American Born Chinese

Yang, G. L. (2006). American born Chinese. New York: First Second. ISBN 1-59643-152-0

Why read this book

If you are Chinese American, you might see yourself in this entertaining graphic novel, and if you are not Chinese American you’ll get some insights into what it’s like to be Chinese American.

Plot summary

American Born Chinese is actually three stories told alternately until they merge at the end of the book. The first story is a retelling of the early chapters of Journey to the West, a major classic of Chinese literature, which was originally written in the late 16th century but incorporated folk literature that is much older (Wu, trans. 1982, front matter). In this section, the Monkey King, who has mastered the highest levels of meditation and martial arts, is angered when the gods reject him from a celestial gathering because he is a monkey. The Monkey King causes much trouble and is eventually buried under a mountain of rocks for 500 years.

The second story features Jin Wang, a middle school student whose parents emigrated from China before he was born. Jin Wang’s family has moved to the suburbs, where he is one of two or three Asian Americans in his school, and many of the other students treat him poorly. When a recent immigrant from China, Wei-Chen, comes to school, Jin Wang initially rejects him but they eventually become best friends. When Jin falls in love with Amelia, a white girl in his class, Wei-Chen helps him try to gain her affection.

The third story features a high school senior named Danny who is also Chinese American, although he has assimilated both physically (by dying his hair) and culturally. Danny’s problem is that each year his Chinese cousin Chin-Kee shows up for a long visit. Chin-Kee is over-the-top Chinese, and he embarrasses Danny so badly that Danny has changed schools twice to put the humiliation of Chin-Kee’s visit behind him.

Critical evaluation

The themes of discrimination, belonging, and self-acceptance tie the three stories together. Gene Yang’s use of the Monkey King from Journey to the West both as a model of the issues that Chinese in America face and the plot device that leads Jin Wang and Danny to figure out who they are is an inspired choice. Journey to the West, among other things, instructs Chinese children in character development. The Monkey King is a beloved rascal who frequently makes the wrong decisions but ultimately figures out how to live properly. Stories from Journey to the West have been re-imagined in painting, theater, music, television, and film over the centuries but possibility never with the twist that Yang brings to the tale. The problems of belonging and self-acceptance in a racially conscious society like the United States are not the problems that characters in Journey to the West were conceived to address. Yang’s spin is inspired both as a tribute to classical Chinese literature and because re-engagement with traditional Chinese culture like the Monkey King is precisely the road many young Chinese Americans need to travel to figure out their complex identities. The “west” in the classical journey begs to be reinterpreted to reflect today’s “west” in which young Chinese Americans are journeying, and Yang does it.

Part of Yang's reinterpretation of classical Chinese literature includes adding a Christian spin. This was something I didn’t notice, frankly, until I read a newspaper interview with Yang in which the interviewer asked him about his faith. “Yang says he always struggles with balancing faith and work. He didn't want to proselytize, but he wanted to capture why so many of his Asian American peers are Christian” (Chen, 2008). Yang’s expression of Christian ideas was subtle enough that it passed me by.

The art in this graphic novel is extremely well drawn, well colored, and well printed in the edition I read. This is the first time I have picked up a graphic novel and thought, “Wow, now I see why people like this stuff.” Especially in the early pages, the images are beautiful, and clever details add to the content of the story. For example, on Page 15, where the young Jin Wang is looking out the window of his apartment in Chinatown, the Chinese character on one of the signs he sees on the street is the author’s last name, as if to remind us that this is his story.

About the author

Gene Yang was born in 1973 in Alameda, California. His mother had immigrated to the United States from Hong Kong and his father had emigrated from Taiwan. Yang was raised in Saratoga, an affluent suburb of San Jose, California, when the suburb was mostly white, and he graduated from the University of California-Berkeley, where he majored in computer science and minored in creative writing (Chen, 2008; Woan, 2007).

Yang began drawing comic books as a child. His first graphic novel as an adult was Gordon Yamamoto and the King of the Geeks (2004), a story about a boy who has a spaceship land in his nose. Next was Loyola Chin and the San Peligran Order (2004), which picks up on a character from Gordon Yamamoto. Yang published American Born Chinese in 2006. He began writing it in 2000 and worked on it for five years. Its success has led to several other projects. Yang co-wrote with Derek Kirk Kim Eternal Smile: Three Stories, which appeared in 2009, and he has graphic novel scheduled for publication in 2010 called Prime Baby, which is based an a strip published originally in The New York Times (Chen, 2008, Woan, 2007, Yang, n.d.).

Yang teaches computers and technology in a Catholic high school in Oakland, California. He lives with his wife and two children in Freemont, California. He maintains a blog at http://www.geneyang.com/blog/.

Genre: Graphic fiction, Asian American

Curriculum ties

American Born Chinese would be a good resource in any middle school or high school unit that explores individual identity. The book models both a particular complex identity – Chinese American –and suggests a route by which people of various cultures can pursue their own identity – by honoring the culture(s) of their parents.

Book-talking ideas

• Show the book trailer posted on YouTube.

• Project the first two pages and lead the audience in an exploration of the images. The large cell on the first page provides a great opportunity to describe the classic Chinese culture angle of the book, and the cells on the second page introduce the Monkey King. Provide background information on the Monkey King for students who aren’t familiar with him.

• Project pages 87 to 89, the section where Jin discovers that he is in love with Amelia and Wei-Chin makes fun of him. This will alert the audience to the cross-cultural and romantic aspects of the book.

Reading level/interest age

American Born Chinese will appeal to both middle school and high school students. It features a protagonist in each age group, and the visual component is appealing to the full age range. The reading level is easy enough for middle school students but the topics of identity and fitting in are still of interest in high school. Girls may not be as interested in the story as boys, since the protagonists are all boys.

Challenge issues

I can’t imagine any challenges to this book. It’s completely innocent while offering plenty of material for deep thinking.

Why I chose to read this book

I saw American Born Chinese on the list of Michael L. Printz Award winners and, given my interest in multicultural literature, I knew I had to read it.

References

Chen, A. C. (2008, May 11). Gene Yang’s Christian take on being American-born Chinese fuels his emerging comics career. San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved November 11, 2009, from http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/05/09/CM5P10823R.DTL&type=books

Woan, S. (2007). Interview with Gene Luen Yang. Kartika Review 1. Retrieved November 11, 2009, from http://www.kartikareview.com/issue1/1gene.html

Wu, C. (1982). Journey to the West (Vols. 1-3) (W. J. F. Jenner, Trans.). Beijing: Foreign Languages Press. (Original work published in 1592)

Yang, G. (n.d.). Humble Comics: Comics and other stuff by Gene Yang. Retrieved November 11, 2009, from http://www.geneyang.com