Books
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February 5, 2010 at 9:04 am #5278
Rob_Hugo@PortNW
KeymasterImages of America: Chinatown in Los Angeles by Jenny Cho, and the Chinese Historical Society of Southern California.
Recently, I had family visiting from Europe and I took them on various tours of Los Angeles during their trip. One destination was to Chinatown. While visiting there, I purchased this book to learn more about this area. I think it is important to understand the lives of immigrants both in their homeland and in our country. The book includes historical information as well as photos.
There were only two Chinese residents in Los Angeles in the 1850 census. By 1870, the Chinese population had risen to 200. It soared to 3000 by 1900. Chinese came to Los Angeles “seeking work in agriculture, laundries, general and herbal stores, domestic labor, restaurants and other industries.” (Cho: 7) Additionally, Chinese women were brought to Los Angeles to work in brothels. The original settlers were men who desired female company.
The original Chinatown was located on what is now Union Square. The new location, called “New Chinatown” was opened in 1938 and was the first Chinese enclave in the US to be planned and owned by Chinese.
Gambling was also a favorite activity. In fact, there are apparently tunnels dug beneath this part of the city. When the authorities raided the travelling gambling halls, clients would disappear into the underground tunnels – never to be found by the authorities. What a rich culture Los Angeles’ Chinatown has!
March 1, 2010 at 2:28 pm #31314Anonymous
GuestHey teachers!
Are there any books by Asian authors that you can recommend for high school?
Asian authors are seriously underrepresented in my district's curriculum. The only novel we teach is Haruki Murakami's "The Wind-Up Bird Chronicles." Murakami's style seems very Western to me, and the novel is modern. I'm hoping to create a list of authors representing different time periods and styles. Our campus is considering updating our approved reading lists to help raise test scores. I want to have a list ready to go in case this comes through.March 9, 2010 at 2:06 am #31315GuestI can recommend My Splendid Concubine, by Lloyd Lofthouse. Historical fiction (romance) based in 19th century China during the Taiping Rebellion. Good interplay of East meets West.
March 9, 2010 at 11:42 am #31316GuestI read "What I talk about when I talk about running" by Haruki Murakami. This novel is philosophical thoughts that Murakami has dwelled upon while running. Murakami is a well known Japanese author, perhaps best known for "The wind-up bird chronicle" or "Kafka on the beach".
March 9, 2010 at 11:10 pm #31317GuestAnd now on my list... they usually throw in an obscure book hidden in most episodes of Lost. On the recent episode a character was readiong a book called "Deep River" by Shusaku Endo. It is supposed to be about 4 Japanese tourists that travel to India in search of spiritual rebirth along the Ganges River. I've read another book from the show bewfore and it was pretty good, so I'll probably gives this one a try too.
March 10, 2010 at 10:59 am #31318GuestI just started reading a book by Murakami called "After Dark." It's set in modern Tokyo...pretty interesting so far. I'll give you a more detailed review when I finish reading.
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