Cultural Curiosity: Thirteen Stories about the Search for Chinese Roots - Softcover

Khu, Josephine M.T.

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0520223411 ISBN 13: 9780520223417

Publisher: University of California Press, 2001

Synopsis

This anthology of autobiographical essays reveals the human side of the Chinese diaspora. Written by ethnic Chinese who were born or raised outside of China, these moving pieces, full of the poignant details of everyday life, describe the experience of growing up as a visible minority and the subsequent journey each author made to China. The authors―whose diverse backgrounds in countries such as New Zealand, Denmark, Sri Lanka, England, Indonesia, and the United States mirror the complex global scope of the Chinese diaspora―describe in particular how their journey to the country of their ancestors transformed their sense of what it means to be Chinese. The collection as a whole provides important insights into what ethnic identity has come to mean in our transnational era.

Among the pieces is Brad Wong's discussion of his visit to his grandfather's poverty-stricken village in China's southern Guangdong province. He describes working with a few of the peasants tilling vegetables and compares life in the village with his middle-class upbringing in a San Francisco suburb. In another essay, Milan Lin-Rodrigo tells of her life in Sri Lanka and of the trip she made to China as an adult. She describes the difficult and sometimes humorous cultural differences she experienced when she met her Chinese half-sister and her father's first wife.

Josephine Khu's lively afterword provides background information on the Chinese diaspora and gives a theoretical framework for understanding the issues raised in the essays. This intimate and rich anthology will be compelling reading for all who are seeking answers to the increasingly complex issue of ethnic and personal identity.

About this title

About the Author

Josephine M. T. Khu is a Visiting Scholar at the Centre of Asian Studies at Hong Kong University.

From the Back Cover

"A rich, important slice of Chinese diasporic experience."―John Kuo Wei Tchen, Asian Pacific American Studies Program and Institute, New York University

"[These essays] open up a realm of experience in immigration and ethnic history that is not often discussed: the impact of the journey 'home,' even if the person involved had never been to their country of 'origin' before. . . . [Cultural Curiosity] provides some important insights as to what it means to be 'Chinese' in a transnational era."―K. Scott Wong, Associate Professor of History, Williams College

From the Inside Flap

"A rich, important slice of Chinese diasporic experience." John Kuo Wei Tchen, Asian Pacific American Studies Program and Institute, New York University

"[These essays] open up a realm of experience in immigration and ethnic history that is not often discussed: the impact of the journey 'home,' even if the person involved had never been to their country of 'origin' before. . . . [Cultural Curiosity] provides some important insights as to what it means to be 'Chinese' in a transnational era." K. Scott Wong, Associate Professor of History, Williams College

Reviews

Seeking stories written by ethnic Chinese born or raised outside of China about journeys to their country of origin, Khu, a visiting scholar at the Centre of Asian Studies at Hong Kong University, required that the writers "include explanations of why they'd made the trip... and whether it had led them to assess or reassess their ethnic identity." She gathered these stellar essays from contributors in a dazzling range of locales, including the United States, China, England, Indonesia and Japan. Many of the writers begin by describing the confusing experience of coming of age as a minority. In a particularly strong selection, Milan L. Lin-Rodrigo writes of the difficulties of growing up ethnically Chinese in rural Sri-Lanka: "I was always called `cheeni,' the `Chinese girl'... [yet] I was Chinese only in appearance; neither my sister nor I spoke a word of Chinese." The journey to China soothed this sense of displacement for some of the authors, like Meilin Ching, who writes about finding "a place where I could fit in, where I could easily belong." For others, the trip to China was devastatingly frustrating: raised in the U.S. since the age of six, Nancy Work expected to blend in there, but reports that living in China only "showed me how American I was in most of my ideas and principles." Each of these fine pieces is fluidly written and highly personal. Offering insight into experiences not often studied, they will appeal to academics as well as any reader interested in Asian and ethnic studies.

Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

These autobiographical essays record the stories of ethnic Chinese who have lived most of their lives abroad and who travel to China, often for the first time, as adults, sometimes to work but always to meet their relatives and confront their country of ancestry. The writers also share the privilege of being well educated, articulate, English-speaking, and, if not wealthy, at least sufficiently well off to finance such a trip. Whether they have come from the United States, Denmark, Indonesia, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, or New Zealand, they clash with relatives, who often have great expectations from such a visitor. Language is frequently a problem, and many of these visitors find that it is far easier to fit into a cosmopolitan place such as Hong Kong than a tiny, remote village in South China. Most of the authors conclude that just looking Chinese is not enough to create a bond; a common cultural history is essential. Khu, a visiting scholar in Asian studies at Hong Kong University, has done a nice job of gathering these stories. Recommended for public libraries. Kitty Chen Dean, Nassau Coll., Garden City, NY
Copyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Edition details

• Publisher: University of California Press
• Publication date: 2001
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0520223411
• ISBN 13: 9780520223417
• Binding: Paperback
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 318