transforming toys are introduced very early in the narrative to foreground this theme, and the narrative structure itself transforms in the final act, making this a theme not only of the characters but a key element of the way the story is told. [8]

The Monkey King desires to be recognized as a powerful deity, and more than simply a monkey. Through meditation and practicing Kung-Fu, he is transformed into The Great Sage. Chaney [6] argues that for readers, the use of an animal character like the Monkey King within graphic novels and literature in general allows an understanding of human identity, often more than any other type of character. He argues that the use of an animal character with human characteristics, particularly pathos, simultaneously invokes within the reader the Latin warnings of memento mori and memento bestie ("remember your mortality" and "remember you are animal"). [6] According to Chaney, [6] when characteristics generally considered to be human are given to the Monkey King, readers identify with their human identity more than with the human characters of the novel, such as Jin Wang.

Later in the novel, the Monkey King transforms, or disguises himself into Chin-Kee, Danny's cousin, in order to reveal Danny his true identity as Jin Wang. Fu [1] argues that the Monkey King's transformation into Chin-Kee is a representation of "[t]he legendary trickster figure [that] has been repeatedly re-imagined by Chinese American writers as a source of cultural strength, a symbol of subversion and resistance, and a metaphor for cross-cultural and interracial negotiation." The Monkey King in Yang's version of the classic tale does not use his trickery so much for rebellion as for helping Jin Wang explore and accept himself and identify with his culture. [1]

Jin Wang "struggles to survive exclusion and racist bullying in his search for an identity in a predominantly white suburban school." [1] To deal with his crisis of identity he transforms himself into "Danny," a white boy who is the protagonist of the third narrative of the novel. Ultimately, his crisis is only deepened when he has to deal the grotesque representation of Chinese stereotypes that his cousin, Chin-Kee displays. [1] Chin-Kee turns out to be the Monkey King. Jin Wang (disguised/transformed into Danny) has been taught to hate about his own culture via racist American stereotypes. [6] When his true identity is revealed, the Monkey King tells Jin Wang that he used the disguise to serve as Jin Wang's conscience, not as a punishment. Ultimately, Jin Wang begins to accept his own identity and dismisses his alter-ego, Danny.

Wei-Chen Sun is actually the Monkey King's eldest son, sent to earth in human form as an emissary for Tze-Yo-Tzuh. His test of virtue is to spend forty years in the mortal world while remaining free of human vice. When he initially arrives to Jin Wang's school he is "presented as a nerdy but fearless recent immigrant from Taiwan." [3] After Jin kisses Suzy Nakamura and Jin and Wei-Chen have a falling out, Wei-Chen transforms into an "angry and despondent Asian American hipster" [3] and gives up his mission for Tze-Yo-Tzuh. Despite Wei-Chen's multiple transformations, hints of his identity as a monkey are subtly and blatantly represented throughout the story. During the scene with Amelia in the biology lab, Wei-Chen has an affinity to the teacher's lipstick-wearing monkey, who will not leave him alone. Wei-Chen can easily recognize that the monkey is actually a male, just as the monkey can actually recognize that Wei-Chen is a monkey himself. [6] When Jin tells Wei-Chen that he has spoken to Wei-Chen's father (the Monkey King), a panel depicting Wei-Chen's true identity as a monkey juxtaposes his hipster human form in the next panel. No matter what transformation Wei-Chen takes, he cannot dismiss his true identity as a monkey. [6]

Use in schools

Gnomes states that American Born Chinese is a great resource to help academically struggling students (particularly struggling readers) and students with social-cognitive disabilities to find motivation to learn, to relate a piece of text to their lives, and to use the graphics to help them understand/relate to the words. [7]

Television adaptation

In 2021, Disney+ ordered a television adaptation of the graphic novel. It will be produced by Disney's 20th Television with Kelvin Yu and Charles Yu as writers and executive producers, Melvin Mar and Jake Kasdan as executive producers, and Destin Daniel Cretton as director and executive producer. [9] In February 2022, it was announced that Ben Wang, Michelle Yeoh, Chin Han, Yeo Yann Yann, Daniel Wu, Ke Huy Quan, Jim Liu and Sydney Taylor were cast in the starring roles. [10]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Northern and Southern dynasties</span> Period in Chinese history from 420 to 589

The Northern and Southern dynasties was a period of political division in the history of China that lasted from 420 to 589, following the tumultuous era of the Sixteen Kingdoms and the Eastern Jin dynasty. It is sometimes considered as the latter part of a longer period known as the Six Dynasties (220–589). Albeit an age of civil war and political chaos, it was also a time of flourishing arts and culture, advancement in technology, and the spread of Mahayana Buddhism and Daoism. The period saw large-scale migration of the Han people to the lands south of the Yangtze. The period came to an end with the unification of all of China proper by Emperor Wen of the Sui dynasty.

<i>Jin Ping Mei</i> 1610 Chinese naturalistic novel

Jin Ping Mei — translated into English as The Plum in the Golden Vase or The Golden Lotus — is a Chinese novel of manners composed in vernacular Chinese during the latter half of the 16th century during the late Ming dynasty (1368–1644). Consisted of 100 chapters, it was published under the pseudonym Lanling Xiaoxiao Sheng (蘭陵笑笑生), "The Scoffing Scholar of Lanling," but the only clue to the actual identity is that the author hailed from Lanling County in present-day Shandong. The novel circulated in manuscript as early as 1596, and may have undergone revision up to its first printed edition in 1610. The most widely read recension, edited and published with commentaries by Zhang Zhupo in 1695, deleted or rewrote passages important in understanding the author's intentions.

<i>Romance of the Three Kingdoms</i> (TV series) Chinese television series

Romance of the Three Kingdoms is a Chinese television series adapted from the classical 14th century novel of the same title by Luo Guanzhong. The series was produced by China Central Television (CCTV) and was first aired on the network in 1994. It spanned a total of 84 episodes, each approximately 45 minutes long. One of the most expensive television series produced at the time, the project was completed over four years and involved over 400,000 cast and crew members, including divisions of the People's Liberation Army from the Beijing, Nanjing and Chengdu military regions. Some of the dialogues spoken by characters were adapted directly from the novel. Extensive battle scenes, such as the battles of Guandu, Red Cliffs and Xiaoting, were also live-acted.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gene Luen Yang</span> American graphic novelist

Gene Luen Yang is an American cartoonist. He is a frequent lecturer on the subjects of graphic novels and comics, at comic book conventions and universities, schools, and libraries. In addition, he was the Director of Information Services and taught computer science at Bishop O'Dowd High School in Oakland, California. In 2012, Yang joined the faculty at Hamline University, as a part of the Low-Residency Master of Fine Arts in Writing for Children and Young Adults (MFAC) program. In 2016, the U.S. Library of Congress named him Ambassador for Young People's Literature. That year he became the third graphic novelist, alongside Lauren Redniss, to receive a MacArthur Fellowship.

<i>Monkey: Journey to the West</i> Stage adaptation of the novel Journey to the West

Monkey: Journey to the West is a stage adaptation of the 16th century novel Journey to the West by Wu Cheng'en. It was conceived and created by the Chinese actor and director Chen Shi-Zheng along with British musician Damon Albarn and British artist Jamie Hewlett.

<i>The Brave Archer</i> 1977 Hong Kong film

The Brave Archer, also known as Kungfu Warlord, is a 1977 Hong Kong film adapted from Louis Cha's novel The Legend of the Condor Heroes. The film was produced by the Shaw Brothers Studio and directed by Chang Cheh, starring Alexander Fu Sheng and Tien Niu in the lead roles. The film is the first part of a trilogy and was followed by The Brave Archer 2 (1978) and The Brave Archer 3 (1981). The trilogy has two unofficial sequels, The Brave Archer and His Mate (1982) and Little Dragon Maiden (1983).

<i>Three Kingdoms</i> (TV series) 2010 Chinese historical series

Three Kingdoms is a 2010 Chinese television series based on the events in the late Eastern Han dynasty and the Three Kingdoms period. The plot is adapted from the 14th century historical novel Romance of the Three Kingdoms and other stories about the Three Kingdoms period. Directed by Gao Xixi, the series had a budget of over 160 million RMB and took five years of pre-production work. Shooting of the series commenced in October 2008, and it was released in China in May 2010.

<i>The Book and the Sword</i> (2008 TV series) Chinese TV series or program

The Book and the Sword is a 2008 Chinese television series adapted from Louis Cha's novel of the same title. The series was first broadcast on CETV-3 in China in 2009. It starred Qiao Zhenyu, Adam Cheng, Niki Chow, and Liu Dekai.

<i>The Qin Empire</i> (TV series) Chinese TV series or program

The Qin Empire is a 2009 Chinese television series based on Sun Haohui's novel of the same Chinese title, which romanticises the rise of the Qin state in the Warring States period under the leadership of Duke Xiao of Qin. It was produced in 2006 and first aired on television channels in China in December 2009. It was followed by three sequels: The Qin Empire II: Alliance (2012), The Qin Empire III (2017) and The Qin Empire IV (2019), which were also based on Sun Haohui's novels.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gods and demons fiction</span> Subgenre of Chinese fantasy fiction

Gods and demons fiction is a subgenre of fantasy fiction that revolves around the deities, immortals, and monsters of Chinese mythology. The term shenmo xiaoshuo, coined in the early 20th century by the writer and literary historian Lu Xun, literally means "fiction of gods and demons". Works of shenmo fiction include the novels Journey to the West and Investiture of the Gods.

The 2009 China Open Super Series was a top level badminton competition which was held from November 17, 2009 to November 22, 2009 in Shanghai, China. It was the twelfth BWF Super Series competition on the 2009 BWF Super Series schedule. The total purse for the event was $250,000.

Chi-chen Wang was a Chinese-born American literary scholar and translator. He taught as a professor at Columbia University from 1929 until his retirement in 1965.

<i>The Qin Empire II: Alliance</i> Chinese TV series or program

The Qin Empire II: Alliance is a 2012 Chinese television series adapted from Sun Haohui's novel of the same Chinese title, which romanticises the events in China during the Warring States period primarily from the perspective of the Qin state during the reigns of King Huiwen and King Wu.

<i>The Qin Empire III</i> Chinese TV series or program

The Qin Empire III is a 2017 Chinese television series based on Sun Haohui's novel of the same Chinese title, which romanticizes the events in China during the Warring States period primarily from the perspective of the Qin state under King Zhaoxiang. It was first aired on CCTV-1 in mainland China in 2017. It was preceded by The Qin Empire (2009) and The Qin Empire II: Alliance (2012) and followed by The Qin Empire IV (2019), which were also based on Sun Haohui's novels.

<i>The Glory of Youth</i> Chinese TV series or program

The Glory of Youth is the first Chinese Army Rocket Force television series based on Feng Jie's novel Graduated, Being A Soldier developed by The Chinese People's Liberation Army Rocket Force, Starring Li Yifeng, Chen Xingxu, Zhang Xinyu and Xiao Yang. It aired on Zhejiang TV, Jiangsu TV and Youku from 13 April to 11 May 2021. And a special edited version aired on Youku on May 20, 2021

American Born Chinese is an upcoming action-comedy television series based on the graphic novel of the same name by Gene Luen Yang. Filming had begun in Los Angeles by February 2022. The series is set to premiere on Disney+.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 Fu, Binbin (Fall 2007). "American Born Chinese". MELUS. 32 (3): 274. doi:10.1093/melus/32.3.274 . Retrieved 7 April 2012.
  2. ↑ American Library Association (2010). "Michael L. Printz Winners and Honor Books". Archived from the original on 8 February 2011. Retrieved 2011-02-03.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Song, Min Hyoung (2010). ""How good it is to be a monkey": comics, racial formation, and American Born Chinese". Mosaic (Winnipeg). 43 (1).
  4. ↑ Mozzocco, Caleb J. (2013-09-19). "Interview: Gene Luen Yang on Boxers & Saints". School Library Journal . Retrieved 2022-08-09.
  5. ↑ "This Chinese American cartoonist forces us to face racist stereotypes". PBS News Hour. 2016-09-30. Retrieved 2022-12-06.
  6. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Chaney, Michael A. (Summer 2011). "Animal Subjects of the Graphic Novel". College Literature. 38 (3): 129–149. doi:10.1353/lit.2011.0024 . Retrieved 6 April 2012.
  7. 1 2 3 Gnomes, Cheryl (November 2010). "Navigating Through Social Norms, Negotiating Place: How American Born Chinese Motivates Struggling Learners". English Journal. 100 (2): 68–76. ProQuest   766935635.
  8. ↑ Darowski, Joseph; Mack, Todd. "The Protagonist Podcast #125: Jin Wang in American Born Chinese". The Protagonist Podcast. Retrieved 22 October 2020.
  9. ↑ Andreeva, Nellie (October 4, 2021). "Disney+ Greenlights 'American Born Chinese' Series From Melvin Mar, Kelvin Yu & Jake Kasdan; 'Shang-Chi's Destin Daniel Cretton To Direct". Deadline Hollywood . Retrieved October 4, 2021.
  10. ↑ Fleming, Mike Jr. (February 7, 2022). "'Shang-Chi's Michelle Yeoh & Destin Daniel Cretton Reunite For Disney+ Series 'American Born Chinese;' Chin Han, Yeo Yann Yann & Daniel Wu Also Star". Deadline Hollywood . Retrieved February 7, 2022.

Further reading

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.