Critical Sentiments of the Quotidian Life

Dated in 1885 when the above map of San Francisco Chinatown was created and printed, this visual and cartographic representation is incorporated on this very page with the intention to reflect not only the geographical space inhibited by an ethnic community, but also the entire physical, cultural, and social world of this immigrant group from China, segregated from the mainstream American society and discriminated by the nationally enforced legislature of racism in the post era of the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882.

While on this map “[s]pecial attention is paid to vices: prostitution is marked in green (Chinese) and blue (white); joss houses are marked in red; opium dens are marked in bright yellow; and gambling is marked in pink”¹ how such “special” stamping eventually moved from chorographical onto the social mapping to shape formation of the perpetually circulated misrepresentation of Chinatown within orientalized Western media as symbols of vice, corruption, power, powerlessness, and discourse of failure of assimilation, etc., is another relevant discourse required of explicative analysis.

An initial, perspectival argument could be proposed at such vantage point of having complete access to the original writings by James Poy Wong, a Chinese American in the 1940s generation whose unique identity and life enabled greater nuanced representation of old cultural practice, new political challenges, and evolving, intricate changes in the society within and beyond Chinatown America. With a background of being born in San Francisco, taken to China at the age of nine, returned to America at sixteen, grew up in Chinatown and educated at UC Berkeley, Wong and his distinctively diasporic life had instilled in him particular experiences that merit his literary expressions to be representative of this transitional era of the ‘40s generation.

While many of Wong’s essays embody intellectual thinking about the society and politics of his times, most are replete with critical sentiments toward numerous aspects of life within the immediate and outside space of his ethnic community. As a whole, this genre of his writings provide meaningful glimpses into quotidian life of those who remained fully Chinese, those traversed in and between worlds of the two ethnicities, as well as those who had become acculturated Chinese Americans.

More exclusively, Wong’s essays reflect beyond mundane activities occurring behind closed doors of ordinary Chinatown residence. The essays recorded observations and thoughts about the same struggles and tale of survival of a people living within socioeconomic structures that were defined by ethnic segregation and racial discrimination, while remaining a spirit that continued to defy unfavorable natural environments, national laws, and cultural conflicts between the living boundaries of modern towns and cities.

Most significantly, these essays by Wong are a source of reference to what could be more abundant, unknown talents such as himself, a literary voice that thrived to be heard for themselves and represented by themselves whether they had access to economic resources, legal power, or even decent human rights. As such evaluation of this body of work calls for more formal study of such writings published in Chinese language newspapers around the world.

Essays Published in 1940s & 1970s

Title		Summary
	Chinatown Scenery	A short piece of prose reflecting various aspects of the social and cultural environment of Chinatown as an isolated ethnic community and a tourist attraction.
	Meteor	Comparing a meteor and a person, this essay places emphasis on the value of one’s existence during the process of life and death.
	Where Is Home	A succinct comparison between home and its members and the world as a global family to advocate for true harmony among humanity and for world peace.
	Sara Is Back	A unique biography of a warship and its fate during wartime that also entails battle stories of army comrades combatting alongside the ships.
	Sara Is Back	A unique biography of a warship and its fate during wartime that also entails battle stories of army comrades combatting alongside the ships.
	Some Reflections	Based on personal thoughts and other sources, this brief but critical contemplation of people’s morals of the times in wartime China could be considered as representative of the intellectual views of the overseas Chinese in the 1940s.
	Sower of War	A short reflection essay asking a timeless question of the sources of war and the roots of animosity in humanity.
	The Side of Darkness	A perceptive view of and optimistic belief in how people may struggle and live through darkness.
	Taking A Boat Back to China	Speaking for the youths who are brought back and forth between America and China, this piece provides historical understanding of this unique group of Chinese and Chinese Americans and their predicament living a life of diaspora.
	New Year	A short piece insightfully relating notions of time and newness that extend to the strength of hope in human endeavor and mutual support.
	Writing in the Rain	Writing on the occasion of rain, this piece reflects upon the force of water comparable to human thoughts and experience in the social world.
	Chill Words	The cold in the Bay Area brought out the concern of survival for humankind, especially those most vulnerable in the author’s motherland of southern China.
	The Last Class	A meaningful reflection on what the final class in college may mean to one’s life and how it varies among students of different backgrounds and aspirations.
	The Past	A reflective short writing about our relationship with our past and its role in our lives.
	Dream	This piece provides a perspicacious comparison between the potential working of dreaming and the meaningful purpose of dream in life.
	Filial Piety	A bold piece inverting the subject and recipient within the traditional Confucian concept of filial piety, which is reflective of the unique discontent among the generation of Chinese Americans in the 1940s.
	Reticence and Alienation	With focus on reticence, this short essay points to the connection between freedom of expression and belief and personal and social levels of alienation.
	Emotion	A concise and perceptive comparison of emotion and reason, and how they function in conflict or complementary to each other within humans.
	Is Your Responsibility	Referring to a story of a sudden collapse of a bamboo scaffold, this short piece calls upon people to be responsible for alarming and preventing social disintegration.
	The Problem of Modernizing Chinatown	This succinct essay earnestly presents relevant factors of the question of modernizing Chinatown and the prospective social and economic development unique to its ethnic characteristics.
	Faith	A discussion of the role of faith in our modern life as manifested in the personal and political dimensions.
	Before the Age of Thirty	An important introduction to the operation of the newspaper industry in general and its social, political, and cultural functions within the overseas Chinese community in particular.
	The Riches Entering My Home	This short piece details a personal account of a privileged group of Chinese people who are starkly different from the commoner class within the overseas Chinese community in America.
	Drama Performance	This especially short writing briefly touches upon the cultural function of drama performance and should be read alongside with other pieces on the same topic to reflect the larger social function of such art form in the early generations of overseas Chinese communities.
	Death and Road	Through a focus on death, this brief reflective piece with an admonishing tone speaks to the possible paths and reality of life.
	To Be Number One	A short view and cultural critique of Chinese people’s inclination of forsaking competition due to fear of losing out.
	He Is Dead	A piece of pensive writing about the meaning of death and what death may mean to the living.
	Cold Bath	Focusing on a seemingly mundane matter of a malfunctioned water heater, this short piece pierces into a discourse of critique against Chinese cultures.
	The Quintessence of Chinese Culture	With a mention of Cantonese opera, this writing fully displays what could be a representative critique of Chinese cultures among the young generation of 1940s.
	Close Enough	Similar to other pieces contributing to the discourse of critique of traditional Chinese culture, this essay speaks against the lack of spirits of pursuing precision and perfection.
	Graduation	A reflective piece musing amidst the occasion of graduation, with questions about personal achievement through college, individual contribution to society, and what the future may hold for the graduates.
	Stand Up	With the example of a child learning to walk and comparing it to various types of work to be achieved by social clubs in Chinatown and overseas Chinese communities, this short piece advocates for perseverance and aspiration.
	Marriage, Sex and Love	A subject much less written about, sex and its intricate relationship with marriage and love are discussed in this short piece, giving a general perspective of the thoughts among this generation.
	Bidding Farewell	A beautiful piece expressing all the genuine feelings of sadness and pains by the ones bidding farewell, and meaningful contemplation of what one observes at the train station where separation in life takes place.
	Kindness	Reflecting on sources of joy in life and how kindness should be reciprocated with giving kindness itself.
	Holiday in Chinatown	Through a casual stroll on the streets on Independence Day, the author shares his earnest rumination over notions of freedom, law, and the learned nature acquired in humans.
	Remembering Unknown Heroes	This piece distinguishes those who died and would be commemorated once a year and those who passed and left behind meaningful values.
	A Year Ago	A dramatized reminiscence of the end of World War II and a poetic remembrance of the death of President Franklin Roosevelt.
	After the Bloody Corpse Is Buried	While advocating social justice for the dead in victimhood, this writing emphasizes more on the meaning of life for the living.
	Wandering In Uncertainty	Speaking about a sense of uncertainty in people, this piece presents a larger social and political background of young people striving to maintain productive life in wartime, semi-occupied China.
	Moving	A seemingly casual discussion of moving entails a familiar discourse of critiquing some parts of Chinese culture, in addition to an engineer’s expression of personal discontent.
	Half-Cooked Rice	This piece speaks about the common lack of awareness and typical indifference towards famine, which the author argues is more tragic compared to warfare.
	Do You Want Longevity?	A profound piece reflecting upon what time means to different age groups, and how time and life should be measured and evaluated based on how one has used one’s life time.
	Beyond Material Wealth	Albeit brief in length, this piece earnestly expresses emphasis on greater values in spiritual wealth over material ones.
	Impressions	Published at age eighteen, this piece advocates for greater unity among people in the community; the young author also reflects on the widespread drama craze that is also part of the larger cultural scenery of the overseas Chinese society.
	"Paisan" (Countryman)	A critical piece indicating interrelated factors of war, followed by a meaningful introduction of an Italian war film, “Paisan”.
	"Forgetting One's Origin and Longing for One's root"	From citing a Tang Dynasty poem to reflecting upon loss of values in modern American society, this writing reflects deep rooted sentiments among the author’s generation concerning their relations to the motherland and the migrated place as their new homeland.
	"Let's Come Back!"	A meaningfully compelling piece calling upon Chinese and Chinese Americans from various backgrounds and for different reasons to come back to rebuild the Chinatown community.