My Family: Are You Born Chinese Or American?

Chinese parents and American parents differ greatly in their parenting styles and a noticeable difference can be seen in the success of their children. The children of Chinese parents often excel in various areas, including in their educational, musical, and professional lives. The children of American parents, however, usually have a harder time excelling in those areas. Chinese parents and American parents hold opposing philosophies about how they view their children, opposing methods about how they raise their children, and opposing effects on the personalities of their children.

Growing up as an East Asian in America meant expectations and stereotypes. Facing the judging looks on the faces of the people around me was torture. I turned away and tried to run from them. I built an invisible wall, a barrier of sorts. In front of the wall was what I wanted people to see and what people expected to see; yet, behind the wall comprised of things I wanted to do and how I truly felt.

Having been raised by my parents who are Chinese, I have had the honor of learning several cultural aspects of my heritage and becoming bilingual in mandarin and English. I learned to celebrate Chinese holidays, learned about my unique culture, and even attended Chinese school for a few years. My Chinese heritage will always be part of who I am and has shaped me to be who I am today.

Many new arrivals still struggle to survive and often Chinese Americans still encounter suspicion and hostility. Chinese Americans have achieved great success and now, like so many others, they are stitching together a new American identity. As Michelle Ling, a young Chinese American, tells Bill Moyers in Program 3, “I get to compose my life one piece at a time, however I feel like it. Not to say that it’s not difficult and that there isn’t challenge all the time, but more than material wealth, you get to choose what you are, who you are.” (www.pbs.org)

The tale “American Born Chinese” by Gene Luch Wang depicts the story of three characters, Monkey, Jin, and Danny. They all have the problem of fitting into their new environments. Jin Wang has to deal with Asian stereotypes. Danny has to deal with embarrassment of his cousin. Lastly, Monkey has to deal with the fact that there is no position for him in the heavenly ranks. However, over time, these characters have to come together to fit in. Yet the question remains: what exactly about fitting in is the problem? Although Jin Wang takes the form of Danny to reject his Chinese roots, the embarrassment of Chin-Knee shows he cannot hide behind a false American identity, thereby delineating that race is the source of his problem.

Every time I come home from college, my family and I would go out to yumcha or, as directly translated from Cantonese, to “drink tea. However, drinking tea is only one component of yumcha. To yumcha is to converse with company over a meal of many small dishes and hot tea. Going yumcha is social activity brought to the United States by the people from the Guangdong region of China, also known as Cantonese people. When they immigrated to the United States, yumcha became an important tradition because it also enabled Cantonese parents to socialize their children into the Chinese culture through the language and social practices involved in the meal and the ritual and meaning surrounding the tea. However, to Chinese-Americans such as myself, going yumcha with native Chinese people also emphasized my American identity due to my food choices. Yet when I go yumcha with non-Chinese people, I become distinctly aware of my Chinese identity when they fail the language or rituals of this tradition. The only time when I do not feel alienated during yumcha is when I go with my other

In the documentary “Becoming American- The Chinese Experience” We are shown the history of many Chinese- American immigrants in the united states. We are also shown our on nations past history focusing on the dark part of history. This documentary describes in detail the journey of the first chinese- America immigrants into the united states and their descendants.

Identity is officially defined as the condition of being oneself or itself, and not another. A person’s identity can be shaped by many factors, like family and culture. The graphic novel American Born Chinese by Gene Luen Yang is a book that really focuses on identity and who someone actually is. In American Born Chinese, all the characters struggle with their identity and accepting that they are unique and different because other people judge them for being who they are.

First of all, I am a Taiwanese American from Dallas, but I’ve also been raised in several different places than where I come from, including China, Spain and the UK. Having lived in these places made me both culturally and socially diverse. On one hand, I’ve experienced different educational systems, food, languages and knowledge about different ways of living; on the other hand, I’ve learned how to quickly adjust into new environments and thus interact with people from all over the world.

American Born Chinese was a book that I would have initially missed reading because it didn’t appeal to me then. However, it wasn’t until the three narratives intertwined at the end that I realized that this was a great read. Jin, Danny, and the Monkey King all have one thing in common; they try to become something they are not, and they lose their sense of identity until the realization of the truth that we cannot fight who we really are. Jin comes to America and desperately tries to fit in with his classmates and assimilate. The Monkey King tried to become something greater than himself, and become an equal with the other deities. Danny is what looks to be a normal high school student, but is plagued by his Chinese cousin’s visits

The Hmong people are originally from rural mountainous areas in Laos and they still inhabit that country to this day. Laos is a country that is located in Southeast Asia. Hmong people are divided into clans or tribes that share the same paternal ancestry. The Hmong people inhabited all parts of Laos but all carried pretty much the same cultures and livelihood with them as many immigrated to the United States in the past few decades (Ohio State University, 2005).

I am an Asian-American woman living and working in the global city of New York. Growing up in an international city allowed me to become a multicultural individual and develop into a young woman different from my counterparts in Asia and here in the United States as well. I was taught by my parents not only the values of a Chinese culture but also to strive to enhance my strengths and to go forth and establish a successful career in business while always relating back to my Chinese roots. These values of diligence, perseverance and selflessness influence my everyday work and personal life.

What country do you live in?: I was born and raised in California, United States of America.

Gene Luen Yang presents a graphic novel, it talk about three different stories that are separate and yet related to each other. The way he presents the characters helps him to show his audience stereotypes in American born Chinese. The author uses the three stories and revolves around people working towards their cultural identity. He successfully creates a story about racial identity, and he does not merely concentrate on stereotypes that define the American-born Chinese.

I was born and raised in Texas where everything is Texas sized and everyone says y'all. I am an Asian American whose parents both came from Vietnam at a young age. I was soon to be molded and developed by them and my community to where I became culturally diverse. I was moved along schools which helped me build character. I also have developed into a very athletic and intelligent person due to all my friends and family helping me to reach this state.