American Born Chinese

Cannery Row could said to be all these. Many of Lee Chong’s actions are described as "Oriental" or "Chinese," like when he forgives Mac "all in an Oriental moment" or when he reacts to Horace’s death in “a calm and eternal Chinese sorrow (16)” (Kawaii, 110). Whether Steinbeck purposefully wrote a character that was very stereotypically 20th century American-Chinese or simply used the Chinese Americans he saw in Ocean View Avenue for inspiration is unknown. Clearly, however, his description of…

Lao-tzu, an author, once stated, “This is what life is made of: Fire Earth Metal Wood & Water.” Fan Shen wrote a book called Gang of One: Memoirs of a Red Guard. In the memoir, he described his life as he grew up in Communist China. The book covers the five stages of Fan Shen’s life which correspond with the quotation by Lao-tzu. Fan Shen’s life consisted of constant battles with the Communist Party. This however, allowed for Fan Shen to get the most out of his extraordinary life. Fan Shen…

The story, “Ties that Bind, Ties that Break” is about a young girl, Ailin Tao, that grows up in a society where women need to get their feet bound in order to impress men and get married. This story is told as a flashback when she was young. As she grows up, a revolution is also going on. She lives with her family, the Tao Family, in Nanjing, China. China was first an Empire. After the revolution in 1912, it became a republic. Ailin obviously has to get her feet bound as she becomes older.…

To the Navajo people, hozho is the idea of remaining in balance with the entire cosmos. It is more than just a word to traditional Navajo people. They strive to maintain their inherent bond with nature in everything they do. It is seen in their ceremonies and gatherings, but also in every aspect of their day to day life. It can be seen in their work, harvesting methods, and eating habits. The idea of hozho is the foundation of what might be thought of as religion in Navajo culture. However…

Benjamin and the Chinese man Ronnie. The first time reading this, I was a bit taken off how rude Ronnie is at Benjamin and how unnatural the characters talk. As I read further and analyzed it, the brash arguments that Ronnie and Benjamin have are meant to be very exuberant and “in your face” about a culture that is not too often talked or represented as properly as they should be. To be honest, I am not as familiar with much works that are about or written by Asian Americans. There is not as…

In Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress, Dai Sijie writes about the relationship between two city boys and a mountain girl named the Little Seamstress. She learns more about life outside her world through these the narrator and Luo. Dai uses parts of the body to convey the Little Seamstress’s loss of innocence. Prior to her involvement with the two city boys, the Little Seamstress's features express her lack of experiences. When the narrator first meets the Little Seamstress at her house,…

Rome and China, from about 200 BCE to 100 CE, developed technology. Though Rome and China both recognized technology as an essential part of their society, the Romans believed that technology was below the aristocratic elite, and the Hans did not. The first group of documents implies that technology comes from the benevolent government. The writers of these documents are most likely vying for a place in the government. The second group, two documents from Rome, suggest that technology is not…

Introduction Chinese immigrants to the United States quickly learned they faced an uphill battle when it came to basic survival, yet they never quit fighting to make better lives for themselves and for future generations. Initially, Chinese gathered together in Chinatowns across the United States and maintained a high degree of heritage consistency. They were originally resistant to adopt Western concepts of medicine, but after time, began to incorporate both allopathic and traditional…

The participants were me and my wife. My wife having initiated the conversation would have been the speaker and I was her audience. My wife is an African American from the southeastern part of the United States whereas I’m a Hispanic (Puerto Rican ethnicity) north easterner. Ends. The goal of the conversation was to assure the tone we used with our child would not have a negative effect on her. Although…

Various forms of entertainment, such as listening to music and watching a movie, exist in modern society. People can choose whatever they want if some conditions are satisfied. What about Chinese people in the past? How did they enjoy their spare time? According to Li Huarui, who is a professor at Capital Normal University, “Landscape painting was a “gentlemanly” pastime exclusively favored by literati just as rustic retreats were literati places,” (Huarui). Twelve Views of Landscape, which is a…