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Intersections: Asian and Pacific American Transcultural Studies
Hakka Soul: Memories, Migrations, and Meals
Chin Woon Ping's Hakka Soul chronicles the dreams, ambitions, and idiosyncrasies of her family, beginning with the death of her grandmother in pre-Independence Malaya. It was a tumultuous period when the occupying Japanese army had just been defeated, the British colonial government was losing its grip on the country, and a communist guerilla insurgency had broken out in the jungles of the Malay Peninsula. Her stories follow the family's move to the United States and a journey to China to visit her father's ancestral home.
The family's migrations are part of the global diaspora of the Hakkas, known in China as the Guest People. Chin's poetically and amusingly rendered accounts of Hakka history, language, and mythology, derived from research and oral history, are a moving tribute to the endurance of her people and their culture, and a paean to the incomparable Hakka cuisine.
The family's migrations are part of the global diaspora of the Hakkas, known in China as the Guest People. Chin's poetically and amusingly rendered accounts of Hakka history, language, and mythology, derived from research and oral history, are a moving tribute to the endurance of her people and their culture, and a paean to the incomparable Hakka cuisine.
- GenresNonfictionAsia
208 pages, Paperback
First published June 1, 2008
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63 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
July 9, 2008
This book was written by my Aunt Ping so I may be biased in saying this but this is a truly extraordinary book. It's a richly wound story following the path of my grandparents' lives in Malacca, Malaysia to my family's migration to the United States. The narrative weaves back and forth between present time and history and each chapter includes a delicious recipe some of which I've not had the pleasure of trying...yet.
This is a wonderfully moving book and I highly recommend it.
This is a wonderfully moving book and I highly recommend it.
April 9, 2013
I have been searching for books about and written by Hakka, not many turn out so I am glad I found this book. Her story resonates well with my family's experience. She is so lucky to be able to dig so much history out of her elderly family members. I wish I could too with mine
June 13, 2012
I just wanted to read a book about Hakka people. My way of attempting to connect with my background of being Hakka-Chinese. However, books about the Hakka community are so few and rare that some of them seemed way too overpriced. This one cost about $25 and although it wasn't the outcome i was hoping for it was a great book about family values and growing up in a Hakka family.
February 8, 2021
This memoir is a mosaic of stories about family members, favorite sayings, and recipes. The stories cover events in Malaysia, before the author immigrated to the US, covering her grandmother and her grandmother’s family, her mother and her siblings, her father, and the author’s own siblings.
The stories are independent of each other, although roughly follow chronology. But the impact of the story conveys emotion and knowledge. While the author knows she has set down her roots in a new country, I felt a nostalgia for a simpler time, together with family.
Throughout the book there are explicit statements about the history of Malaysia. The book mentions part of the time under Japanese rule, but also forwards in time to events of May 13, 1969, referred to as the May 13 incident, of Sino-Malay violence in Kuala Lumpur, which eventually led to the New Economic Policy, or bumiputra (Malays and Orang Asli or indigenous peoples of Malaysia or Southeast Asia) equity. The implementation was a rationale for many ethnic Chinese (including the author’s brothers) to leave Malaysia for opportunities no longer available in government.
Also, the author raised different aspects of being Hakka, in Malaysia, from the moving Hakka people did, to their being thrifty in their use of resources, to an open notion of family–not defined by blood lines.
The book ends (spoiler alert) with a visit by the author to China, to visit her father’s first family and her half-brother. Yet in China, she is simply referred to as sister, and the larger family unit encouraged her to move back to that “homeland.” In fact, the husband’s first wife even bought a house for the father’s Malaysia family, preparing for his return.
FB: A memoir presented in a mosaic of stories, sayings, and recipes that collectively convey emotion strongly. An interesting insight on growing up Hakka in Malaysia.
The stories are independent of each other, although roughly follow chronology. But the impact of the story conveys emotion and knowledge. While the author knows she has set down her roots in a new country, I felt a nostalgia for a simpler time, together with family.
Throughout the book there are explicit statements about the history of Malaysia. The book mentions part of the time under Japanese rule, but also forwards in time to events of May 13, 1969, referred to as the May 13 incident, of Sino-Malay violence in Kuala Lumpur, which eventually led to the New Economic Policy, or bumiputra (Malays and Orang Asli or indigenous peoples of Malaysia or Southeast Asia) equity. The implementation was a rationale for many ethnic Chinese (including the author’s brothers) to leave Malaysia for opportunities no longer available in government.
Also, the author raised different aspects of being Hakka, in Malaysia, from the moving Hakka people did, to their being thrifty in their use of resources, to an open notion of family–not defined by blood lines.
The book ends (spoiler alert) with a visit by the author to China, to visit her father’s first family and her half-brother. Yet in China, she is simply referred to as sister, and the larger family unit encouraged her to move back to that “homeland.” In fact, the husband’s first wife even bought a house for the father’s Malaysia family, preparing for his return.
FB: A memoir presented in a mosaic of stories, sayings, and recipes that collectively convey emotion strongly. An interesting insight on growing up Hakka in Malaysia.
September 19, 2024
Wanted to read more about Hakka culture as my maternal grandfather was Taiwanese Hakka. There are some customs and traditions sprinkled in this text including recipes which were an intriguing addition. Most of this was still related to the author’s family and various stories of their neighbors though. Hope to read more about the Hakka diaspora in other texts.
June 6, 2021
Breathtaking.
January 16, 2016
Cool memories and amazing (salty) characters, but I never felt like this narrative found a shape or satisfying turning point. Found myself keening for the lines written in Hakka tho, so I can't say I didn't enjoy reading this. I just wish I could say this had more to do with the writer's craft than my personal history or ability to identify with the text.
March 19, 2015
A wonderfully insightful book which reveals a fascinating family history. Every now and again, I found myself almost looking at my own family and their stories.
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews