I read this book many years ago and enjoyed so much that I have read everything I could find by Mr. Lee, and since then other Chinese American authors.

It is a shame that for so many years the book was rejected by young Asian Americans as being "too white face" or "Uncle Tom" as it is not so at all. C.Y. Lee was a Chinese immigrant and wrote of the society as he saw it at that time, which is not the way the younger generation, who did not live through the immigrant experience, want to see it. This is not unusual, many well schooled, well fed sucessful Americans do not want to know that their grandparents arrived in steerage with their belongings tied up in kit bag, unable to speak the language, and worked 18 hours a day in menial jobs so that their children could get ahead.

This is a poignant story of Chinese immigrant families in Southern California during the days of the Chinese Exclusion Act, and the difficulty the young American-raised men had in finding a wife. They were not allowed to bring women in from China, and they were not permitted to marry non Asians. Because of the Communist takeover, many Chinese who had dreamed of returning home to China when they retired after working all their lives were unable to do so. The situtation created an artifically stressed society. The book has tragedy and sadness, as well as hope and joy.

My only criticism of the novel, and a mild one at that, is that it frequently reads like a play script, especially in the last chapter, where there is a lot of dialogue, followed by descriptions of the action which read like stage directions. It is possible that the novel was orignally intended to be a play.

Warning, possible spoiler:

The musical version of the book which was also filmed was very loosely based on the novel, in fact one of the major characters was created for the musical. Apparently this has been done again with the new version playing on Broadway. Readers expecting to find a printed version of the musical may be disappointed.

As a child, I saw the film "Flower Drum Song" and fell in love with the film. Though at the time, it was considered a no-no amongst the Chinese community. But none of those who scorn the film had even read either the book or seen the film. It was a beautiful made film that featured Asian actors who sing, dance, performed to a melodic score by one of the most creative song writing team. Therefore, I am so glad that this book is finally come to light and to be re-embraced into literary culture. Perhaps it will hopefully quail those critics who are as narrow-minded as those who thought we are just busboys and Charlie Chans. Be enlightened, and read this great piece of story-telling of a familial saga that we can all relate--regardless if we are Chinese or not. Enjoy, read and be enchanted. As well check out the film--it might change one's opinion.

Originally published in 1957, this poignant and charming novel tells of a young man's struggle to fit in. Love, family and all the ups and downs that go with them are told with bittersweet humor. Its re-release is a wonderful companion to David Henry Hwang's new theatrical book which revives the Rodgers and Hammerstein musical on Broadway this year. Hurrah!

First of all, I must say this book deserves ten stars, not five. Ji-Li Jiang tells the story of her life being completely torn apart by the Cultural Revolution and her own thoughts and beliefs on Chinese Communism. Ji-Li, a distinguished student, is condescended at school because of her family's past. She watches in terror as her favorite teachers are being harrassed at school, people's homes being ransacked, and her father being put in detention at his work building. Red Gaurds (enforcers of the Cultural Revolution) are everywhere, and they make sure that every well-to-do man, woman, child, is punished for being who they are. Insulting posters of propaganda turn up all over the city and Ji-Li's school. During all of the turmoil, Ji-Li is forced to choose between her family and the prestige and honor she has worked so hard for. Because of her family's political background, she loses the chance of getting into one of the best jounior high schools in China. Ji-Li begins to hate her ancestors for being who they were and she even begins to hate herself. She wishes that she were poor, so that she would not be ostracized for her way of living. However, despite all of her struggles, Ji-Li is determined to rise above those who stopped her from being who she wants to be. This is a wonderful book that I could not put down. Read this, and enjoy.

In today's world, people are taught that heroic people must influence the masses. Only those who have monumental physical strength, celebrity status, or piles of money have the resources to affect the world around them. Red Scarf Girl by Ji-Li Jiang disproves these notions. This non-fiction book tells the story of a 12 year-old girl growing up in the midst of the Cultural Revolution who becomes a hero to her family. The glossary at the end of the book defines the Cultural Revolution as "The social and political upheaval that overtook China from 1966 to 1976. During this time many innocent people were ruthlessly persecuted. THe Cultural Revolution was launched by Chairman Mao, supposedly to rid the country of anti-Communist influences. Long afterward it was revealed that Chairman Mao unleashed this chaos in order to protect his own political position." (pg. 276) Red Scarf Girl is a moving, well-written story.
The book opens with a prologue, in which Ji-Li tells the reader the single most important lesson in school: "Heaven and earth are great, but greater still is the kindness of the Communist Party; father and mother are dear, but dearer still is Chairman Mao." (pg. 1) The people of China are brainwashed with this mantra, but Ji-Li does not feel it plays a large role in her life until sixth grade. Always a high achiever, she is looking forward to attending Shi-yi, an elite middle school. Then, Chairman Mao nullifies all teacher recommendations and divides children into schools by neighborhood; meaning Ji-Li will not go to Shi-yi. This is only the beginning of Ji-Li's problems. She becomes an outcast in school, her house is searched and Communist officers take everything of value, all because of her family's middle class status. Ji-Li's father is held in prison because his father was the evilest of all men - a landlord. Ji-Li is offered freedom from her "black" (non-Communist) class status by Communist officers. All she has to do is break from her family and testify against her father. No 12 year old should have to make the decisions she did.
Ji-Li Jiang used literary techniques to tell her story effectively. She is very descriptive, for example, "The kitchen, located on the landing and crowded with pots and pans and a two burner stove, was crowded and stuffy. With the heat from the sun outside and the heat from the stove in front of me, I was simply melting." (pg. 90) Ji-Li uses dialogue to make the story more interesting. Though she may not have remembered exactly what everyone said, the dialogue keeps the book moving. Although the book does not tell of her life throughout the entire Cultural Revolution, the book has a satisfying ending; not a fairytale finish, but a hopeful one. All of these storytelling elements enrich Red Scarf Girl.
One of the most important qualities of a hero is selflessness. Ji-Li Jiang showed this repeatedly. A Communist officer offered to let her change her name in order to break from her "anti-Communist" family. She almost does, but then, "I thought of Aunt Xi-wen lying in the alley (being punished for having bad class status), and Shan-Shan (her son, who had "broken" from her) walking right past her. I jumped up and ran out." (pg. 215) Later, people from her father's work unit pulled her out of class and gave her a very serious decision to make. "'As I told you before, you are your own person. If you want to make a clean break with your black family, then you can be an educable child and we will welcome you to our revolutionary ranks'...I saw myself standing in the middle of the stage, facing thousands of people...condemning Dad for his crimes, raising my fist to lead the chant." (pg. 224-5) Ji-Li refuses his offer, which meant that although she would be frowned upon in society, she would remain faithful to her family. It would have been easy for Ji-Li to change her name or testify against her father to save herself. Heroes, however, have the strength to be selfless.
Red Scarf Girl by Ji-Li Jiang shows how one 12 year old had the strength to be a hero, to be selfless. Ji-Li was not rich, very physically strong, or well-known. She only put others before herself, a truly heroic action. Clearly, Ji-Li Jiang put her best effort into this book. Red Scarf Girl is exceptionally written, and can inspire everyone.

Red Scarf Girl is an excellent book wrote by author Ji-Li Jiang, who grew up in Communist China, facing all of the downfalls of the political party, and ending up being criticized by everyone just because of her family's political background. Ji-Li explains all that went on in great detail, having no problems with backing up her details with more and more details, giving you the feel of actually being there during the Cultural Revolution.

The book explains how harsh Communism was during the Cultural Revolution, and how so many people did everything and believed in everything that Chairman Mao did. Being in a rich family, she and the rest of her family were constantly criticized because of this and her 'bad' political background.

She explains the characters in the book very well (her family members, Chairman Mao himself, her friends, etc.) and really lets you get to know their personality. You're almost inside of the book, watching as the Red Guards are practically terrorizing Ji-Li, seeing her friends turn their backs on her, and listening to the hateful words that the government says about people's families such as Ji-Li's.

This is an excellent book, whether you know a lot about the Cultural Revolution or not. Ji-Li Jiang is really skilled in explaining what she sees, and will allow you to know what really went on with the Communist Party and the Cultural Revolution from the 1950s to the 1970s.

I will never understand why this play tanked in New York. It is a simple, elegant tale about assimilation and familial dysfunction. David Henry Hwang is a masterful writer, and this is some of his best work. The only weakness is its ending, which falls a little flat as a character (who is clearly the author) explains the entire point, as if the audience missed it. Although this (like most of his work) is about Chinese, it should be read by people of all walks of life.

If you liked the segments of the film "The Joy Luck Club" which took place in China, you'll love David Henry Hwang's play "Golden Child." Although Hwang is probably better known for his play "M. Butterfly," "Golden Child" is a remarkable piece of writing which deserves attention. According to the production history included in the book version, an early version of "Golden Child" premiered in 1996, and a later version was presented at Broadway's Longacre Theatre in 1998. But "Golden Child" is also one of those plays which succeeds purely as a readers' text.

"Golden Child" opens with Andrew, a Westernized man of Chinese heritage, who is visited by the ghost of his Chinese-born mother. This brief prologue leads to the story of his mother's girlhood in China. We meet Andrews's grandfather, Tieng-Bin; Tieng-Bin's three wives; and the Western clergyman who seeks to convert them to Christianity.

"Golden Child" is a thought-provoking exploration of family life and cross-cultural contact. There is both humor and tragedy in the dialogue. The story addresses such topics as polygamy, foot-binding, ancestor worship, and opium use in traditional Chinese culture. Hwang's ironic portrayal of the politics of "conversion" may be a revelation to those Western Christians who harbor romantic, idealistic notions about bringing the "light" to non-European peoples. I was very impressed with Hwang's writing, and I highly recommend "Golden Child."

As a writer who should be resposible to understand the reality of described things and people, even they are created. Kwan Ying Joss, the Goddess of Mercy, in all Chinese heart, is just like Virgin Mary to Catholic. How can you described that She was fall in love with a man? It's gone too far away from the Chinese novel "Western Journeys" either.

If you haven't heard of the "Journey to the West" about a monk, a monkey, a pig and their other companions, then this book is a great introduction to the Chinese folktale written by Cheng-en Wu 500 years ago. I look forward to catching the Hallmark miniseries when it's shown on NBC this year, probably during sweeps month in May. This book captures the humor and the excitement of the original story and blends in a modern tale for todays audiences. In the book, an american, Nick Orton, is thrust into a magical world where the original book by Cheng-en Wu is being destroyed and with it the real world of today. The Goddess of Mercy, Kwan Ying gets Nick to join with the famed Monkey King to battle the evil lord Shu to save the book. Monkey's old companions Pigsy and Friar Sand join in the quest also. Nick falls in love with the Goddess, but can she love him in return? Since having seen the Japanese television series of the "Western Journeys" (same name really), I would have to compare this to that. And this book really captures the humor and the characters of the show and frm the original tale. Kristine Kathryn Rusch and Dean Wesley Smith did this story right, but I still can't forgive them for the X-men movie novelization.

It's hard finding good, riginal fantasy nowadays. Most fantasies are variations on Tolkien's classic Lord of the Rings or the King Arthur stories. But here comes the Monkey King, a fantasy based off of Chinese Legend. It has memorable characters and truly magnificent settings like a palace full of Gods. I can't wait till the miniseries comes to TV. Keep up the good work Hallmark.

Trite but true! The (trite) notion underpinning this play, that people tend not to be too discerning when thinking about foreign places and people (which leads to stereotyping) is amply demonstrated by the confusion over the setting of the play. Let's get this straight: This play M Butterfly is set in CHINA, Puccini's opera Madama Butterfly is set in JAPAN (a very different country) and neither are set in VIETNAM (though the modern musical based on Madama Butterfly, Miss Saigon, is). Now on to the play itself ...

The play's premise is that the Western Man (represented by real-life French diplomat Gallimard) is so powerfully taken with the myth of the perfect submissive Asian woman who would love him to death (represented by the Chinese opera singer Song Liling) that he would go to great lengths, even mind-boggling self-delusion, to realise this myth. In doing so, he proves that he, not the Asian woman, is the manipulated one; manipulated by his own prejudices and preconceptions.

The myth of the idealised submissive Asian female awaiting her salvation by the love of a big strong western male is deserving enough of explosion. The megaton explosion is handily provided by Song being the ultimate manipulator; a Chinese spy after Gallimard's state secrets, not his love, who also happens to be a man exploiting Gallimard and his fantasy of the devoted Asian woman. Well well. ... That's about it, though. After (it hopes) pulling the rug from under the audiences' feet, the play doesn't replace the rug with any solid flooring. This play relies too much on exposing a stereotype - if in the first place you have never bought into the stereotype of the Asian woman dying to love the white man, it really has very little to say to you. Anyone who has thought through the complex implications of the "Pinkerton syndrome" will find the play rather stale. Admittedly there's something gratifying in having this faintly-offensive stereotype thrown into the faces of a western audience, but this hardly validates the play as a profound voice or an artistic endeavour (and in fact, it's a tad childish). This play isn't very deep; it doesn't improve upon a second reading, nor upon performance. Stripped of its shock value, I find not much left.

M. Butterfly takes place in the mind of Rene Gallimard. While the play begins with him in a French prison, we are taken far away from this prison into the depths of his mind. His fantasies of Song Liling are both reality and illusionary. He will ultimately face the most shocking truth about the "woman" he thought he loved for twenty years. M. Butterfly takes a bold move in rearranging common roles set by our society, whether speaking for the present or from fifty years ago. This play dives deep into the pool of stereotypes and makes every turn imaginable. While the Eastern/Western dichotomy is presented with stereotypes of both sides, roles are soon reversed which gives the dichotomy a whole new meaning. Gallimard, initially portrayed as the Western dominant male, and Song, initially portrayed as the compliant Asian woman, will both eventually reverse their sexual roles although their enthnic identities remain in tact. Gallimard evolves from the controller to the controlled, while Song proves his power and control as his masculinity is revealed. All of this role and sexual confusion causes us to re-examine the stereotypes. Are they socially constructed or are they inherent in the person? You must read and decide for yourself!

This is a pretty interesting play..but I strongly recommend that you should read it first..and if you want you can watch the film..(J.Irons is pretty good). David H.Hwang combines the gender confusion with themes from G. Puccini's opera "Madame Butterfly" which is briefly about an American man having a relationship with a Chinese woman. Hwang blends this with the facts in which he inspired by a 1986 newspaper story, where a French diplomat who was is trial for espionage had a relationship with a woman which turned out to be a man. This play is a gender complicated drama about clash between Western & Eastern cultures. Moreover, this may also be considered as a love story, which I think is a very sad one. Hwang creates stereotypes, and he makes these stereotypes vice versa. By changing the roles, Rene who is supposed to represent West & Song, East no longer represent those.Song becomes the masculine which is masked by the feminine disguise represents West & Rene who becomes submissive in the play represents East. In this play many of you may find Rene stupid and perverted but he is not. They were in love for a long time. Rene knew that Song was a man, but he is definitely not gay. Rene is in love with the idea that such a perfect woman exists. In reality, there is no perfect woman according to his standards. He is in love with a perfect fantasy. " it is true that only a man knows how a woman is supposed to act." By the word woman I am referring to the ideal woman of which every man dreams and Song fulfills this role so well that Rene does not want to discover that Song is a man, because he has a perfect relationship,and why should he ruin it ? He has the woman of is life, why lose it ? On the other, Song is a spy, an actress! and gay. He uses theater and wears woman dresses( In that time women were excluded from performing in a theater because of culturally constructed constaints.) Beyond this acting, under that disguise, Song gets what he wants. He gets a relationship in which he would never get if he was not an actor. There is so much to say about this play.. I think it is a great love story..I really felt sorry for Rene.. Having found his perfect woman, confronting with the reality, he realizes that his dream will never go on. I wont tell the end..but it made me cry..its a pathetic ending..

I could care less for any of these plays. The authors seem to try and create a new brand of Asian literature. With the plays that I've read here, I hope that won't happen. Some of them are badly written and the characters aren't all too complex. But, this book shouldn't be called "Asian American Drama." Because there isn't anything Asian about it, except that the plays were written by Asians. Aside note: David Henry Hwang writes, "Frank Chin's play The Chicken Coop Chinaman was criticized for reinforcing stereotypes of broken-English-speaking Chinatown tour guides." If you read Chickencoop Chinaman, there is no Chinatown tour guide! Anyway, If you want something distinctively Asian, you have to narrow it down somewhere. You can't make up something culturally phony like some of these authors.

I am an actor, and I found this collection, just outstanding! Every play is excellent and readable even on the page. Several plays by women as well. Read and Enjoy. Then go out and put it together and act, produce and direct it! I will

This book contains many plays written by Mr. Hwang but the one play that I will review will be "FOB." The play "FOB" focuses on the power struggle between the 2 sexes and the battle between Mainland Chinese immigrants and Americanized Chinese. One aspect of the dislike that I had with the book was the inconsistant behaviors of the characters. But one thing I liked is the about this play is that it can be very interpertive and that the story is not very straight forward

David Henry Hwang is best-known for his play, "M Butterfly," and this is a shame. Although "Butterfly" is indeed a wonderful play, Hwang is one of the more versatile playwrights today, and this book shows the breadth of it. Most of his plays (FOB, Dance and the Railroad) deal with Chinese Americans, but he often wanders into other veins. "1000 Airplanes on the Roof," a science-fiction piece about alien abduction, is a terrific example. Try to get ahold of a copy of this book if you can; it is well worth it.

It starts when I read FOB. And, I find out that David Henry Hwang makes Mulan a victim of misogyny. Read the Ballad of Mulan and you'll find out that that is not true. Furthermore, you'll found out she never had a tattoo and she never killed Gwan Gung. The idea of Mulan killing Gwan Gung is silly. They come from the same tradition, why would she kill him? This may not seem important to a white audience, but it should be important to an Asian one. I'm not sure what makes people of my own race ruin the literature or culture I come from. DAVID HENRY HWANG HAS NO RESPECT FOR GWANG GUNG. As a matter of fact he turns the God of War into a dork (Steve in FOB). You'll see shrines made to Gwang Gung in virtually every Chinatown in America. Visit these shrines (or read ROMANCE OF THE THREE KINGDOMS) and ask yourself if the Gwang Gung in FOB is anything like the one in the shrines. Anyway, when it comes to Asian culture or Asian history don't take Hwang's word for it. Hwang makes Chinese Opera look too easy in Dance and the Railroad. It takes more than that for Ma to play Gwang Gung. Get any book on Chinese Opera and you'll see how wrong Hwang is.