Type of bind: Hardcover
EAN num: 9780060147327
ISBN number: 0060147326
Label: Harper & Row
Manufacturer: Harper & Row
Page Count: 366
Printing Date: 1975
Publishing house: Harper & Row
Sale Popularity Level: 1126900
Studio: Harper & Row
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No Chinese Stranger carries on with the exceptionally intersting life of Jade Snow Wong. The book covers three phases of her life taking up from where 5th Chinese Daughter left off. We read of her efforts to establish herself in a shop and the problems she had to resolve before she was able to share a portion of a window in a shop owned by another. We also learn of her courtship and marriage. Her style fo raising her four children. We also see a dramatic change in writing style when we read of the death of Mrs. Wong's father. There is a switch from third to very first person writing styles.
We also accompany Mrs. Wong and her husband on as she tours and lectures through Southeast Asia. This was the Southeast Asia of the early 1950s where colonies were in the process of converting to self-ruling nations and the resultant problems which they were experiencing. This trip was done at the behest and sponsership of the US State Department. What is illuminating was that prior to her departure, Mrs. Wong recieved no briefing from the State Department and her only real contact with the policy making experts was at the end of her trip when she went to Washington to be debriefed. One country she did not visit was Vietnam. When she gave her report to the State Department, the Vietnam desk asked why she hadn't gone to that country. The fact that she wasn't asked to is illustrative of future problems in that part of the world.
The book continues with her visit to China with her husband shortly after the historic visit by Richard Nixon to China. The description of her trip, her meeting with family members residing in China and her contacts with government officials is exceptionally well presented. Remember, few Americans had been to China officially and it was a learning experience for all concerned. The problems encountered in the trip are quite educational for those contemplaiting a visit to China. It was extremely fortunate that Mrs. Wong was able to travel with her husband for the assistance and advice he provided. By this time, they had become deeply involved in the travel industry and had made numerous trips to Asia outside of China. This experience served them well in their travels through China.
Throughout the book, there are constant references to her family. Her children, even when she is marveling at the sights in Beijing, are never far from her mind. She also writes of the changes that occurred in her and her family's lives as the years progressed. Schools integrated and in an effort to make the numbers correct - large numbers of kids were bused to schools far from thier homes. The daughter of our landlady would have gone to school four blocks from home but because of a need to balance the numbers of the different ethnicities in San Francisco she was bused several miles away to another school where she knew no one since none of her kindergarten friends were in the same class or school as she was. I can understand Mrs. Wong's frustration with the school system as it tried to be all things to all people yet was incapable of solving her particular problem with her son and his school without a great deal of repeated and wasted effort.
This is a marvelous book that offers a look at a second generation Chinese-American family as they move through the 1950s,60s and 70s. There is a revealing examiniation of China as it was evolving out of the Cultural Revolution and into a new phase of government and social styles.
Since I reviewed this book I have moved to Asia. I had the opportunity to visit Beijing and took the book along. It was a wonder tour guide supplement. In her book Mrs. Wong is describing a street side clothing repair lady. I was walking outside of my hotel (not in the center of Beijing fortunately) and when I went around the corner there was a lady at a table bundled up against the cold (it was November) with a sewing machine powered by an extension cord for another building. I wish I had had something for her to repair. This was 2005 so somethings had not changed much in the 30+ years since Mrs. Wong was walking around Beijing for the very first time.
I highly recommend this book to anyone with an interest in China and the social history of San Francisco, and most of all of the family of Jade Snow Wong. This is a marvelous book and I only wish it was back in print. If you are planning a trip to Beijing, please try t find this book and take it with you. It is a tremendous guide to the Beijing of then and you can accurately compare the current Beijing. It may be a little expensive on the used book circuit but well worth it and it will give you a great deal of pleaseure while you are in Beijing.
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