With this sudden remembrance, the narration describes Ben Loy's rendezvous with a prostitute through third person direct discourse. Eat a Bowl of Tea came out in 1961 and it is the first Chinese American novel set in Chinese America. As this peaceful scene is unnervingly interrupted by a prostitute ringing Ben Loy's doorbell, the purpose of the passage becomes apparent. This occurs while depicting: Finally, Chu portrays even the most violent and sexual of scenes with beautiful and minimalist description. [Time Wah Gay and Lau Shee spent apart] "The years have passed like the mere closing and opening of the eye" (115). Second generation Chinese-American Ben Loy Wang grew up solely with his father Wah Gay Wang since the American exclusion laws prevented Ben's mother from emigrating to the US from China. (86). Eat A Bowl Of Tea by Wayne Wang, Louis Chu. [clarification needed], Ben Loy waited for his turn at the doctor's office...sitting opposite a lady who had followed him in. The text depicts the close friendship between Wah Gay and Lee Gong (both Chinese immigrants with wives back in Guangdong (Canton)), and a conversation concerning their unmarried children ensues. Due to its influence and popularity, the Pan Asian Repertory Theatre in New York City produced the novel for the stage[citation needed] and Wayne Wang directed a film version in 1989. $12.99 Buy HD. [Ben Loy beats Mei Oi] "He...picked up his leather slipper from the floor. [Ah Song rapes Mei Oi] "In the kitchen the white-enameled pot stood mute and unused, the lone cup of tea on the table forgotten and untouched. Mei Oi soon discovers that she is pregnant, but does not know who the father is (since she and Ben Loy had successfully slept together during a visit to Washington, D.C.). Eat a Bowl of Tea also shows the terrible consequences of gossip and the way it can destroy people’s lives as effectively as a wildfire raging out of control. Eat a Bowl of Tea explores the pressures put on two newlyweds in Chinatown to meet the expectations of their community. "Constructions of Chinese Identity in, Chua, Cheng Lok; "Golden Mountain: Chinese Versions of the American Dream in, Hsiao, Ruth Y. But he eventually warms to the idea of bringing a bride with him back to America and raising a family, and he assents to his family's wish. 1989 102 minutes. View production, box office, & company info. The novel is told by a third-person omniscient narrator – one who is able to reach and relay the thoughts, feelings, and actions of the characters. The tong mocks the family and Mei Oi realizes the magnitude of shame she has brought upon them. In Sunwei, the "Golden Mountain" discussed represents America. Segments of the plot occur in other locations as well, including: Chu's novel begins right after the close of World War II. When he meets Mei Oi in China, he decides that he made the right decision – he is immediately enthralled by her beauty and pleased by her modesty and courtesy. This chronological order is interrupted only after the first chapter when the text reveals an important memory to the reader, usually triggered by something in the character's present environment. Books to read from kenneth william kiep; It is not long before the novelty of living in Chinatown and marrying a gimshunhock ("Gold Mountain sojourner"—someone living in America) wears off. The Fourth Uncle consults this to confirm the most auspicious day for the marriage, Represents traditional practices of the Old Generation. IN his 1961 novel, ''Eat a Bowl of. When the novel was first published in 1961, reviews denounced it, deeming the content offensive and the language "tasteless and raw" (2). After such ceremonial practices as the employment of matchmakers and the approval of the Fourth Uncle, the families plan a traditional wedding. At the same time, we should also remember that Wang's film is a retrospective piece and have to take his own social contexts (late 1980s) into consideration. Even the affections of Chin Yuen, Ben Loy's closest companion, cannot distract Mei Oi from the pain she feels away from Ah Song, and she eventually convinces Ben Loy to move back to New York. Directed by Wayne Wang. With Cora Miao, Russell Wong, Victor Wong, Siu-Ming Lau. Beyond the film's discreetly handled sexual subject, there is some mild violence. Chinese men who had emigrated to the United States were known as gimshunhocks, or "sojourner in Gold Mountain" from the Chinese name for America. Momentarily he turned from his magazine to the lady...Shapely legs...The well proportioned legs drew his attention and reminded him of one day in Calcutta. [Ben Loy's depression] "His head spun with pains. It was the first Chinese American novel set in Chinese America. Taking place in New York's Chinatown in the late 1940s, Eat a Bowl of Tea is the story of the marriage of Ben Loy and Mei Oi, arranged by their respective fathers, Wah Gay and Lee Gong, who are two of the many "bachelor husbands" of Chinatown, married men whose wives were left behind in China when they came to America to work. This article is about the novel. Yet, thoughts and feelings of minor characters are usually withheld in order for readers to focus on relating to the major figures in the novel. A MAN, A WOMAN, AND A KILLER is the story of a small-time gangster (Dick Richardson) writing his journal in a Mendocino, California, farmhouse, as he awaits a hit man who is coming to kill ... See full summary ». Eat A Bowl Of Tea: A novel of New York's Chinatown by Louis Chu and a great selection of related books, art and collectibles available now at AbeBooks.com. After the war, many elderly men were confined to the cities of San Francisco, Seattle, Los Angeles, Boston, and New York City, as the 1882 Chinese Exclusion Act and Immigration Act of 1924 had prevented them from returning to their wives and family in China and also from bringing these family members to the United States. Publisher for the University of Washington Member of the Association of University Presses LoneStarNot . A study in culture bridging, including ... a new US-born husband, trying to work within the traditional ways, a new China-born wife, eager to join the "dream" of America, two family-minded fathers, lots of gender-related social bifurcations. A study in culture bridging, including ... a new US-born husband, trying to work within the traditional ways, a new China-born wife, eager to join the "dream" of America, two family-minded fathers, lots of gender-related social bifurcations. Although the tea is "thick, black, bitter...[and] not easy to swallow" (246), Ben Loy "kept going back to the herb doctor uncomplainingly" (246). It is now considered a primary work in Asian American literature, and Louis Chu has been praised repeatedly for creating an honest portrayal of Chinese American culture. By avoiding graphic descriptions, these passages remain tasteful and allow readers to use their own imaginations to obtain closure. The novel focuses on four primary characters: a young married couple, Ben Loy and Mei Oi, and their fathers, Wah Gay and Lee Gong. [Lee Gong's reaction] "Lee Gong let go a typhoon-sized sigh of relief" (151). Brooklyn Cigar Store is a neighborhood hangout in Brooklyn with Auggie Wren/H.Keitel as center. Lists containing this Book. Eat a Bowl of Tea is a must-read for all it tells us about its time and place. A Korean American man takes care of his sick mother as she teaches him her traditional recipes. ''Eat a Bowl of Tea'' is rated PG-13 (''Special Parental Guidance Suggested for Those Younger Than 13''). Title: [Snow in New York] "Everything was white. In Eat a Bowl of Tea, Louis Chu breaks from this norm and presents a realistic portrayal of the bachelor society of New York’s Chinatown in the late 1940s. When Ah Song presses charges, Wah Gay flees to a friend's home in New Jersey. Mei Oi insists that Ben Loy consult a doctor about his impotency – he tries both an American doctor and a Chinese herb specialist, but to no avail. His hand must have come down at least half a dozen times" (146). 8 people found this helpful. Although Ben Loy seems to be the epitome of a "good boy," he has a secret life. Other contrasts: Ben Loy visiting a Chinese herb doctor as well as an American doctor; Ben Loy and Mei Oi's marriage being both arranged and mutually chosen. "Eating" this tea represents Ben Loy breaking the rules and regulations of Chinese customs[citation needed] – rather than drink the tea, he "eats" it. [Ben Loy] "He was a stranger in his own town" (207). Eat a Bowl of Tea A Chinese man travels to America to visit his daughter after her recent divorce. Chu uses their stories illuminate conflicts between Chinese ideals and traditions and contemporary American society. With no ... See full summary ». This unfortunate predicament is depicted through the old men of the novel, such as Wah Gay and Lee Gong, but it also plays out in the way Mei Oi's arrival affects the entire community. Their Chinese wedding is mirrored by a Chinese wedding banquet back in Chinatown. “While this is a legitimate subject for fiction,” said one reviewer, “it is unfortunately beyond the scope of Mr. Chu’s abilities as a novelist to handle. Later when they both got up, Mei Oi started to sob, very softly" (99). The birth of their child, Kuo Ming, and a new environment allow them to grow closer and mend previous wrongs. A man is hired by a group of people he believes to be gangsters to escort a briefcase from America to Hong Kong. Ben Loy becomes addicted to these sexual flings, often sleeping with numerous prostitutes in a night. Eat a Bowl of Tea remains a groundbreaking and influential work. All hail this long-overdue reissue! Ben Loy and Mei Oi decide to free themselves of all family and community ties by starting anew in San Francisco. Eat a Bowl of Tea is situated at this historical juncture with the legal history that sets the plot in motion. The narrative then jumps back in time to "several months before the wedding" (15) and continues chronologically from this point on. Eat A Bowl Of Tea This edition was published in February 1, 2002 by Lyle Stuart. Want to share IMDb's rating on your own site? Asian-American feature films released in the US since the 1980s. By keeping sentences relatively simple and throwing in various cultural terms and phrases, Chu makes his novel both authentic and readable. But Wah Gay and Lee Gong are too embarrassed to remain in the community and leave New York, heading their separate ways in solitude. Eat A Bowl Of Tea. Two cab drivers search San Francisco's Chinatown for the mysterious Chan, who disappeared with their $4000. These instances not only give readers the unique chance to assume and create their own details, but also reflect values of politeness and privacy in Chinese culture. Though his trip starts off as a mission to see his daughter remarry, he sparks to an Iranian woman who, despite their language barrier, captures his heart. Fax: (206) 543-3932. Mei Oi is from China and therefore is expected to be good, courteous, and understanding; instead she resumes the behavior of a. Ben Loy and Mei Oi are under constant pressure from their parents and society to maintain traditional values while living in contemporary America. Because of the exclusionary laws that prohibited Chinese male laborers from bringing their wives and families to the US, Chinatowns were predominately male back then. And yet, it's more than a catalog of manners and mores—it's a page turner, too, as salty and lively as the day it was written. On the surface, Ben Loy appears like a "good boy", yet he is covering up secrets of a promiscuous past. But Toilet Paper Is Expensive, Eat a Bowl of Tea, The Princess of Nebraska and more. The whole world was white" (36). Whether it is the beneficial effect of the tea or a change in Ben Loy himself, Ben Loy regains his manhood at the conclusion of the novel. In San Francisco, an immigrant widow welcomes the new year with some unhappiness: she's sixty-two now, she wants to make a trip to China to pay last respects to her ancestors, a fortune ... 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