current Chinese and Asian American demographics
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gene luen yang's blog
Yang provides much of his reason for writing American Born Chinese through his website's blog. He also talks a lot about the origins of many of the characters in his stories.
Yang discusses the ancient Chinese folk hero The Monkey King.
Yang talks about his very personal connection to Jin's character.
Yang recalls the way in which he discovered one of his childhood drawings, Cousin Chin-Kee, and how he developed the character to be the crazy character he is.
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ASIAN CULTUREs and BELIEFS
The monkey King
The Monkey King (Sun Wukong) became an important Chinee figure in the 17th century novel The Journey to the West. This is an epic novel with 100 chapters that depicts the journey of a Buddhist monk and his companions to India. (A PDF copy of the full text is on the right side of the page if you would like to behold its massiveness.) The story itself is based on the actual pilgrimage of the monk Xuanzang. In the story the fictionalized monk Hsuan-Tsang is accompanied by three companions: The Monkey King, The Monk Pig, and The Sand Friar.
The Monkey King is the most powerful of the three companions, though he has a quick temper (as demonstrated in American Born Chinese). Through his website "Monkey Kingdom," Yang provides even more information on this figure and his personal connection to him. As a celebrated cultural figure (akin to Mickey Mouse) in the United States, The Monkey King continues to live through several folk stories, cartoons, comics, operas, television series, movies, and other mediums with different variations. Many of these are hundreds of years old but new works continue to be produced. Look up images of The Monkey King and review some of the media clips on the side of the page to see how the story is a part of Chinese culture. Even try to look up multiple examples of similar forms (there are many great examples of Chinese opera) and see what parts of the legend are kept the same and modified. ASK YOURSELF:
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Western cultures and beliefs
The ox, the eagle, the human, and the lion
The ox, the eagle, the human, and the lion that appear in American Born Chinese may seem to be associated with Eastern cultures and mythology but instead are greatly associated with Christianity and Western culture. Each of these symbols is associated with one of the Four Evangelists (Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John):
This helps solidify the Christian morals and values in Yang's story.
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asian people in western media and pop culture
Throughout the book, we see references to popular culture and modern society. The world in which Yang creates the story is definitely our own or one very similar. Unfortunately, however, our popular culture is one that still exploits Asian caricatures. Yang using these Asian popular culture icons in American Born Chinese in order to demonstrate existing stereotypes. Primarily this is converyed through Cousin Chin-Kee.
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Long Duk Dong from Sixteen Candles
Like many movies and characters from the 1980s, Long Duk Dong continues to be one of the most referenced. However, many people (Yang included) believe that Dong is a caricature and does not portray the Asian community very well. Yang recalls having his non-Asian friends ask him to say popular film lines like "What's happening, Hotstuff?" without them considering that fact that it might be offensive. ASK YOURSELF:
William Hung from American Idol William Hung became famous when he had an awful audition in the early seasons of American Idol. He became an instant sensation and ended up producing a music video as well as three albums. Today, many people believe that Hung was exploited and was purposefully ridiculed by those who employed him. ASK YOURSELF:
The Back Dorm Boys The Back Dorm Boys are a duo of college boys who become popular for lip-synching to pop hits when YouTube was first starting. They are different than any of the other Asian pop culture figures presented in the book in that they are associated with Jin and Wei-Chen's characters and not Cousin Chin-Kee. ASK YOURSELF:
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Being american born chinese in the modern world
In book, Yang presents a world in which Jin and his Asian friends have trouble fitting in with their American peers. Jin has to deal with the stereotypes, the names, and rude jokes that people call him and his friends because they are Asian. In fact, Jin resents being Chinese because of this and wants to embrace the parts of himself that he believes to be American.
But what if the Jin's circumstances had been different and he had originally moved from his Asian neighborhood to China instead of his very Americanized school? Today, many individuals born in the United States are moving to China for new opportunities in the employment and other reasons, and many of these people happen to be of Asian decent.
ASK YOURSELF: Do you think Jin would have as much trouble fitting into the Chinese culture since he identifies himself as both American and Chinese or would Jin have the same issues? Would he be happier or make friends more easily?
But what if the Jin's circumstances had been different and he had originally moved from his Asian neighborhood to China instead of his very Americanized school? Today, many individuals born in the United States are moving to China for new opportunities in the employment and other reasons, and many of these people happen to be of Asian decent.
ASK YOURSELF: Do you think Jin would have as much trouble fitting into the Chinese culture since he identifies himself as both American and Chinese or would Jin have the same issues? Would he be happier or make friends more easily?
WATCH THIS: YouTube journalist Stephy Chung interviewed several young people who were raised in the United States and identified themselves as both American and Chinese. They talked about their experiences in both America and China, and specifically talked about how making a their permanent home in China affected their cultural identity.
Part one primarily focuses on the interviewees and gathering their thoughts on their experiences, while part two brings in Professor Jinzhao Li of Beijing Foreign Studies University to discuss her study on the identity transformation of Chinese-Americans in China. FURTHER QUESTIONS
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Works cited
"1961 Monkey King Havoc in Heaven Chinese Animation." 7 March 2007. 12 June 2013. <https://www.youtube.com
/watch?v=qSV7041mZCw>. YouTube file.
"Beigin Opera - A Monkey King." 14 March 2008. 12 June 2013. <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-VOCDFIW4xg>.
YouTube file.
Cheng-en, Wu. Journey to the West. 12 June 2013. <http://www.chine-informations.com/fichiers/jourwest.pdf>. PDF
file.
Chung, Stephy. "Part 1: Culture Shock - Chinese Americans in China." Making the Grade. 20 November 2011. 12 June
2013. <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=45Llkj58ujY>. YouTube file.
Chung, Stephy. "Part 2: Culture Shock - Chinese Americans in China." Making the Grade. 20 November 2011. 12 June
2013. <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2c3BEO3Ggxg>. YouTube file.
"Demographics of Asian Americans." Pew Research. 4 April 2013. 12 June 2013. <http://www.pewsocialtrends.org
/2013/04/04/asian-groups-in-the-u-s/>. Web.
"The Forbidden Kingdom (3/10) Movie CLIP - The Battle of Immortals (2008) HD" 25 October 2012. 12 June 2013.
<https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zhH9GJ7lpGs>. YouTube file.
"The Four Evangelist Symbols." 12 June 2013. <http://www.biblewheel.com/Wheel/Ezekiel_Wheels.php>. JPEG file.
"Four Evangelists." Wikipedia.org. 12 June 2013. <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Four_Evangelists>. Web.
"Picture of original Chin-Kee drawing."First Second Books. 11 August 2006. 12 June 2013.
<http://firstsecondbooks.typepad.com/mainblog/2006/08/gene_yang_origi_2.html>. JPEG file.
"Pictures of The Monkey King." First Second Books. 8 August 2006. 12 June 2013.
<http://firstsecondbooks.typepad.com/mainblog/2006/08/gene_yang_origi.html>. JPEG files.
"Pictures of Jin Wang and friend (Gene Luen Yang)" First Second Books. 9 August 2006. 12 June 2013.
<http://firstsecondbooks.typepad.com/mainblog/2006/08/gene_yang_origi_1.html>. JPEG files.
"Sixteen Candles Movie Long Duk Dong What's Happening Hotstuff." 20 September 2008. 12 June 2013.
<http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=ZTchUep_bmg>. YouTube file.
"tow chinese boys:i want it that way." 25 June 2005. 12 June 2013. <http://www.youtube.com
/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=x1LZVmn3p3o>. YouTube file.
"YAL Ameican Born Chinese." 12 June 2013. <http://read6350secondaryreading.wikispaces.com/file/view
/YAL+American+Born+Chinese.ppt>. PowerPoint file.
Yang, Gene Luen. "American Born Chinese book cover." 2006. Gene Luen Yang official website. 12 June 2013.
<http://geneyang.com/american-born-chinese>. JPEG file.
Yang, Gene Luen. "Monkey Kingdom." 12 June 2013. Monkey Kingdom. <http://www.geneyang.com/monkey/>. Web.
Yang, Gene Luen. "Origins of 'American Born Chinese Part 1." First Second Books. 8 August 2006. 12 June 2013.
<http://firstsecondbooks.typepad.com/mainblog/2006/08/gene_yang_origi.html>. Web.
Yang, Gene Luen. "Origins of 'American Born Chinese Part 2." First Second Books. 9 August 2006. 12 June 2013.
<http://firstsecondbooks.typepad.com/mainblog/2006/08/gene_yang_origi_1.html>. Web.
Yang, Gene Luen. "Origins of 'American Born Chinese Part 3." First Second Books. 11 August 2006. 12 June 2013.
<http://firstsecondbooks.typepad.com/mainblog/2006/08/gene_yang_origi_2.html>. Web.
Yang, Gene Luen. "Panel of The Monkey King." 2006. Google Books. 12 June 2013. <http://books.google.com
/books?id=nihoSwMJLGMC&printsec=frontcover#v=onepage&q&f=false>. JPEG file.
"William Hung - She Bangs [Music Video]." 28 May 2008. 12 June 2013. <http://www.youtube.com
/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=bwei5P8bXgs>. YouTube file.
/watch?v=qSV7041mZCw>. YouTube file.
"Beigin Opera - A Monkey King." 14 March 2008. 12 June 2013. <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-VOCDFIW4xg>.
YouTube file.
Cheng-en, Wu. Journey to the West. 12 June 2013. <http://www.chine-informations.com/fichiers/jourwest.pdf>. PDF
file.
Chung, Stephy. "Part 1: Culture Shock - Chinese Americans in China." Making the Grade. 20 November 2011. 12 June
2013. <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=45Llkj58ujY>. YouTube file.
Chung, Stephy. "Part 2: Culture Shock - Chinese Americans in China." Making the Grade. 20 November 2011. 12 June
2013. <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2c3BEO3Ggxg>. YouTube file.
"Demographics of Asian Americans." Pew Research. 4 April 2013. 12 June 2013. <http://www.pewsocialtrends.org
/2013/04/04/asian-groups-in-the-u-s/>. Web.
"The Forbidden Kingdom (3/10) Movie CLIP - The Battle of Immortals (2008) HD" 25 October 2012. 12 June 2013.
<https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zhH9GJ7lpGs>. YouTube file.
"The Four Evangelist Symbols." 12 June 2013. <http://www.biblewheel.com/Wheel/Ezekiel_Wheels.php>. JPEG file.
"Four Evangelists." Wikipedia.org. 12 June 2013. <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Four_Evangelists>. Web.
"Picture of original Chin-Kee drawing."First Second Books. 11 August 2006. 12 June 2013.
<http://firstsecondbooks.typepad.com/mainblog/2006/08/gene_yang_origi_2.html>. JPEG file.
"Pictures of The Monkey King." First Second Books. 8 August 2006. 12 June 2013.
<http://firstsecondbooks.typepad.com/mainblog/2006/08/gene_yang_origi.html>. JPEG files.
"Pictures of Jin Wang and friend (Gene Luen Yang)" First Second Books. 9 August 2006. 12 June 2013.
<http://firstsecondbooks.typepad.com/mainblog/2006/08/gene_yang_origi_1.html>. JPEG files.
"Sixteen Candles Movie Long Duk Dong What's Happening Hotstuff." 20 September 2008. 12 June 2013.
<http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=ZTchUep_bmg>. YouTube file.
"tow chinese boys:i want it that way." 25 June 2005. 12 June 2013. <http://www.youtube.com
/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=x1LZVmn3p3o>. YouTube file.
"YAL Ameican Born Chinese." 12 June 2013. <http://read6350secondaryreading.wikispaces.com/file/view
/YAL+American+Born+Chinese.ppt>. PowerPoint file.
Yang, Gene Luen. "American Born Chinese book cover." 2006. Gene Luen Yang official website. 12 June 2013.
<http://geneyang.com/american-born-chinese>. JPEG file.
Yang, Gene Luen. "Monkey Kingdom." 12 June 2013. Monkey Kingdom. <http://www.geneyang.com/monkey/>. Web.
Yang, Gene Luen. "Origins of 'American Born Chinese Part 1." First Second Books. 8 August 2006. 12 June 2013.
<http://firstsecondbooks.typepad.com/mainblog/2006/08/gene_yang_origi.html>. Web.
Yang, Gene Luen. "Origins of 'American Born Chinese Part 2." First Second Books. 9 August 2006. 12 June 2013.
<http://firstsecondbooks.typepad.com/mainblog/2006/08/gene_yang_origi_1.html>. Web.
Yang, Gene Luen. "Origins of 'American Born Chinese Part 3." First Second Books. 11 August 2006. 12 June 2013.
<http://firstsecondbooks.typepad.com/mainblog/2006/08/gene_yang_origi_2.html>. Web.
Yang, Gene Luen. "Panel of The Monkey King." 2006. Google Books. 12 June 2013. <http://books.google.com
/books?id=nihoSwMJLGMC&printsec=frontcover#v=onepage&q&f=false>. JPEG file.
"William Hung - She Bangs [Music Video]." 28 May 2008. 12 June 2013. <http://www.youtube.com
/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=bwei5P8bXgs>. YouTube file.