William Paulinha is a gay, Filipino hustler living in New York City. One night, he meets Shem C, a failed Jewish writer, in a bar. They become fast friends and Shem tells William his life story. Once upon a time, Shem had been married to the daughter of an acclaimed Jewish novelist. However, Shem's wife Marianna realized he was cheating on her and left him. Furious with his present situation, Shem wants to take revenge on the New York elite that cast him out. He convinces William to help him carry out his revenge plot by posing as William Chao, a master of the ancient Chinese art of feng shui.
Their first victim is Lindsay S, an aspiring poet. Bolstered by the ease with which they con her, William and Shem work their way up to bigger and better targets while word of mouth enhances their social status. William meets Cardie Kerchpoff, the Jewish daughter of a cardiologist. He finds her so irritating that he purposely fills her apartment with bad karma. William and Shem attend a dinner party hosted by Suzy Yamada, where many of their past and future clients mingle. Brian Q meets a girl named Norma and discovers after sleeping with her that she has given him herpes. William encounters Max Brill Carlton, author of Primitives, who informs him that Preciosa had no lines in the play. A later conversation with Shem reveals that Suzy was one of the women he had an affair when married and that she will be their last victim. Shem also informs William that Cardie's husband left her after it was revealed he was having an affair. For the first time, William feels guilty about the purposefully bad feng shui work he did for her, the cause of her sudden misfortune.
Rowley P takes William aside in confidence and asks him to help him avenge his second wife's death. According to Rowley, Suzy stole his wife's position and company and is thus responsible for her death. In arranging Suzy's apartment, William enlists the help of his neighbor Preciosa X. She pretends to be a woman named Walung, re-enacting her part in Primitives, speaking in tongues and twirling about to distract from the fact that they are stealing. Several days later, Rowley P dies, leaving his apartment to William. Rowley's family is not happy with this turn of events, so William agrees to relinquish all claims to the apartment.
Kendo, who has been stalking William for a while now, takes him out to dinner. Afterwards, the two get drinks at a bar and discuss each other's criminal activities. At the end of the evening, William is left wondering if Kendo plans on scamming him the way William scammed his mother, Suzy. Neil tries to get William to give him more money but William refuses, leaving a cash-strapped Neil with a grudge against him. William runs into Brian Q in a shoe store and learns that he has completely turned his life around, even founding a charity to raise money for AIDS patients. Suzy confronts William with her growing suspicions that Walung is responsible for stealing several valuable objects from her home.
Suzy discovers the truth about William's criminal past and his life begins to unravel. Suzy eventually persuades Preciosa to tell her everything. She hires Neil to murder William but they are interrupted by Kendo. Neil accidentally stabs Kendo and he dies. William discovers that even when he thought he was performing feng shui correctly, it was still all wrong. Several authors race to be the first to release a book on the “Master” Chao but Shem C publishes his first, thus realizing at long last his potential as an author. William moves to Los Angeles and finally begins pursuing his lifelong dream of becoming a writer.
Character Descriptions
William Paulinha aka Master Chao is a gay, Filipino hustler who yearns to be a writer. After meeting Shem C, William pretends to be a Chinese master of feng shui and helps him con New York's elite. After being ousted by a local reporter, William flees to Los Angeles where he realizes his writing aspirations. Although William enjoys the wealth and adventure of a scam artist, he secretly wants to settle down and “be good,” as he tells his friend Rowley P.
Shem C is a failed Jewish writer with a grudge against the upper crust society that has rejected him. Though his own behavior caused the failure of his marriage to Marianna Hood and the loss of his fortune, he blames society at large. He is aggressive and manipulative. He claims William as a friend, but takes advantage of him whenever possible.
Kendo is the son of Suzy Yamada. William is in love with Kendo's beauty, though not with the man himself.
Suzy Yamada is Kendo's mother and an architect and interior decorator whose work is featured in House & Garden. She eventually hires Neil to kill William.
Rowley P, an elderly mulatto man, is one of William's clients. He asks William to sabotage Suzy's home to avenge the death of his second wife, for whose death he blames Suzy. When Rowley dies, he leaves his apartment to William, causing strife between William and Rowley's family.
Preciosa X is William's neighbor who treats him like a grandson. Preciosa was a former actress who was in the play Primitives at Lincoln Center. William often accompanies Preciosa to the theater.
Brian Q is a prematurely balding man and a womanizer. He is also one of Shem and William's clients. His behavior with women illustrates the themes of fetishism and consumption.
Neil was once the janitor at the Peep Corner where William and his fellow hustlers worked. After growing sick of constantly cleaning up after the hustlers, Neil changed his name to Gurinder and began giving terrorist tours to students and tourists. William asks Neil to help him scare Suzy by threatening her with a knife. Neil agrees to do so in exchange for a thousand dollars. The men shake on it and William leaves.
Jokey is one of William's old friends from Rhode Island, a fellow hustler turned actor.
Marianna Hood is the daughter of Bill Hood and Shem C's former wife.
Bill Hood is an acclaimed Jewish novelist and father of Marianna Hood.
Beulah is Shem C's daughter with Marianna Hood.
Devo is a photo shoot stylist and one of William's closest friends.
Lindsay S is a naïve poet, the first victim of Shem and William's scam.
Themes
In Fixer Chao, Han Ong explores several themes including the concept of the model minority, fetishism, empire, queerness, orientalism, and identity politics.
Model Minority The model minority is a common theme that runs throughout Asian American history and represents an ideal that the rest of the Asian American strives to achieve. This representative group's members are more successful than the rest of the immigrant population.
In Fixer Chao, the model minority is the upper crus society William attempts to join. Suzy Yamada and her son Kendo are its principal representatives, poised, wealthy, beautiful, and civilized. They serve as foils for William and Preciosa. Suzy Yamada is what an immigrant aspires to be, described as a "Japanese-Canadian transplant who made her fortune by trading with Japan".[1]
Fetishism Fixer Chao uses this desire to consume to his advantage, profiting by convincing the wealthy that they are in need of newer and better things. Even participation in an artistic event is fetishized.[2] The New York elite fetishizes the mysticism surrounding William as a feng shui master, and they purchase his services for alarming sums of money.[3]
Lindsay S offers water and ice to William in a glass with a “single small diamond etched inside the rim which immediately enhances the taste and value of the beverage.[4] This suggests that people purchase objects because the materials reflect an aspect of the consumer's personality.
Fetishism is propelled by the cycle of desire and consumption and levels of society participate. It also becomes a physical and mental ritual practiced daily in all settings in order to achieve divine perfection.[5]
Queerness William's previous job as a hustler presents sexuality as a commodity. William exploits his masculinity and gender stereotypes to compensate for the assumption that Asian men are essentially feminine.[6] Race impacts sexuality. It correlates with orientalism to suggest sexual roles. William's sexual preference illustrates that Asian American men must make a choice: they can attempt to assure themselves that they can be perceived with the same degree of masculinity as white men, or they can succumb to feminine characteristics and thus question their sexuality.
Identity Politics The idea of identity politics refers to movements and theories attributed to the social injustices a particular group feels. In this case, race is the social group that undergoes pressures from American culture and society. In Fixer Chao, this phrase leads to speculation on the themes of orientalism as well as fetishism as the stereotypes Fixer Chao comes to represent are exploited and fall victim to the orient-crazed consumers of the New York elite.
The sudden obsession with the mystic of ancient China demonstrates an anti-Asian prejudice. Things and ideas of Asian background are regarded as magical and full of wisdom. Yet they also seem to represent as a decayed culture. The East is an ancient source of wisdom that may be simultaneously outdated and fashionable.
The way Lindsay S displays his statues of Buddha makes William see himself as a revenger {sent] to show Lindsay their true powers.[7] The acquisition of these elements of culture highlights her ignorance and demonstrates both consumerism and the exploitation of an alien identity.
Lastly, Rowley P, as a mulatto man, draws his strength and solidarity from prejudice, just as his wife had.[8] However, as prejudice the black community declines, he begins to learn to forgive. His wife, on the other hand, nurses an idea of her own self [that] had still come from storing away and reliving particular hurts.[9]
Feng shui, also known as Chinese geomancy, is a traditional practice originating from ancient China, which claims to use energy forces to harmonize individuals with their surrounding environment. The term feng shui literally translates as "wind-water" in English. This is a cultural shorthand taken from the passage of the now-lost Book of Burial recorded in Guo Pu's commentary. Feng shui is considered pseudoscientific.
Muang Phuan or Xieng Khouang was a historical principality on the Xiangkhoang Plateau, which constitutes the modern territory of Xiangkhouang Province, Laos.
Thai royal and noble titles are the royal and noble styles indicating relationship to the king which were introduced by King Trailokanat. The system is rooted in the Thai language equivalent of feudalism, sakdina. Borne of a polygamous royal tradition in which monarchs and noblemen often had dozens of children, such royal and noble titulary is similar to Western concepts of peerage. A title of honor may not be confined to the beginning or the end of the name, but may be split across the name. Those with titles ceased to be known by personal names, and were referred to by the awarded title. The King could bestow a title on anyone, although such promotion was personal and the person's children would not normally benefit from it. The complex and nuanced distinctions in rank of the titles are largely uncaptured by their glosses into Western-style terms. With the exception of a handful of titles for women, the bestowal of noble titles ended after the Siamese revolution of 1932, and the adoption of monogamy resulted in far fewer royal consorts and issue who could receive such styles. As a result, the old titles are obscure even to most Thais.
Han Ong is an American playwright and novelist. He is both a high-school dropout and one of the youngest recipients of a MacArthur Foundation "genius" grant. Born in the Philippines, he moved to the United States at 16. His works, which include the novels Fixer Chao and The Disinherited, address such themes as outsiderness, cultural clash, and class conflict.
Honey and Clover is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Chica Umino. It is also known as HachiKuro (ハチクロ) and H&C. It is published by Shueisha, initially serialized from June 2000 to July 2006 in the magazines CUTiEcomic, Young YOU, and Chorus, and collected in ten bound volumes. The series depicts the lives and relationships of a group of art school students who live in the same apartment building. In 2003, the manga won the 27th Kodansha Manga Award for shōjo.
Racial fetishism is sexually fetishizing a person or culture belonging to a specific race or ethnic group.
Lillian Too is an author, television personality and feng shui practitioner from Malaysia. She has written over 200 books on the subject of feng shui, which have been translated into more than 30 languages. Her books have sold more 6 million copies around the globe.
Kinamand is a bitter comedy/drama film made in 2005 in China and Denmark. The film deals with the Chinese immigrant experience in Denmark and marriage of convenience.
Binbō Shimai Monogatari is a manga series by Izumi Kazuto. It has been adapted into an anime series by Toei Animation and was aired in Japan from June 2006 until September 2006.
Ask Dr. Rin! is an eight-volume manga series by Kiyoko Arai about a young girl named Meilin Kanzaki who is endowed with Feng shui powers which allow her to read people's fortunes and give advice on how to receive good luck. She does this on a website under the pseudonym of "Dr. Rin." Rin is in love with her friend Asuka Yuki, who is a star on the school soccer team. However, she constantly bothers him with her Feng shui advice when he doesn't believe in any of that.
The Spanish Gypsy is an English Jacobean tragicomedy, dating from 1621-22. The play was likely a collaboration between several dramatists, including Thomas Middleton, William Rowley, Thomas Dekker, and John Ford. Like Shakespeare's lost play Cardenio, The Spanish Gypsy is an English reworking of the novellas of Miguel de Cervantes, combining two of Cervantes' Novelas Ejemplares into a single drama.
Fred's Head is a Canadian-French animated series made by Spectra Animation and Galaxy 7, and featuring Fred, a sixteen-year-old and his not-so-normal life. It is co-produced by France at 35% and by Quebec at 65%.
The Battle of Lucheng of 213 was part of a rebellion led by Yang Fu against the warlord Ma Chao in the late Eastern Han dynasty. The revolt was initiated by disgruntled parties under the new rule of Ma Chao, who forcefully took over governorship of Liang Province from Wei Kang (韋康) in the Siege of Jicheng.
Ride Beyond Vengeance is a 1966 American Pathecolor Western film starring Chuck Connors.
Peter Chan Chun-chuen, earlier known as Tony Chan, is a Hong Kong businessman and the former Feng shui geomancer to the late Nina Wang, who at the time of her death was chair of Chinachem Group and Asia's richest woman. He laid claim to Wang's HK$83 billion estate after she died from ovarian cancer in 2007, claiming to have been her lover.
Tan Khoon Yong is a fengshui grand master from Singapore. He established Way Chinese Geomancy Centre, now Way Fengshui Group, in 1984. He has conducted numerous seminars, including an annual "Chinese Zodiac & Fengshui Seminar".
Venerable Hong Choon was one of the most important Buddhist figures in the history of Buddhism in Singapore. He was the second president of the Singapore Buddhist Federation and the second abbot of Kong Meng San Phor Kark See Monastery.
Feng Shui 2 is a 2014 Philippine supernatural horror film. It is the sequel of the first film in 2004. Kris Aquino reprises her role as Joy Ramirez and Coco Martin plays Lester Anonuevo, the new owner of the 'cursed bagua'. The film co-stars Cherry Pie Picache, Carmi Martin, Ian Veneracion, and Joonee Gamboa. It focuses on Lester (Martin) who, upon getting the cursed bagua, starts to have luck and prosperity, but with deadly consequences. This film was Star Cinema's official entry in the 2014 Metro Manila Film Festival.
The Ghost Bride is a Filipino supernatural horror film starring Kim Chiu and Alice Dixson with Ina Raymundo. The film is directed by Chito S. Roño and is under the production of Star Cinema.
Coin-swords, alternatively known as cash-swords, are a type of Chinese numismatic charms that are a form of feng shui talisman that were primarily used in southern China to ward off evil spirits and malicious influences, especially those inducing fever. These coin-swords are also often used in Taoist rituals. In Mandarin Chinese, coin-sword are called bì xié jiàn (避邪劍) which literally translates into English to "evil-warding sword".
Ty, Eleanor. "Abjection, Masculinity, and Violence in Brian Roley's 'American Son' and Han Ong's 'Fixer Chao.'" Melus 29.1 (2004): 119-136, JSTOR, accessed 10 Nov 2009.
Patterson, Christopher B. "Mutant Hybrids Seek the Global Unconscious." Transitive Culture: Anglophone Literature of the Transpacific. New Jersey: Rutgers University Press, 2018. 149-176. Print.
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