American Born Chinese

I remember fondly the last Chinese American colleague of my military career. She was my supervisor: a very kind, patient, conscientious, hardworking, and highly competent person. It was she who explained to me the difference between American Born Chinese (ABC), and Chinese who had just immigrated and were, therefore, Fresh Off the Boat (FOB). The memory of my first Chinese American colleague is less pleasant. Not that it was his fault; the blame was entirely mine. He, too, was conscientious, hardworking, and highly competent. Perhaps because we were officers of the same rank, I did not consider him as Chinese, but as a fellow soldier. That, of course, is how the Army expected us to think of one another. However, our shared identity caused me to forget the identity he had carried since before his birth. Then one day I told a tasteless joke which had as its object a Chinese stereotype, and my colleague heard it. He was angry, I was embarrassed, and our relationship was never the same. That was one of a lengthy series of lessons that taught me not only to guard my tongue, but to adjust the heart attitudes that shape what comes from my tongue. Gene Luen Yang has carried that life lesson even further with his graphic novel, American Born Chinese, a masterful insider view of what it means to be part of an ancient culture transplanted to an alien setting. To be honest, I am not in the habit of reading graphic novels, and would not have read this one had there been no compelling incentive. Yet it just so happens that one of my daughters has a special man in her life who is American Born Chinese. Since he is important to her, he is important to me. He is a fan of Yang, and especially of this novel, which resonates with his own life story. So, wanting to know this person who had captured my daughter’s interest, I embarked on a quest to learn something about him through one of his favorite artists. It was an entirely rewarding experience. Yang is a masterful comic artist and storyteller, able to use his artwork to get points across more effectively than with the written word alone. That is the power of graphic novels. Who wouldn’t prefer to look at a page of colorful pictures rather than a page full of text? Truly a picture is worth a thousand words, and Yang knows how to maximize the effectiveness of his pictures. His art includes traditional Chinese elements, which he fuses nicely with contemporary cartoon styles from both the West and the East. The overall effect is a seamless fusion of images that carry the novel forward at just the right pace. Yang’s story, or stories, convey the same effect: weaving elements from the East and West into something resembling a textual fugue. American Born Chinese is actually a compilation of three distinct stories, each developing the same theme. Yang draws his first story line from the old Chinese tale of the Monkey King. Although Buddhist in origin, Yang adjusts the story to reflect his own Christian worldview. The adjustments work very nicely. Those familiar with the Bible will recognize the Christian elements, or at least some of them; there are subtle references which only the serious biblical scholar will catch. In this creative license, Yang not only reminds us that Christianity is just as much part of the overall Chinese story as Buddhism, Taoism, and Islam, but also something that C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien knew very well: myth is a filter of reality. In this case, if, as the Bible states, there is revelation of the Creator in every culture, then Yang has provided an ancient Chinese example of that phenomenon. This example of mythic reality introduces us to the central theme of Yang’s story: being true to one’s identity. The other two story lines carry that theme forward with increasing amplification. The second story concerns Jin, a Chinese American teen trying to cope with the reality of being one of only three Asians in his school. Where the story of the Monkey King is mythically delightful, Jin’s story is awkward and comical, just like the typical story of any young American teen. Up to a point, that is: the point where Jin decides his Chinese heritage is a liability. That’s when the story bends away from the comical and toward the tragic. The third story line is hardly tragic, but the most difficult of the three to receive. For all their quirks, we like the Monkey King and Jin, but we have a hard time finding anything to like about Chin-kee, the obnoxious Chinese cousin of Danny, an American high school student. Yang’s presentation of Chin-kee may be somewhat cathartic in that this character embodies all the negative stereotypes with which Americans have painted Chinese. It is painful to endure. Chinese and other Asian readers no doubt recall incidents in which such stereotypes colored their lives; non-Asians reading with a sensitive eye may recall times (as I did) when their insensitivity and ignorance caused offense. Yet even here, being true to one’s identity is the core of the story. One might ask, what do negative racial and cultural stereotypes have to do with true identity? The answer comes in the captivating way the author resolves the crises in each of his story lines. Not only does he guide his characters through their individual identity crises, he makes provision for multi-generational solutions that point all of his characters toward a future and a hope. With a sudden twist or two, the three stories become one story, and we close the book having learned something far more profound than we believed possible in a graphic novel: we learn what it means to be human. That, ultimately, is the foundation of Gene Luen Yang’s creation. The struggles of being American Born Chinese are the vehicle for this life lesson applicable to us all. Eventually, we must learn to be true to ourselves, but what exactly are we? That question should provoke us into a search for our true identity that will lead us back to the One who made us. Some may question what constitutes a valid identity, but that is a question I am not qualified to answer. Ultimately, only the Creator can answer it. What I do know – and what American Born Chinese has helped me remember – is that we share this identity called human. If we can all meet there as our starting point, then maybe we can find a way to cooperate in figuring out the rest of life’s mysteries. American Born Chinese

Reading American Born Chinese by Gene Luen Yang was engaging and easy to follow, and it addressed complex issues, thanks to the graphic format, which made the reading feel accessible yet meaningful. The book did a great job of clearly showing how pressure to assimilate affects students in school. The graphic format made difficult topics easier to understand without simplification. The book also highlights how identity struggles are tied directly to educational and social expectations. The story felt realistic based on how students are treated in school settings.

“I do not make mistakes, little monkey. A monkey I intend you to be. A monkey you are,” said by the god Tze Yo Tzuh in the book American Born Chinese. This line stuck with me for the entire book as it seems to express Gene Luen Yang’s message well. Yang does a very good job of using multiple storylines and connecting them together although without a little bit of background knowledge on Chinese lore, it may be a bit confusing at first. I believe that the story is largely focused on accepting who you are. Being an American- Chinese person myself I was immediately drawn to the title of the book since I knew I could relate to the story already. I enjoyed this book so much that within an hour give or take I had finished it. It seems that I am not the only one who enjoyed the book as it’s been awarded the Michael L. Printz award and is a national book award finalist. New York Times even says “Gene Luen Yang has created that rare article: a youthful tale with something new to say about American youth.” Gene has also written other well known graphic novels such as Boxers & Saints and the Avatar: The Last Airbender series. Another interesting thing about this book is that it’s a graphic novel and a well done one at that. Something definitely not expected was the humorous and colorful artwork used that makes it looks like a children’s book. Although the illustrator did a great job of making each page enjoyable and different with the characters facial expressions and actions. The first storyline follows a monkey king who after being denied entrance to a party, becomes obsessed with changing his image to fit in with the human gods. Then Yang introduces Jin Wang, who is an American born Chinese kid who recently moved into a new town and is bullied for being asian. Lastly we are introduced to Danny, who has a stereotypical “fresh off the boat” cousin who joins him once a year in America. Although these seem like completely different stories, Yang concludes each one so that if you hadn’t read on of the stories you’d be clueless. After reading the book I realized that this story shares a lot of the same things with the movie Karate Kid (2010). In both cases the main character has moved into a new environment where they are considered to be different and are shamed because of their race. Eventually they both make a friend that will help them out. Since this is classed as a Young Adult novel, I would recommend it for 13-17 year olds since I think that by then you would’ve experienced some of the situations in this book and be able to relate more with the character. The ending of the story seems to me a little bit rushed where the three stories all of the sudden join together and stop. It’s a difficult thing to explain but when I finished the book my reaction was “that’s it?” I’d like to know what happens to Wei Chen and Jin Wang and maybe their futures. Does Jin Wang use his past experiences and pass it onto others? In conclusion I highly recommend taking the time to read this book.

My son needed this for 7th grade ELA. I appreciate how it addresses Asian stereotypes. Thank you!

Loved this! The art was wonderful, the dialogue expertly placed, and the way the three stories wove together in the end was surprising and fitting. I'm coming at this from the perspective of being white, but the toxic behaviour of the white kids in the comic was unfortunately very true to life (I've seen it done by my classmates, and heard the stories from my friends, and god knows I've said stupid things myself), and Gene Yang nailed it right on the head with some well placed words, sometimes no more than a single panel. Also? Anything involving the Monkey King in this story was a pleasure.

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Très bon livre, que je croyais avoir commandé en français et qui m'est arrivé en anglais. C'est sans doute de ma faute, je n'ai pas dû faire assez attention au descriptif.

A fun way to a integrate Chinese stories and legends to the second / third generation chinese diaspora. It makes them very accessible and applicable to their lives. I'd love to see more of these type of books for kids. Its so important for them to be able to identify with characters in media, whether books, television or film etc.

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