Fifth Chinese Daughter (Unabridged)
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3.7 • 3 Ratings
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- $17.99
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- $17.99
Publisher Description
Originally published in 1945 and now reissued with a new introduction by the author, Jade Snow Wong's story is one of struggle and achievements. These memoirs of the author's first twenty-four years are thoughtful, informative, and highly entertaining. They not only portray a young woman and her unique family in San Francisco's Chinatown, but they are rich in the details that light up a world within the world of America. The third-person singular style is rooted in Chinese literary form, reflecting cultural disregard for the individual, yet Jade Snow Wong's story also is typically American.
We first meet Jade Snow Wong the child, narrowly confined by the family and factory life, bound to respect and obey her elders while shouldering responsibility for younger brothers and sisters - a solemn child well versed in the proper order of things, who knew that punishment was sure for any infraction of etiquette. Then the schoolgirl caught in confusion between the rigid teaching of her ancestors and the strange ways of her foreign classmates. After that, the college student feeling her was toward personal identity in the face of parental indifference or outright opposition. And finally the artist whose early triumphs were doubled by the knowledge that she had at long last won recognition from her family.
Customer Reviews
Positive, mildly inspiring & culturally informative.
“Fifth Chinese Daughter” is a gentle, feel-good autobiographical work with which many children of immigrants will find something to relate to. For those of us who are a long way from our immigrant ancestors, it offers a humanizing glimpse into the lives of people in the process of becoming “American” even as they take pride in their ethnic heritage.
Wongs story is somewhat atypical. Her family were relatively prosperous Chinese Christians and she was blessed with a father whose old world harshness was mitigated by some very liberal views on a womans place in society. Wong herself, was a strong, focused individual whose plans for herself were a bit more ambitious than the old get-married-have-kids route. She also benefitted from an extraordinary amount of outside patronage in addition to her own hard work. It’s a great American story whose themes of hard work and opportunity remain relevant today..
The book has a weakness in it’s almost relentless perkiness, Wongs road seems almost too easy. Of course it is possible that Wong really DID lead THAT charmed of a life, but it could also be that having been written in the mid-1940s, it simply wasn’t possible for Wong to address some of lifes rawer aspects. Whichever the case, I found myself being alternately happy for her and irritated by her. We should all have so many people knocking each other down to help us out.
In the end, you can’t help but like Wong. Hers is a pleasant, mildly inspiring story. Interesting, slightly dated perhaps. It’s a nice read.