American Born Chinese (graphic novel)

**American Born Chinese** is a graphic novel by Gene Luen Yang. It was released in 2006 by First Second Books, and was a finalist for the 2006 National Book Awards in the category of Young People's Literature. It won the 2007 Michael L. Printz Award, the 2007 Eisner Award for Best Graphic Album: New, the Publishers Weekly Comics Week Best Comic of the Year, the San Francisco Chronicle Best Book of the Year, the 2006/2007 Best Book Award from The Chinese American Librarians Association, and Amazon.com Best Graphic Novel/Comic of the Year. It also made the Booklist Top Ten Graphic Novel for Youth, the NPR Holiday Pick, and Time Top Ten Comic of the Year. It was colored by cartoonist Lark Pien, who received the 2007 Harvey Award for Best Colorist for her work on the book.

## Synopsis

The story of American Born Chinese consists of three seemingly separate tales, which are tied together at the end of the book.

The first storyline is Yang's contemporary rendition of the Chinese story of a Kung Fu practicing Monkey King of Flower-Fruit Mountain, The Monkey King, a character from the classic 16th century Chinese novel Journey to the West. Yang replaces the Buddha from the original story with a Christian influenced deity Tze-Yo-Tzuh. Throughout the story, The Monkey King is unhappy with himself as a monkey and continually tries to become another version of himself. The Monkey King grows larger, taking a more human form. After being rejected from a divine dinner party, he takes down every deity that has been sent to stop him, growing stronger by each kill. The lesser deities plead to the more powerful being in the world, Tze-Yo-Tzuh, to stop The Monkey King. Tze-Yo-Tzuh tries to help The Monkey King accept himself, but when The Monkey King refuses, Tze-Yo-Tzuh imprisons him under a mountain of rocks. A monk named Wong Lai-Tsao is sent by Tze-Yo-Tzuh on a mission to carry three packages to the west and is to pick up his disciple, The Monkey King, on his journey. He finds The Monkey King imprisoned under the mountain of rocks and frees him from the mountain by convincing The Monkey King to return to his original form.

The second storyline follows a child of Chinese immigrants named Jin Wang. His story links the other two narratives, and fits the form of an ethnic coming-of-age.His family moves from San Francisco's Chinatown to a suburb where he goes to school with only a single other Asian student, Suzy Nakamura. The teachers and other students in Jin's school are all ignorant of his Chinese culture. Jin struggles with his Chinese identity and begins to reject it until he meets a new Asian student, Wei-Chen. Wei-Chen is a Taiwanese immigrant who just came to the United States, and he and Jin become best friends. Wei-Chen begins dating Suzy Nakamura, and she joins the group of friends. Jin begins dating Amelia Harris, a Caucasian girl in his class, but her friend Greg asks Jin not to ask her out anymore because he felt she needed to protect her image. Jin perceives this as a personal attack on him because of his race. Angry and confused, he kisses Suzy and the friends have a falling-out. That evening, Jin recalls the fight he had with Wei-Chen and convinces himself that Wei-Chen deserved it. That night, Jin has a dream about a Chinese woman he had met when he was younger who had told him that he could be anything he wanted if he was willing to give up his soul. He awakens the next morning and looks in the mirror to see himself as a Caucasian boy, and he changes his name to Danny.

The third storyline follows Danny, an "all-American boy" and his Chinese cousin Chin-Kee, who comes to visit every year. Danny is embarrassed by Chin-Kee, who is depicted as a racist stereotype, in traditional queue with buck teeth, speaking in pidgin English. At the end of this narrative, it is revealed that Chin-Kee is The Monkey King in disguise. Danny is Jin Wang, who "transformed" into a Caucasian boy after being prevented from pursuing the girl of his dreams because he was Chinese. The Monkey King tells Danny that his son Wei-Chen was sent to live among the mortals without sin for forty years, but no longer wanted to follow his father's footsteps of serving humans after learning about their self-centeredness. That was what caused him to visit Danny annually. Danny realized that the reason Wei-Chen fell into sin was his fault. He turns back into Jin Wang and embraces his Chinese identity, while also reconciling with Wei-Chen, the Monkey King's son.

## Character list

* The Monkey King: A monkey who has lived for thousands of years and mastered all the heavenly disciplines. He yearns to join the ranks of gods, and after being rejected, goes on a rampage. He managed to defeat many gods and goddesses, but was buried under a mountain by Tze-Yo-Tzuh for five hundred years. He was later released by Wong Lai-Tsao and accompanies him on his journey as a disciple. Because of their success, he was granted the role of emissary for Tze-Yo-Tzuh
* Tze-Yo-Tzuh: Tze-Yo-Tzuh (Chinese: 自有者; pinyin: zìyǒuzhě) is the creator of the universe and all the deities. In the part of American Born Chinese that is adapted from Journey to the West, Tze-Yo-Tzuh has the role played by the Buddha in the original story. Yang made this change owing to the fact that he is a Christian (specifically, Roman Catholic) and not Buddhist.
* Wong Lai-Tsao: Based upon Tang Sanzang from Journey to the West. Wong Lai-Tsao is a monk sent on a journey to Tze-Yo-Tzuh. He is promised the Monkey King as a disciple.
* Jin Wang: Jin Wang is a Chinese-American boy who wants to fit in with the white students at his new school in a suburb. He doesn't like talking too much at school, especially in front of Amelia, the girl he has a crush on. He is finally encouraged by his friend, Wei-Chen, to ask her out. But this relationship is short lived. Greg, Amelia's friend, asks Jin to break up with her because he doesn't think Jin is right for Amelia.
* Amelia Harris: Amelia Harris is a white American girl who is the classmate of Jin and Wei-Chen. Jin has a crush on her.
* Wei-Chen Sun: Wei-Chen Sun is a Taiwanese immigrant who slowly becomes Jin's best friend. His girlfriend is Suzy Nakamura. It is revealed at the story's conclusion that he is the Monkey King's eldest son, and originally wanted to become an emissary, but abandoned his role after being betrayed by Jin. He believed humans to be "petty, soulless creatures" and wanted to spend the rest of his days using the mortal world for his pleasure.
* Suzy Nakamura: Suzy Nakamura is a young Japanese-American girl in Jin and Wei-Chen's class. She starts dating Wei-Chen in middle school.
* Greg: Greg is a white American boy and a friend of Amelia Harris. While he initially appears nice, it is later revealed he is racist, disapproving of Jin's relationship with Amelia.
* Danny: Danny is a white "average" American boy. Danny is always irritated and embarrassed by his Asian cousin Chin-Kee. Since Chin-Kee's annual visits began when Danny was in eighth grade, Danny has had to change schools every year since due to the appearance and mannerisms of Chin-Kee ruining his perception by his peers. Danny turns out to be Jin Wang, under a new identity.
* Chin-Kee: Chin-Kee is a startling caricature of negative Chinese stereotypes. He is Danny's larger-than-life Chinese cousin who, to Danny's embarrassment, comes to visit every year. Chin-Kee wears antiquated Chinese clothing, the traditional queue hairstyle, and literally has yellow skin, buck teeth, and eyes squinting so tightly that the pupils cannot be seen. He loudly speaks extraordinary "Chinglish" at all times, likes to play tricks on people, and possesses an unnatural sexual appetite. Chin-Kee is the Monkey King in disguise. Chin-Kee and his behavior are references to various perceived stereotypes, including images by Pat Oliphant and reactions to William Hung. Chin-Kee's name sounds like the ethnic insult "chinky" when said aloud. Yang said that when he heard some people argue Chin-Kee was cute, he stated that he wished he designed the character to appear even more like stereotypes.

## Gallery

### Videos

Why cult classic American Born Chinese is now required reading — and a TV series - TED Radio HourAmerican Born Chinese Interview with Gene Luen Yang and Melvin Mar - Influencing Our InfluencesHow self-acceptance fueled creation of 'American Born Chinese'Graphic novelist Gene Luen Yang on bringing ‘American Born Chinese’ to TV
## Development

Gene Luen Yang's **graphic novel** entitled *American Born Chinese* was an adaptation of the Chinese classic novel *Journey to the West*, and according to series creator Kelvin Yu, the characters belong in the same category as other famous Disney legends such as the characters from the Marvel universe and Disney's own princesses. Yang was influenced by his own experiences as a Chinese American teenager growing up in the 1990s' middle America between two cultures.

The graphic novel became landmark literature for Asian American millennials when it was published in 2006, and Yang was approached by Hollywood for the first time in 2007. It turned out that the reason for the initial interest was a search for properties that would promote "the word China or Chinese" leading up to the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, said Yang. Throughout the years, there would be inquiries but Yang observed that "the world needed to change in order for there to be an appetite for a story about an Asian American protagonist."

Then Yang met *Fresh Off the Boat* producer Melvin Mar who introduced him to Kelvin Yu (*Bob's Burgers*). Yu was aware of the difficulties of bringing the graphic novel to life onscreen but presented suggestions and ideas about how to expand the story and work with the complex plot line in a way that would speak to a new generation.

## From page to screen

Like any adaptation the Disney+ adaptation of Gene Luen Yang's *American Born Chinese* alters quite a bit from the original graphic novel as Jin Wang and Wei-Chen cross paths. In the graphic novel, The Monkey King is quite egotistical. It led to him trying to make his kingdom fiercer, so they could berate the other Chinese gods. Sadly, he lost his soul along the way, becoming violent and thirsty for power. Luckily, he would atone and seek to spread peace and enlightenment, disguising himself as Chin-Kee on Earth. This offensive caricature was meant to break Danny (a seemingly white teen) out of his self-deprecation and get him to return to being Jin, and in turn be someone who should be proud of his Asian heritage. The series tweaks the Monkey King drastically by not having him disguised on Earth in Jin's life. Instead, he's prepping for a war with the Bull Demon up in the clouds. It's why he wants his son, Wei-Chen, to bring his power staff back to Heaven, so he can defend the gods. In the process, the show avoids having Jin morph into a white kid, opting to show conformity by having him ignore the obvious racism he sees toward Asians. In the graphic novel, Wei-Chen disguised himself and befriended Jin as a test of virtue. However, he grew disenchanted with humanity's selfish ways, opting to become a miscreant himself. The show makes Wei-Chen more of a hero, having him steal his dad's staff to find another weapon of power on Earth. It leads to him befriending Jin after visions make Wei-Chen think Jin is the heroic key to finding the item and saving Heaven.

Moreover, in the graphic novel, Jin is someone who had to learn to love himself and also as someone who had to convince Wei-Chen to believe in mankind again. The show switches that up by making Jin the Fourth Scroll. This is actually the weapon Wei-Chen has been searching for all along. The graphic novel didn't have these scrolls of discipline, philosophy, discourse and power at all. Instead, it focused on Tze-Yo-Tzuh's five fingers of creation, but all that is cut to make Jin a mystical vessel and set up his arc in a potential season 2. Furthermore, The Bull Demon and Guanyin are new additions, as they weren't present in the graphic novel. In the graphic novel, the Monkey King steals the power staff to show the pantheon of gods he should rule them as the Great Sage. The show alters this by having him lecture the Dragon King's party, letting them know they're arrogant. This leads to the gods bestowing the staff and the Monkey King earning it naturally. As such, he's less of a politician and someone truly worthy of being the Great Sage. This also drives the Bull Demon's jealousy, as he feels his friend stole his thunder and became corrupted by the gods. Also, in the graphic novel, Wei-Chen was dating Suzy Nakamura, an activist, only for Jin to try to kiss her. This broke the boys' friendship, but the show doesn't have Suzy with Wei-Chen. Her romantic arc is centered around Jin's cosplaying best friend, Anuj, who's another new addition to the story. Anuj's feelings for Suzy, as well as his love of comics, manga and superheroes, lead to him helping Jin and Wei-Chen fight off the Bull Demon in the end.

In the graphic novel, Jin's parents are minor characters and don't have much to do, but the series leans harder into them as immigrants trying to make it in America. Season 1 follows his dad as an engineer who gets screwed over on a promotion and his mom as someone trying to start a new business. There's also extra nuance in how these pressures lead to marital conflict, financial troubles, and Jin suffering emotionally from their fighting. While, in the graphic novel the Monkey King was able to adjust his size like Marvel's Ant-Man. He could create clones and shape-shifted a lot to roam the planet. The series, though, rarely has him shape-shifting. All he does is leap around and shrink down the staff. It grounds him a bit to keep him more as a warrior, as opposed to an all-powerful deity. Furthermore, in the graphic novel, Jin and Amelia Taylor date briefly, but their relationship doesn't work out. The show gives Jin and her a happy ending, having him kiss her after realizing she's a big part of why he needs to protect the world. They have way more dates and spend time understanding each other's cultures, making their bond here resonate a lot more.

In the graphic novel, there was more disgusting comments shot toward Jin by kids at school. The show deals with Chinese stereotypes in a more latent way, with Greg, for example, making a meme that white teens don't see as racist. It's more about ignorance than pure hatred in the series, but it's still something Jin has to address. This is what drives Suzy's activist group, highlighting how microaggressions can be just as dangerous as overt discrimination. Lastly, while in the novel there was Chin-Kee annoying Jin, reflecting all the racism Yang endured in his life. In the series, this is sanitized, so the message doesn't get lost in translation. The show uses Ke Huy Quan as Jamie Yao, an actor who played Freddy Wong in a sitcom that dehumanized Asians. It nods to Chin-Kee's story from the source material, with many stereotypes unfolding. However, Jamie would address it years later at a reunion and educate the media on why roles like these are harmful and why the entertainment industry needs to do better. The clip goes viral, encouraging teens like Jin to embrace and love their heritage.

## Trivia

* On May 5, 2023, Lark Pien talked about the upcoming tv adaption of the graphic novel on Disney+. To celebrate, she shared on her Instagram the first page she colored for Gene Luen Yang back in 2004-2005. She also teased that she is headed to New York City, for a screening of the series.

## References

1. ↑ American Born Chinese. Gene Luen Yang. New York: First Second-Roaring Brook, 2006. 240 pages. $29.95 cloth, $16.95 paper - Mellus
2. ↑ Michael L. Printz Winners and Honor Books c.2010 - Web Archive
3. ↑ About American Born Chinese Paperback edition - Amazon
4. ↑ Interview: Gene Luen Yang on Boxers & Saints - SLJ
5. ↑ This Chinese American cartoonist forces us to face racist stereotypes - PBS
6. ↑ Creator Kelvin Yu Believes ‘American Born Chinese’ Characters Stand With Marvel Heroes & Disney Princesses – Contenders TV - Deadline
7. ↑ American Born Chinese Review - Empire
8. ↑ From Xerox to TV box, long awaited adaptation of 'American Born Chinese' book hits Disney+ - WPLG
9. ↑ American Born Chinese Reflects a New Era of Storytelling - Time
10. ↑ 10.0 10.1 10.2 10.3 10.4 10.5 10.6 10.7 American Born Chinese's Biggest Changes From the Comic - CBR
11. ↑ Lark Pien May 5, 2023 IG Post - Instagram