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China Boy
A seventeen-year-old Chinese youth sails to California to earn money for his family during the gold rush in 1851.
223 pages, Hardcover
Published January 1, 1971
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July 21, 2012
It is a pleasant, quiet read; a fictional account of a young man who arrives in the California Gold Rush from Guangdong. It is somewhat idealized so we are spared real nastiness although the author writes about the rise of anti-Chinese feelings that ultimately produced the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1880. To keep the score even, there are nasty moments among the Chinese themselves--greed, jealousy, tongs.
With hard work and the help of some friendly Chinese and non-Chinese, the main character thrives and finds his sister--presumed lost in some floods in Guangdong, she has actually made her own way to the Beautiful Country. The author, writing in 1971, found the sister's bound feet worthy of remark. Perhaps it is but most traditional Chinese prefer not to speak about it. The author has presented a truer picture of the success of the Chinese in that period in showing how many prospered in the restaurants and laundry establishments as opposed to striking it rich in the mines. The book does not go into the railroad building and other later activities and troubles of the immigrants. The plot and character development in the book do not invite comment.
With hard work and the help of some friendly Chinese and non-Chinese, the main character thrives and finds his sister--presumed lost in some floods in Guangdong, she has actually made her own way to the Beautiful Country. The author, writing in 1971, found the sister's bound feet worthy of remark. Perhaps it is but most traditional Chinese prefer not to speak about it. The author has presented a truer picture of the success of the Chinese in that period in showing how many prospered in the restaurants and laundry establishments as opposed to striking it rich in the mines. The book does not go into the railroad building and other later activities and troubles of the immigrants. The plot and character development in the book do not invite comment.
Displaying 1 of 1 review