What do you think?
Rate this book
China Men
The author chronicles the lives of three generations of Chinese men in America, woven from memory, myth and fact. Here's a storyteller's tale of what they endured in a strange new land.
308 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1980
107 people are currently reading
3152 people want to read
About the author
Maxine Hong Kingston
59 books659 followersBest known works, including
The Woman Warrior
(1976) and
China Men
(1980), of American writer Maxine Hong Kingston combine elements of fiction and memoir.
She was born as Maxine Ting Ting Hong to a laundry house owner in Stockton, California. She was the third of eight children, and the first among them born in the United States. Her mother trained as a midwife at the To Keung School of Midwifery in Canton. Her father had been brought up a scholar and taught in his village of Sun Woi, near Canton. Tom left China for America in 1924 and took a job in a laundry.
Her works often reflect on her cultural heritage and blend fiction with non-fiction. Among her works are The Woman Warrior (1976), awarded the National Book Critics Circle Award for Nonfiction, and China Men (1980), which was awarded the 1981 National Book Award. She has written one novel, Tripmaster Monkey, a story depicting a character based on the mythical Chinese character Sun Wu Kong. Her most recent books are To Be The Poet and The Fifth Book of Peace.
She was awarded the 1997 National Humanities Medal by President of the United States Bill Clinton. Kingston was a member of the committee to choose the design for the California commemorative quarter. She was arrested in March 2003 in Washington, D.C., for crossing a police line during a protest against the war in Iraq. In April, 2007, Hong Kingston was awarded the Northern California Book Award Special Award in Publishing for her most recent novel Veterans of War, Veterans of Peace (2006), edited by Maxine Hong Kingston.
She married actor Earl Kingston in 1962; they have had one child, Joseph Lawrence Chung Mei, born in 1964. They now live in Oakland.
Kingston was honored as a 175th Speaker Series writer at Emma Willard School in September 2005.
She was born as Maxine Ting Ting Hong to a laundry house owner in Stockton, California. She was the third of eight children, and the first among them born in the United States. Her mother trained as a midwife at the To Keung School of Midwifery in Canton. Her father had been brought up a scholar and taught in his village of Sun Woi, near Canton. Tom left China for America in 1924 and took a job in a laundry.
Her works often reflect on her cultural heritage and blend fiction with non-fiction. Among her works are The Woman Warrior (1976), awarded the National Book Critics Circle Award for Nonfiction, and China Men (1980), which was awarded the 1981 National Book Award. She has written one novel, Tripmaster Monkey, a story depicting a character based on the mythical Chinese character Sun Wu Kong. Her most recent books are To Be The Poet and The Fifth Book of Peace.
She was awarded the 1997 National Humanities Medal by President of the United States Bill Clinton. Kingston was a member of the committee to choose the design for the California commemorative quarter. She was arrested in March 2003 in Washington, D.C., for crossing a police line during a protest against the war in Iraq. In April, 2007, Hong Kingston was awarded the Northern California Book Award Special Award in Publishing for her most recent novel Veterans of War, Veterans of Peace (2006), edited by Maxine Hong Kingston.
She married actor Earl Kingston in 1962; they have had one child, Joseph Lawrence Chung Mei, born in 1964. They now live in Oakland.
Kingston was honored as a 175th Speaker Series writer at Emma Willard School in September 2005.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 147 reviews
October 13, 2015
“You fix yourself in the present, but I want to hear the stories about the rest of your life, the Chinese stories. I want to know what makes you scream and curse, and what you’re thinking when you say nothing, and why when you do talk, you talk differently from Mother.”– Maxine Hong Kingston, China Men
Maxine Hong Kingston is a great storyteller and this was like no other book I’ve ever read before. It’s a patchwork of fiction, non-fiction, myths and legends, and historical artifacts that helped to shape the story of what it must have been like for her male Chinese ancestors in North America.
This book is about the immigrant experience and how the Chinese leaving their homes in China in hopes of a better financial future, found ways to make their new land their own. As most of us have read so many immigrant stories we can often guess what these stories will bring: frustration, hardships, racism, homesickness, and so on. I think the history of the Chinese in North America is quite unique because of the sex ratio disparity which meant that in many places there were very few Chinese women. It was interesting to see how the men were creative in their own lives, upholding cultures and traditions, far away from home and from their wives, children, and other relatives.
The way the Chinese were treated in the States wasn’t new to me, and they experienced similar treatment in Canada. It was interesting to compare and contrast the experiences.
The language factor definitely contributed to how poorly the Chinese workers were treated, and the frustration was evident in this book:
“How was he to marvel adequately, voiceless? He needed to cast his voice out to catch ideas.”
The frustration also came about to their being exploited by the overseers. The Chinese workers were treated terribly; hard work, dangerous work, the slowest being sent home without pay as an “incentive” for the others to work hard.
I enjoyed how myth was used in the book, how stories from China were transported and taken to another land, to a land that wasn’t theirs initially, but was soon stained with their blood. Myths were also used by the writer to fill in parts of her ancestors’ stories that were missing
One thing that’s similar between the Chinese history in America and in Canada was the building of the railroads:
“They lost count of the number dead; there is no record of how many died building the railroad. Or maybe it was demons doing the counting and Chinamen not worth counting.”
In Canada, they say for every mile of the railroad, one Chinese man died. I visited the Last Spike of the Canadian railroad (Revelstoke, BC) on a Rocky Mountain tour a few years ago. The tour guide, who was Chinese-Canadian, told us a bit about the history and then directed our attention to the painting commemorating the opening of the railway. We searched in vain for a Chinese face. This is one of the reasons I feel our cultural history has to be taught, to show us we belong in a place that might still look at us as unwelcome strangers. The following line must surely be powerful to a Chinese child:
“Once in a while an adult said, ‘Your grandfather built the railroad.’ (Or ‘Your grandfathers built the railroad.’)”
Driving of the Last Spike Picture in Revelstoke, BC
[image error]
"
The Last Spike
[image error]
"
I loved this book so much. It’s one that definitely warrants a re-read.
Maxine Hong Kingston is a great storyteller and this was like no other book I’ve ever read before. It’s a patchwork of fiction, non-fiction, myths and legends, and historical artifacts that helped to shape the story of what it must have been like for her male Chinese ancestors in North America.
This book is about the immigrant experience and how the Chinese leaving their homes in China in hopes of a better financial future, found ways to make their new land their own. As most of us have read so many immigrant stories we can often guess what these stories will bring: frustration, hardships, racism, homesickness, and so on. I think the history of the Chinese in North America is quite unique because of the sex ratio disparity which meant that in many places there were very few Chinese women. It was interesting to see how the men were creative in their own lives, upholding cultures and traditions, far away from home and from their wives, children, and other relatives.
The way the Chinese were treated in the States wasn’t new to me, and they experienced similar treatment in Canada. It was interesting to compare and contrast the experiences.
The language factor definitely contributed to how poorly the Chinese workers were treated, and the frustration was evident in this book:
“How was he to marvel adequately, voiceless? He needed to cast his voice out to catch ideas.”
The frustration also came about to their being exploited by the overseers. The Chinese workers were treated terribly; hard work, dangerous work, the slowest being sent home without pay as an “incentive” for the others to work hard.
I enjoyed how myth was used in the book, how stories from China were transported and taken to another land, to a land that wasn’t theirs initially, but was soon stained with their blood. Myths were also used by the writer to fill in parts of her ancestors’ stories that were missing
One thing that’s similar between the Chinese history in America and in Canada was the building of the railroads:
“They lost count of the number dead; there is no record of how many died building the railroad. Or maybe it was demons doing the counting and Chinamen not worth counting.”
In Canada, they say for every mile of the railroad, one Chinese man died. I visited the Last Spike of the Canadian railroad (Revelstoke, BC) on a Rocky Mountain tour a few years ago. The tour guide, who was Chinese-Canadian, told us a bit about the history and then directed our attention to the painting commemorating the opening of the railway. We searched in vain for a Chinese face. This is one of the reasons I feel our cultural history has to be taught, to show us we belong in a place that might still look at us as unwelcome strangers. The following line must surely be powerful to a Chinese child:
“Once in a while an adult said, ‘Your grandfather built the railroad.’ (Or ‘Your grandfathers built the railroad.’)”
Driving of the Last Spike Picture in Revelstoke, BC
[image error]
" The Last Spike
[image error]
"I loved this book so much. It’s one that definitely warrants a re-read.
November 16, 2020
I loved The Woman Warrior, and am a long-time admirer of Maxine Hong Kingston, but this volume was a little challenging for me. It’s not a straightforward narrative. It’s poetic and full of myth and legend, which makes it deeply moving but sometimes a little hard to follow. Each story in the collection provides a different piece of the history of Kingston’s male ancestors and their multi-generational emigrations from China to the United States.
You know you are in for a unique take from the very first story, which tells of a man who, on his way to the Gold Mountain (which can mean North America or California or San Francisco) stumbles on a land of women. Their welcome is more of a capture, which includes forcing him into female rituals, like the piercing of his ears and binding of his feet, which are described in cringe-inducing detail.
After that shock, the reader is primed for the tales of cultural adjustment that follow.
We learn of her Grandfather Tang Ao’s work on the railroad, complete with riveting details of danger and racism. “They lost count of the number dead; there is no record of how many died building the railroad. Or maybe it was demons doing the counting and chinamen not worth counting. Whether it was good luck or bad luck, the dead were buried or cairned next to the last section of the track they worked on.”
We follow her Great-Grandfather to Hawaii, and learn “Chinese take a bit of sugar to remind them in times of bitter struggle of the sweetness of life, and Hawaiians take a few grains of salt on the tongue because it tastes like the sea, like the earth, like human sweat and tears.”
We see how hard her father works to complete the Imperial Examination in China, and the way his intelligence did not always serve him well in the United States. As the family comes together in California, they hear from their relatives in China, of famine and starvation under Communism. Her brother’s experience in Viet Nam is the most unusual take on that era I have read, yet it rings so true.
Each of these men have a story to tell. Kingston fills in the unknowns with her imagination of their yearnings and frustrations. By the end of the collection, I felt like I had seen inside the souls of men who ventured far away from the world they knew and bravely learned to survive in a new land.
“Released for this day from his past and future, the young traveler feels his freedom. His walk is loose. He cocks his head; the music is real. He laughs at its cacophony, which blasts any worries out of his head. He sings melodies that wind like ribbons into the vistas. His conducting hands lift notes out of the air, stroke them, and let them go. Long streams drop down mountains. Beyond mountains, still higher mountains rise until the peaks fade from human sight.”
You know you are in for a unique take from the very first story, which tells of a man who, on his way to the Gold Mountain (which can mean North America or California or San Francisco) stumbles on a land of women. Their welcome is more of a capture, which includes forcing him into female rituals, like the piercing of his ears and binding of his feet, which are described in cringe-inducing detail.
After that shock, the reader is primed for the tales of cultural adjustment that follow.
We learn of her Grandfather Tang Ao’s work on the railroad, complete with riveting details of danger and racism. “They lost count of the number dead; there is no record of how many died building the railroad. Or maybe it was demons doing the counting and chinamen not worth counting. Whether it was good luck or bad luck, the dead were buried or cairned next to the last section of the track they worked on.”
We follow her Great-Grandfather to Hawaii, and learn “Chinese take a bit of sugar to remind them in times of bitter struggle of the sweetness of life, and Hawaiians take a few grains of salt on the tongue because it tastes like the sea, like the earth, like human sweat and tears.”
We see how hard her father works to complete the Imperial Examination in China, and the way his intelligence did not always serve him well in the United States. As the family comes together in California, they hear from their relatives in China, of famine and starvation under Communism. Her brother’s experience in Viet Nam is the most unusual take on that era I have read, yet it rings so true.
Each of these men have a story to tell. Kingston fills in the unknowns with her imagination of their yearnings and frustrations. By the end of the collection, I felt like I had seen inside the souls of men who ventured far away from the world they knew and bravely learned to survive in a new land.
“Released for this day from his past and future, the young traveler feels his freedom. His walk is loose. He cocks his head; the music is real. He laughs at its cacophony, which blasts any worries out of his head. He sings melodies that wind like ribbons into the vistas. His conducting hands lift notes out of the air, stroke them, and let them go. Long streams drop down mountains. Beyond mountains, still higher mountains rise until the peaks fade from human sight.”
November 23, 2014
This is probably my favorite book of this year. I have to be honest. After reading Amy Tan, I was a little disappointed in Asian American literature. I didn't think it was really that good. But everyone around me (mostly white readers) told me Joy Luck Club was among the best pieces of Asian American literature out there. Then, I read Bone and Steer Towards Rock and Aloft and this book. All those books put the conventions of literature on its head, and the one major ways they could've done that was through the diverse scope. Don't read Amy Tan. Read this book instead.
What a great piece of literature.
What a great piece of literature.
December 4, 2008
Excellent storytelling, combining autobiographical and historical fact with imagination and fantasy to tell stories of men (mostly of her own family) and their journeys.
Several of these stories are about her ancestors and their journeys to American: her Great-grandfather of the Sandalwood Mountains, brought from China to Hawaii for indentured field labor; her Grandfather of the Sierra Nevada Mountains who built the railroads; her Father from China, whose journey, of questionable legality, she has to imagine and construct from what evidence is available.
She uses a variety of subjects and formats, to provide a kaleidoscope of stories and experiences. For example, she tells the story of Robinson Crusoe ("Lo Bin Sun") as she likely would have heard it growing up. The chapter "The Making of More Americans" chronicles her family's times and struggles establishing themselves in America. "The Laws" is an essay-format timeline of the U.S. laws concerning Chinese immigration, up to the time the book was published. "The Brother from America" is about her brother that served in Vietnam, struggling with military life and with finding ways to promote peace throughout the war.
The writing is often harsh, dark, and serious, but is just as often lighthearted, fun and joyous.
Several of these stories are about her ancestors and their journeys to American: her Great-grandfather of the Sandalwood Mountains, brought from China to Hawaii for indentured field labor; her Grandfather of the Sierra Nevada Mountains who built the railroads; her Father from China, whose journey, of questionable legality, she has to imagine and construct from what evidence is available.
She uses a variety of subjects and formats, to provide a kaleidoscope of stories and experiences. For example, she tells the story of Robinson Crusoe ("Lo Bin Sun") as she likely would have heard it growing up. The chapter "The Making of More Americans" chronicles her family's times and struggles establishing themselves in America. "The Laws" is an essay-format timeline of the U.S. laws concerning Chinese immigration, up to the time the book was published. "The Brother from America" is about her brother that served in Vietnam, struggling with military life and with finding ways to promote peace throughout the war.
The writing is often harsh, dark, and serious, but is just as often lighthearted, fun and joyous.
May 20, 2018
In fact I read this novel as part of an Everyman's Library hardcover entitled, "The Woman Warrior: Memoirs of a Girlhood Among Ghosts", in which I enjoyed reading. I'm sorry I can't assure my Goodreads friends for its readability since it depends, I mean for those familiar with the writer's narratives or dialogues may think it is all right and thus can keep reading till the end of the story. I have to confess I didn't understand all, some characters were a bit mysterious to me then. However, I liked some parts with her sense of humour, that is, her unique of looking at things as they are.
Let me find the book and reread it, then I can find some few episodes/dialogues for you and, hopefully, a few tips of thought.
Let me find the book and reread it, then I can find some few episodes/dialogues for you and, hopefully, a few tips of thought.
February 14, 2012
A great gender companion to Maxine Hong Kingston's The Woman Warrior. The same themes and subject matter pertaining to the nature of Chinese Americanism as the earlier book, and told with the same subtle and complex narrative structure that intermingles myth, reality, memory, journalism and imagination into one lucid literary experience, but this time, dealing with men's experiences instead of women. A great look at the experiences Chinese men faced emigrating to America and a great look at the cultural limbo those emigrants' children face living in between their parents' communal old world expectations and the liberating individualism of America.
July 7, 2021
Maxine Hong Kingston est une extraordinaire écrivaine. Elle fait des choses avec sa prose que je ne comprends pas. Elle arrive à passer d’une narration réaliste à une épopée légendaire dans un même paragraphe. Ça se produit en sourdine, quelque part entre les lignes. China Men est une leçon d’écriture et une leçon de lecture en même temps. Out of this world. Ces hommes de Chine qui sont venus en Amérique, qui ont trimé, qui se sont fait exploiter et ridiculiser, qui se sont vu refuser aussi bien l’entrée que la sortie, ils sont forts, ils sont faibles, ils sont beaux, laids, ignobles, fourbes, courageux, volubiles avec leurs camarades et souvent muets avec leur familles. Hong Kingston parle d’eux avec tout l’amour qu’une poète peut porter à des êtres écrasés par la vie et le racisme, des êtres plus grands que nature.
March 11, 2012
The reason I'm giving this book three stars is because there were two stories that really stood out: first, the story about the grandfather who didn't tell his life story about dynamiting granite to build a railroad until he was very old and the second about Kingston's own experience with her aunt and family in the States.
Both were very eye-opening and realistic.
The rest of the book seemed exaggerated and awkwardly worded. It was hard to read 40 pages at a go because the wording was so weird! I guess it had to have been hard to translate Cantonese into English, but the stories didn't flow all that well. And some of the logic was a bit out there, too.
I liked some of the imagery, especially about the railroad and daily life in China--those bits were excellent. I also liked the historical references, and there were many.
I just didn't like this book as whole. Was it because it was uncomfortable to hear what the Chinese went through? Maybe. Was it because the horror stories creeped me out a little? Maybe.
Definitely read this book at your leisure and not through class: I don't think it's a book you should rush.
Both were very eye-opening and realistic.
The rest of the book seemed exaggerated and awkwardly worded. It was hard to read 40 pages at a go because the wording was so weird! I guess it had to have been hard to translate Cantonese into English, but the stories didn't flow all that well. And some of the logic was a bit out there, too.
I liked some of the imagery, especially about the railroad and daily life in China--those bits were excellent. I also liked the historical references, and there were many.
I just didn't like this book as whole. Was it because it was uncomfortable to hear what the Chinese went through? Maybe. Was it because the horror stories creeped me out a little? Maybe.
Definitely read this book at your leisure and not through class: I don't think it's a book you should rush.
Read
August 28, 2014The haunting lyricism of Kingston prose remains with you long after you have read the last line. The expertise with which she blends history, fantasy, aspirations, and fears and dreams is very powerful. There seems to be a silent observer, a Chinese-American, who watches his family (representative of many more families) become a Chinese American from China Men who reached the Gold Mountain and whose dreams and hopes were shattered by the dynamite they detonated to build the railroad.
September 3, 2018
Don't let this one star fool you. This book is well written (beautifully even in some cases) and probably a must read for the audience and purpose it was meant to serve. However, it was not an "easy read", or even a "fun read".
It was a rather depressing read.
It's important to read books like this every once in a while. To see things from another perspective. But I didn't enjoy myself reading it. That's all.
It was a rather depressing read.
It's important to read books like this every once in a while. To see things from another perspective. But I didn't enjoy myself reading it. That's all.
August 15, 2017
This is a collection of remembrances which reads like short stories. But it's non-fiction. I loved some, and others a little less. But it is definitely a one of a kind book. The last long chapter, "The Brother in Vietnam" was my favorite. I'm glad I stumbled onto this book!
January 13, 2024
A book that weaves together memoir and magical realism from stories about the authors own family and that's shes heard. Explores themes of patriarchy/sexism, chasing money and success in the US, ghosts (mostly women), mental health, and intergenerational trauma. I liked the piece where she considers the different ways her dad could have come to the US, her great grandfather's experience in Hawaii, her brothers ecperience with the draft and some of the tales as well. The storytelling felt a little disjointed at times, it covered a lot. Wasn't super my style of writing, but I still learned a lot about the Chinese experience in the US across many different generations which was unique.
June 21, 2017
Hmm. Reading this was an interesting and complicated experience for me, like buying a variety box of herbal teas and trying out the flavors one at a time, finding some that you really love, some that you're ambivalent about, some that you don't particularly dig but manage to drain the cup in one gulp anyway because you know they're good for your health.
On one hand, I can see the richness of this book, with the intricate narratives, excellent characterization of male figures, clever storytelling techniques and so on, I can't say the same for the way everything is presented. I'm not sure how to explain this - it sounds like I'm not fond of Kingston's writing style, but I actually do enjoy her prose to some extent. Perhaps it's because throughout the collection she uses the same writing style? It would've been fine if there was a coherent storyline that focused on certain characters because in that case, a consistent narrative voice would add to the immersion and all that jazz. But here, Kingston recounts a lot of different stories in the same narrative voice (even with the erratic POV changes), spends a little too much time on nitty-gritty details, and personally, I was thoroughly bored. On the other hand, as I've prefaced above, I do get why this book has been receiving the amount of attention that it does. It tackles numerous immigration issues, explores the psychology of "China Men" and paints vivid pictures of Chinese families within various historical settings with (somewhat suffocating) meticulousness, and to be very honest, I love the passive aggressive mockery of Robinson Crusoe and the short anecdotes in between longer chapters. So all in all, it was reading experience full of conflicted feelings for me, but I definitely wouldn't mark this as a poor book and would recommend everyone to give it a try to see if it's your cup of tea.
On one hand, I can see the richness of this book, with the intricate narratives, excellent characterization of male figures, clever storytelling techniques and so on, I can't say the same for the way everything is presented. I'm not sure how to explain this - it sounds like I'm not fond of Kingston's writing style, but I actually do enjoy her prose to some extent. Perhaps it's because throughout the collection she uses the same writing style? It would've been fine if there was a coherent storyline that focused on certain characters because in that case, a consistent narrative voice would add to the immersion and all that jazz. But here, Kingston recounts a lot of different stories in the same narrative voice (even with the erratic POV changes), spends a little too much time on nitty-gritty details, and personally, I was thoroughly bored. On the other hand, as I've prefaced above, I do get why this book has been receiving the amount of attention that it does. It tackles numerous immigration issues, explores the psychology of "China Men" and paints vivid pictures of Chinese families within various historical settings with (somewhat suffocating) meticulousness, and to be very honest, I love the passive aggressive mockery of Robinson Crusoe and the short anecdotes in between longer chapters. So all in all, it was reading experience full of conflicted feelings for me, but I definitely wouldn't mark this as a poor book and would recommend everyone to give it a try to see if it's your cup of tea.
July 13, 2016
This book was very interesting to read. As a memoir, it was great to be able to see into the author and her family's life. I had to read this book for one of my college courses and it has been very eye-opening to see what these people had to go through, not through the history books, the laws, or even the movies that have come out about the Chinese Americans. This very honest representation of their lives was well written and full of information. There were many things that I had learned differently or, in some cases, didn't even learn in my classes until now. It was all just swept under the rug by the writers of history
This book is set up with short vignettes that break up six other stories of, mainly, the men in Maxine Hong Kingston's family. It shows the struggle of Chinese-Americans in their immigration and their becoming American citizens when they first got here. The story touches a lot on the racism that they encountered as well. When there were stereotypes, Kingston was able to spin them to give them a sort of double-consciousness. There was the negative stereotyped version, then there was also the positive version.
This was a very interesting, and eye-opening book. If you want to learn more about the Chinese American history, pick this book up.
This book is set up with short vignettes that break up six other stories of, mainly, the men in Maxine Hong Kingston's family. It shows the struggle of Chinese-Americans in their immigration and their becoming American citizens when they first got here. The story touches a lot on the racism that they encountered as well. When there were stereotypes, Kingston was able to spin them to give them a sort of double-consciousness. There was the negative stereotyped version, then there was also the positive version.
This was a very interesting, and eye-opening book. If you want to learn more about the Chinese American history, pick this book up.
November 19, 2013
One Chinese-American tells the story of her family, and how they came to live in America. Each of her ancestors or relatives is the protagonist of a section of the book. One labored in Hawaii, one built railroads, one worked in Alaska, one fought in Vietnam. She also writes of her own experiences growing up in America.
Because of the wide range of experiences and huge time span it covers, this one is a little more disjointed and than any other set of memoirs I've read. However, it's an entirely different perspective than a lot of Chinese memoirs, most of which are set in China during Mao.
So if you're interested in Chinese history, American history, and reading about a real family's struggles, then you're likely to really enjoy this one.
Because of the wide range of experiences and huge time span it covers, this one is a little more disjointed and than any other set of memoirs I've read. However, it's an entirely different perspective than a lot of Chinese memoirs, most of which are set in China during Mao.
So if you're interested in Chinese history, American history, and reading about a real family's struggles, then you're likely to really enjoy this one.
October 25, 2016
The story of generations of (mostly male) Chinese immigrants to the United States. It took some getting used to at first. The story doesn't follow a single character, and it seems to hold some of them at arms length, sometimes introducing a character who then tells a lengthy story about another character. These portraits were often sad, sometimes understated, but most of them built up to a dark and lasting emotional weight even if the character only stayed in the story for 15 pages. The stories included brutality and hardship but also resilience and tragic pride. Although the maintenance and performance of masculinity didn't always appear front and center, the whole book had that same undercurrent.
June 13, 2012
I was actually disappointed in this book, after really loving Woman Warrior. Much of the book felt redundant and unnecessary, uninteresting. There was an entire chapter dedicated to rehashing the entire plot from start to finish of Robinson Crusoe, given a Chinese name. What was the point of those pages, other than to waste space? I liked the beginning story and a few throughout the book, but overall it was a tedious read that I found myself trying to rush through to get it over with, rather than because I couldn't put it down.
July 27, 2014
Kingston is a masterful story teller who seeks to present an interesting tapestry of biographical data and personal indignity. The novel revolves around Chinese gentlemen seeking the American Dream, and how cruel the journey proves to be, but the second theme underlies the historical perspective and is found between chapters in the guise of brutal, nearly inhumane dream sequences: Kingston expresses rage against the discrimination Chinese females must endure. This is an interesting novel of the clashing of cultures and genders.
May 22, 2014
Interesting historically speaking. Where the book lost ground was the author getting bogged down in the telling of individual stories-they seemed to stall out and drag on. This book was recommended via a university textbook- I wouldn't necessarily recommend it unless Chinese immigration is a particular interest to you.
September 12, 2008
Few wander into the land of magical realist history, but Kingston is a progenitor of the genre. Combined with "Woman Warrior", this book sheds an ethereal, poetic light on the history of people of Chinese descent in the U.S.
February 23, 2011
Sorry CHINA MEN- I tried 3 times over two years and I just can't break into you... Loved your sisters in WOMAN WARRIOR but you are a drag...
October 15, 2016
A fine companion to Kingston's "The Woman Warrior," again blending family history/legend with Chinese history/myth. Less personal, in being less autobiographical, but still an excellent work.
August 15, 2019
Hypnotizing
January 24, 2022
I read this for a class in 2020, on Asian American literature. I've pasted different parts of my essay below, so I can remember what I thought about the book. :) I overall remember being very impressed by Kingston's writing style, and ultimately chose to write about her book over everything else for the final paper.
“I'll tell you what I suppose from your silences and few words, and you can tell me that I'm mistaken. You'll just have to speak up with the real stories if I've got you wrong.” (Kingston 15)
This powerful sentence appears in the first 20 pages of Maxine Hong Kingston’s book, China Men. Throughout the novel, we see Kingston manipulate facts, and propose multiple possibilities regarding the same event. Kingston’s manipulated presentation of her family history parallels the way the mistreatment of Chinese people in this country has been hidden and distorted. I will specifically analyze the final chapter of the book, On Listening; Kingston’s proposal to the reader to carefully and critically examine not only the book they have just finished, but the history the United States claims as true. Kingston’s approach to truth is a revision of her history as she seeks to reconcile the erasure of her cultural history. Kingston hopes not only to shed light on the loss of documentation of Chinese history in the United States, but to create a better future for herself through her own invention.
Throughout Maxine Hong Kingston’s China Men, it is difficult to discern truth from reality. Her father may have been born in 1891, 1903, or 1915. He may have come as a paper son, or hidden on a boat, or as a legal laborer via Angel Island. In another story, a group of children seem unable to identify their real father. Even their mother concedes, “He did look like BaBa, though, didn’t he? From the back, almost exactly.” (Kingston 3) What is the purpose behind this confusion? These examples, and many others like it, are intentional holes Kingston has left within her stories about her intricately woven family nest for us to find, examine, explore, and interpret. Her method of leaving several possibilities open to being “the truth” exposes much of Chinese immigration history in the United States. It is impossible to deny that the United States has not been entirely honest about its past. There are holes in our history as well.
Kingston has chosen to rewrite traditional stories, claim American tales as Chinese (such as Robinson Crusoe as Lo Bun Sun), and destabilize her own family history in a way that challenges authority and gives voice to those who have been erased or silenced. By acknowledging these stereotypes through her stories, she reclaims them, and gives her readers the history of what she knows. Kingston’s choice to take on these depictions of Chinese people and make them her own takes the power away from the oppressor, especially as many of these stories depict her own family. We see Kingston directly address the use of opioids, and the concept of “typical” Asian gender roles throughout the book, in an exploratory fashion that details her own experiences and observations. While the United States has historically exaggerated and falsified the image of the Chinese people, Kingston seeks to create her ancestor’s true history, not through “facts,” but through her own understanding and imagination. She sees these missing parts of her past, and takes it on as a challenge to define what it means to be Chinese-American. Kingston is not upholding negative stereotypes, but rediscovering them for herself, and making up for this loss of her history.
“I'll tell you what I suppose from your silences and few words, and you can tell me that I'm mistaken. You'll just have to speak up with the real stories if I've got you wrong.” (Kingston 15)
This powerful sentence appears in the first 20 pages of Maxine Hong Kingston’s book, China Men. Throughout the novel, we see Kingston manipulate facts, and propose multiple possibilities regarding the same event. Kingston’s manipulated presentation of her family history parallels the way the mistreatment of Chinese people in this country has been hidden and distorted. I will specifically analyze the final chapter of the book, On Listening; Kingston’s proposal to the reader to carefully and critically examine not only the book they have just finished, but the history the United States claims as true. Kingston’s approach to truth is a revision of her history as she seeks to reconcile the erasure of her cultural history. Kingston hopes not only to shed light on the loss of documentation of Chinese history in the United States, but to create a better future for herself through her own invention.
Throughout Maxine Hong Kingston’s China Men, it is difficult to discern truth from reality. Her father may have been born in 1891, 1903, or 1915. He may have come as a paper son, or hidden on a boat, or as a legal laborer via Angel Island. In another story, a group of children seem unable to identify their real father. Even their mother concedes, “He did look like BaBa, though, didn’t he? From the back, almost exactly.” (Kingston 3) What is the purpose behind this confusion? These examples, and many others like it, are intentional holes Kingston has left within her stories about her intricately woven family nest for us to find, examine, explore, and interpret. Her method of leaving several possibilities open to being “the truth” exposes much of Chinese immigration history in the United States. It is impossible to deny that the United States has not been entirely honest about its past. There are holes in our history as well.
Kingston has chosen to rewrite traditional stories, claim American tales as Chinese (such as Robinson Crusoe as Lo Bun Sun), and destabilize her own family history in a way that challenges authority and gives voice to those who have been erased or silenced. By acknowledging these stereotypes through her stories, she reclaims them, and gives her readers the history of what she knows. Kingston’s choice to take on these depictions of Chinese people and make them her own takes the power away from the oppressor, especially as many of these stories depict her own family. We see Kingston directly address the use of opioids, and the concept of “typical” Asian gender roles throughout the book, in an exploratory fashion that details her own experiences and observations. While the United States has historically exaggerated and falsified the image of the Chinese people, Kingston seeks to create her ancestor’s true history, not through “facts,” but through her own understanding and imagination. She sees these missing parts of her past, and takes it on as a challenge to define what it means to be Chinese-American. Kingston is not upholding negative stereotypes, but rediscovering them for herself, and making up for this loss of her history.
January 17, 2026
This is a difficult one to review. There where parts I really, really loved, specifically the ones that happened in the United States with the grandfather building the railroad and the brother who went to Vietnam. There where also some fantastic, disconnected bits of mythological horror that I almost wish had been their own separate books. It was all beautifully written as well. However, a lot of this book felt like a slog to get through.
I think the reason a lot of this book felt like a slog is because for so many of these stories the main subjects feel kind of distant to the point that I didn't feel like I knew enough about them to empathize. I hate to lump it all to cultural differences, although I do appreciate that Kingston didn't resort to sanitize certain things to appeal to a more Eurocentric audience. Maybe the China stories felt too foreign to me or the author was too removed from them to better capture them, but I wasn't particularly moved by them.
I did recognize some of the attitudes when it came to material prosperity in my own relatives who where raised in poverty. But much the same with my own relatives, it's very hard to empathize with their cruel materialism without being given an appropriate context. I was also rather confused with the great-grandparents' socioeconomic situation. They seem to be manual laborers, but there's also mention of them having servants and being able to afford to give their youngest son an education and to properly prepare him for the Imperial Examinations. I would've appreciated if this had been explained because from my point of view, this family seemed reasonably prosperous.
It was a bit disappointing that my favorite bits where the stories that took place in the United States. The pacifist brother who served in the Navy during Vietnam, the stories of the grandfather who helped build the railroad, the historical background of the very racist, repressive US laws that actively discriminated against Asians. This where, hands down, my favorite parts of the book. I even annotated some and I never annotate. See? Historical facts can be provided and it can be engaging. Wish the same had been done to give us more historical insight into pre and post Communist revolution China.
All in all, this was a mixed bag. I'm glad I read it. It's been sitting on my shelf for about 15 years since I stole it from the communal bookshelf in Z'otz Cafe in New Orleans (Sorry, Z'otz!). Would I recommend it? Maybe, but it had to be to someone looking for something very specific or with very specific tastes for, specifically, nonfiction and literary. Wouldn't recommend for casual reading.
I think the reason a lot of this book felt like a slog is because for so many of these stories the main subjects feel kind of distant to the point that I didn't feel like I knew enough about them to empathize. I hate to lump it all to cultural differences, although I do appreciate that Kingston didn't resort to sanitize certain things to appeal to a more Eurocentric audience. Maybe the China stories felt too foreign to me or the author was too removed from them to better capture them, but I wasn't particularly moved by them.
I did recognize some of the attitudes when it came to material prosperity in my own relatives who where raised in poverty. But much the same with my own relatives, it's very hard to empathize with their cruel materialism without being given an appropriate context. I was also rather confused with the great-grandparents' socioeconomic situation. They seem to be manual laborers, but there's also mention of them having servants and being able to afford to give their youngest son an education and to properly prepare him for the Imperial Examinations. I would've appreciated if this had been explained because from my point of view, this family seemed reasonably prosperous.
It was a bit disappointing that my favorite bits where the stories that took place in the United States. The pacifist brother who served in the Navy during Vietnam, the stories of the grandfather who helped build the railroad, the historical background of the very racist, repressive US laws that actively discriminated against Asians. This where, hands down, my favorite parts of the book. I even annotated some and I never annotate. See? Historical facts can be provided and it can be engaging. Wish the same had been done to give us more historical insight into pre and post Communist revolution China.
All in all, this was a mixed bag. I'm glad I read it. It's been sitting on my shelf for about 15 years since I stole it from the communal bookshelf in Z'otz Cafe in New Orleans (Sorry, Z'otz!). Would I recommend it? Maybe, but it had to be to someone looking for something very specific or with very specific tastes for, specifically, nonfiction and literary. Wouldn't recommend for casual reading.
Read
June 12, 2022I read this 1980 collection of short stories in the latter part of that decade while fascinated with all things Asian. The title was consciously chosen in order to distinguish its subject from the ‘Chinaman’ epithet of racial derision. Part factual, and part fictional, the stories represent what Kingston had heard from her family members and learned about the experience of Chinese immigrants to America. Working on sugar plantations in Hawaii, on railroad construction in the continental United States, owning a gambling house while working in a laundry, and serving as a grunt in Vietnam: these are examples of the real experiences the author uses as the basis for different narratives. As well, an encounter with a ghost, an ancient fable of a Trickster spirit’s attempt to steal immortality for humanity, a story about three mandarins searching for a golden needle: these stories represent the more fanciful side of the overall narrative.
A brilliant look at cross-cultural contacts and the experience of racism and intolerance met by newcomers who were foolish enough not to realize that ‘the American dream’ was not equally or equitably available for all.
One day, I should read The Woman Warrior, the companion volume to this work which recounts the experience of female immigrants from China.
Recommended.
A brilliant look at cross-cultural contacts and the experience of racism and intolerance met by newcomers who were foolish enough not to realize that ‘the American dream’ was not equally or equitably available for all.
One day, I should read The Woman Warrior, the companion volume to this work which recounts the experience of female immigrants from China.
Recommended.
September 25, 2021
An extraordinary accounting of the emigration history of the Chinese people to America in a series of short stories. As with most emigration stories theirs was for the purpose of a better life in a place they referred to as the Gold Mountain but the reality was far different than their hopes. The stories are magnificently told in poetic prose from the perspective of the Chinese people, often with their cultural beliefs, traditions and superstitions. Almost all of the emigrants to America were male and the treatment they were met with by the demons, a well deserved term they used for the whites, was absolutely horrific. My favorite story in the book is "The Grandfather of the Sierra Nevada Mountains" about the building of the transcontinental railroad, something that couldn't have been accomplished without the Chinese. I spent over forty years of my life living at Lake Tahoe high up in the Sierra and only a few miles from where this story took place. So I was fairly familiar with the story of the railroad and explored some of the terrain but much of what I knew was a more romanticized version of the story and this is most likely a much more realistic accounting. This is an exceptional book and magnificently written by Maxine Hong Kingston.
September 26, 2024
Super dense, I’m suffering from indigestion
June 23, 2016
Let me just begin with the following statement: I don’t like immigration stories. I really, really don’t. If it were not for a class, I wouldn’t really have cared enough to pick up this book for myself. No offense really, it’s just that…well, all immigration stories revolve around one thing and it’s rather boring to have to read about something you’re already aware of.
But I don’t think I was wholly lost once I actually begin reading China Men. While it by no means became a favorite book or any such thing, China Men ended up being a rather unique and adventurous experience. There is a lot of exploration of the Chinese immigration history to the United States in the novel and even though I realize it is fiction, some of it echoes reality closely. As a dual English and History student myself, I observed that China Men is an excellent blend of myth, fiction, and fact—often all emerging as one. After reading an interview MHK (the author) gave, I assume that she does this on purpose. It’s sort of similar to when one participates in one of those study abroad programs, the three basic classes they usually offer are: language, history, and literature—each representing the bases of all civilizations and that is precisely the elements that MHK is commingling together in China Men. While I did not care for the major stories that much, the sprinkles of short stories in between each of the major stories were quite haunting. Some were factual, some retellings of Chinese myths, and some were introductions into the other major stories. But there were usually my favorite parts, particularly “The Ghostmate”—absolutely stunning.
MHK’s writing is hard to enjoy and yet it’s easy to appreciate. Let me explain. While she writes stunning prose, drawing simplistic words into beautiful sentences, the topics which she tackles are very hard to deal with. Her words are enchanting but they can also be a bit difficult to handle at times. If I knew a bit more about Chinese culture then I would be better equipped to deal with the subject matter but even though I wanted to read more of her writing, the things which chooses to get descriptive with were thoroughly disturbing. Here’s an example, a passage that comes right after a man attempts to sell his son in exchange for a daughter and his wife berates him for it,
And another, as a Chinese immigrant worker plays around with the idea of freedom in a labor camp,
As it shows, while I can appreciate the symbolism of these actions, the imagery is a bit disturbing.
But as I mentioned earlier, this is still overall an immigration narrative and because I have little taste for those, I cannot rate it any less than an “OK” book. Because at the end of it all, I expected to learn nothing except that white America is blatantly racist but immigrants often still prefer America to their own countries because “open corruption” is not as common in this side of the world (at least, not completely yet). It’s often awful, having to deal with racist white Americans who consider themselves above “immigrants” (even though they are, of course, themselves immigrants), but I myself still prefer this country to many, many others—including the one I was born in.
So while I liked Maxine Hong Kinston’s writing style and liked learning a bit about Chinese and Chinese-American culture, I did not care so much for the major stories themselves. I would highly recommend it if you are interested in this topic but if not, I am not going to attempt to convince you otherwise.
But I don’t think I was wholly lost once I actually begin reading China Men. While it by no means became a favorite book or any such thing, China Men ended up being a rather unique and adventurous experience. There is a lot of exploration of the Chinese immigration history to the United States in the novel and even though I realize it is fiction, some of it echoes reality closely. As a dual English and History student myself, I observed that China Men is an excellent blend of myth, fiction, and fact—often all emerging as one. After reading an interview MHK (the author) gave, I assume that she does this on purpose. It’s sort of similar to when one participates in one of those study abroad programs, the three basic classes they usually offer are: language, history, and literature—each representing the bases of all civilizations and that is precisely the elements that MHK is commingling together in China Men. While I did not care for the major stories that much, the sprinkles of short stories in between each of the major stories were quite haunting. Some were factual, some retellings of Chinese myths, and some were introductions into the other major stories. But there were usually my favorite parts, particularly “The Ghostmate”—absolutely stunning.
MHK’s writing is hard to enjoy and yet it’s easy to appreciate. Let me explain. While she writes stunning prose, drawing simplistic words into beautiful sentences, the topics which she tackles are very hard to deal with. Her words are enchanting but they can also be a bit difficult to handle at times. If I knew a bit more about Chinese culture then I would be better equipped to deal with the subject matter but even though I wanted to read more of her writing, the things which chooses to get descriptive with were thoroughly disturbing. Here’s an example, a passage that comes right after a man attempts to sell his son in exchange for a daughter and his wife berates him for it,
“Perhaps it was that very evening and not after the Japanese bayoneted him that he began taking his penis out at the dinner table, worrying it, wondering at it, asking why it had given him four sons and no daughter, chastising it, asking it whether it were yet capable of producing the daughter of his dreams. He shook his head and clucked his tongue at it. When he saw what a disturbance it caused, he laughed, laughed in Ah Po’s irritated face, whacked his naked penis on the table, and joked, ‘Take a look at this sausage’” (21).
And another, as a Chinese immigrant worker plays around with the idea of freedom in a labor camp,
“One beautiful day, dangling in the sun above a new valley,…sexual desire clutched him so far he been over in the basket…Suddenly he stood up tall and squirted out into space. ‘I am fucking the world,’ he said. The world’s vagina was big, big as the sky, big as a valley” (133).
As it shows, while I can appreciate the symbolism of these actions, the imagery is a bit disturbing.
But as I mentioned earlier, this is still overall an immigration narrative and because I have little taste for those, I cannot rate it any less than an “OK” book. Because at the end of it all, I expected to learn nothing except that white America is blatantly racist but immigrants often still prefer America to their own countries because “open corruption” is not as common in this side of the world (at least, not completely yet). It’s often awful, having to deal with racist white Americans who consider themselves above “immigrants” (even though they are, of course, themselves immigrants), but I myself still prefer this country to many, many others—including the one I was born in.
So while I liked Maxine Hong Kinston’s writing style and liked learning a bit about Chinese and Chinese-American culture, I did not care so much for the major stories themselves. I would highly recommend it if you are interested in this topic but if not, I am not going to attempt to convince you otherwise.
June 10, 2019
I read this for my Modern China history course. It was not required reading.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 147 reviews