American Born Chinese by Yang
Yang’s American Born Chinese
 In 2006, Yang published American Born Chinese, a
graphic narrative comprised of three storylines that
eventually unite.
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The Story of the Monkey King
The Story of Jin Wang
The Story of Chin-Kee
 In addition to winning the Printz award for Young
Adult Literature, American Born Chinese has
garnered both praise and controversy.
The Monkey King
 The Monkey King, or Sūn
Wùkōng, is a character in
an extremely important
Chinese novel, The
Journey to the West.
 Written in the 17th
century, it chronicles a
journey to India made by
a Buddhist monk and his
companions.
The Monkey King
 The Journey to the West
is based upon an actual
pilgrimage undertaken in
629 AD by the Buddhist
monk Xuánzàng to India
in order to study
Buddhist religious texts.
After spending a decade
in India, Xuánzàng
returned to China as a
hero and was influential
in the Emperor’s Court.
The Monkey King
 In the fictionalized account of Xuánzàng’s trip, he is
joined by three characters, The Monkey King, the
Monk Pig, and the Sand Friar. Of these companions,
the Monkey King presents the most cunning in battle
and the most weaponry, including the ability to
transform himself 72 ways. This feature corresponds
to Jin’s fascination with the Transformer toys that
were so popular during the latter decades of the 20th
century.
Transformers!
Yang on The Monkey King
 Jeff Yang, a columnist for The San Francisco
Chronicle, (no relation to Gene Leun Yang) notes
that Gene Leun Yang “envisions the Monkey King as
more than just a classic Chinese character -- he sees
him as the patron spirit of Asian America, which is a
thought I've had myself. After all, his epic is a tale of
a journey westward, and the character of Monkey,
plus his quest for identity and wisdom (and, yeah,
maybe a little humility), all feel somehow familiar,
like a half-remembered childhood song.”
The Story of Jin Wang
 Jin’s status as an ABC, or American Born Chinese,
refers to the fact that his parents are immigrants.
 For the first nine years of his life, Jin lives in San
Francisco’s Chinatown. However, when his parents
are able to afford a home in the suburbs, Jin is illprepared for the identity crisis that will ensue.
 In addition to struggling with others’ prejudice, he
has to struggle with his own insecurities.
 The motif of “tranformation” fits nicely with the
transformative powers of The Monkey King.
Jin’s “White” Hairstyle
The Chin-Kee Show
 The third storyline in American Born Chinese
features a sitcom-like structure, as popular, “normal”
Danny contends with the annual visits of his Chinese
cousin Chin-kee.
 Chin-kee is the embodiment of every stereotype that
many Americans hold regarding persons of Chinese
nationality or descent. He reminds many critics of
Long Duk Dong, a character from John Hughes’
extremely popular teen movie, Sixteen Candles.
Long Duk Dong
Controversy
 "I do get some reactions to the Cousin Chin-Kee that
worry me a little bit," said Yang…. "There's some
people that come up and tell me, 'He's so cute, so
funny, endearing.' That's definitely not what I was
going for,"
 Yang believes that most people understood the
purpose of a character like Chin-Kee — acting as the
juxtaposition against his popular, assimilated cousin.
Controversy
 "I think the vast majority
of the responses are
positive, but I have had
some Asian-Americans
and come up and tell me
I was perpetuating the
stereotype by explicitly
showing it," he said.
Identity Construction
 Yang notes: "I think the Asian American community
right now is in the midst of defining itself. For a
while I think we were all trying to be white. Then
there was a period of time when we were trying to be
black. And now we're finally coming up with
something that's truly our own."
American Born Chinese
American Born Chinese
American Born Chinese
American Born Chinese