On Gold Mountain : The One-Hundred-Year Odyssey of My Chinese-American Family

Chronicles the experiences of a Chinese-American family in California, beginning with the immigration of the author's great-great-grandfather in the late 1800s.When she was a girl, Lisa See spent summers in the cool, dark recesses of her family's antiques store in Los Angeles's Chinatown. There, her grand-mother and great-aunt told her intriguing, colorful stories about their family's past - stories of missionaries, concubines, tong wars, glamorous nightclubs, and the determined struggle to triumph over racist laws and discrimination. They spoke of how Lisa's great-great-grandfather emigrated from his Chinese village to the United States; how his son followed him, married a Caucasian woman, and despite great odds, went on to become one of the most prominent Chinese on "Gold Mountain" (the Chinese name for the United States). As an adult, See spent five years collecting the details of her family's remarkable history. She interviewed nearly one hundred relatives - both Chinese and Caucasian, rich and poor - and pored over documents at the National Archives, the immigration office, and in countless attics, basements, and closets for the intimate nuances of her ancestors' lives. With the publication of this stunningly illustrated account of the Hungarian avant-garde movement, an important missing link in early modern art can now be fully recognized. To such well-known names in the west as Lzsl Moholy-Nagy and Andor Weininger can now be added the contributions of Lajos Kassk, Sndor Bortnyik, Bla Uitz, and a host of other painters whose significance has long been obscured. The nearly 200 illustrations, many in full color, together with essays by leading American and Hungarian scholars and a comprehensive bibliography and comparative chronology, make this a definitive sourcebook that opens a new chapter in twentieth-century art.During the early twentieth century, central and eastern Europe provided fertile ground for major artistic developments. Hungarian painters, in particular, responded imaginatively and vigorously to the political and social changes leading up to and following World War I by "standing in the tempest" of political activism and attempting to redefine the role of art in society. Only in the past few years has it been possible once again to examine original works of art and to assess properly these painters' vital contribution.The The Marching in the Van of Progress, Richard V. West. Introduction, S. A. Mansbach. A Brief Political and Cultural History, Istvn Dek Revolutionary The Hungarian Avant-Garde, S. A. Mansbach. Color, Light, Form, and New Experiments in Hungarian Painting, 1890-1930, Jlia Szab, Hungarian Activism and the Russian Avant-Garde, John E. Bowlt. The Avant Garde in Hungary and Eastern Europe, Krisztina Passuth. Chronology, and bibliography, Oliver A. I. Botar. When She Was A Girl, Lisa See Spent Summers In The Cool, Dark Recesses Of Her Family’s Antiques Store In Los Angeles Chinatown. There, Her Grandmother And Great-aunt Told Her Intriguing, Colorful Stories About Their Family’s Past--stories Of Missionaries, Concubines, Long Wars, Glamorous Nightclubs, And The Determined Struggle To Triumph Over Racist Laws And Discrimination. They Spoke Of How Lisa’s Great-great-grandfather Emigrated From His Chinese Village To The United States To Work On The Building Of The Transcontinental Railroad As An Herbalist; How His Son Followed Him, Married A Caucasian Woman, And Despite Great Odds, Went On To Become One Of The Most Prominent Chinese On “gold Mountain” (the Chinese Name For The United States). S An Adult, See Spent Five Years Collecting The Details Of Her Family’s Remarkable History. She Interviewed Nearly One Hundred Relatives--both Chinese And Caucasian, Rich And Poor--and Pored Over Documents At The National Archives And Several Historical Societies, Searching In Countless Attics, Basements, And Closets For The Intimate Nuances Of Her Ancestors’ Lives. The Result Is A Vivid, Sweeping Family Portrait In The Tradition Of Alex Haley’s Roots That Is At Once Particular And Universal, Telling The Story Not Only Of One Family, But Of The Chinese People In America Itself, A Country That Both Welcomes And Reviles Immigrants Like No Other Culture In The World. When she was a girl, Lisa See spent summers in the cool, dark recesses of her family's antiques store in Los Angeles Chinatown. There, her grandmother and great-aunt told her intriguing, colorful stories about their family's past?stories of missionaries, concubines, long wars, glamorous nightclubs, and the determined struggle to triumph over racist laws and discrimination. They spoke of how Lisa's great-great-grandfather emigrated from his Chinese village to the United States to work on the building of the transcontinental railroad as an herbalist; how his son followed him, married a Caucasian woman, and despite great odds, went on to become one of the most prominent Chinese on "Gold Mountain" (the Chinese name for the United States). As an adult, See spent five years collecting the details of her family's remarkable history. She interviewed nearly one hundred relatives?both Chinese and Caucasian, rich and poor?and pored over documents at the National Archives and several historical societies, searching in countless attics, basements, and closets for the intimate nuances of her ancestors' lives. The result is a vivid, sweeping family portrait in the tradition of Alex Haley's Roots that is at once particular and universal, telling the story not only of one family, but of the Chinese people in America itself, a country that both welcomes and reviles immigrants like no other culture in the world From the bestselling author of The Island of Sea Women , here is the true story of the one-hundred-year-odyssey of the author’s Chinese-American family, combining years of research with “fascinating family anecdotes, imaginative details, and the historical details of immigrant life” (Amy Tan, bestselling author of The Joy Luck Club ). "As engagingly readable as any novel." — Los Angeles Times Book Review In 1867, Lisa See's great-great-grandfather arrived in America, where he prescribed herbal remedies to immigrant laborers who were treated little better than slaves. His son Fong See later built a mercantile empire and married a Caucasian woman, in spite of laws prohibiting interracial marriage. Lisa herself grew up playing in her family's antiques store in Los Angeles's Chinatown, listening to stories of missionaries and prostitutes, movie stars and Chinese baseball teams. See’s family history encompasses secret marriages, entrepreneurial genius, romance, racism, and much more, as two distinctly different cultures meet in a new world in this “lovingly rendered...vivid tableau of a family and an era” ( People ). In 1867, Lisa See's great-great-grandfather left China in search of riches on the 'Gold Mountain', the Chinese name for the promised land of America. His son Fong See later built a mercantile empire and married a Caucasian woman, in spite of laws that prohibited unions between the races. Through sheer endeavour and entrepreneurial genius he became one of the most successful Chinese men in the country. Over the decades, each generation of the See family strived to grasp their dreams, realise their ambitions and overcome their disappointments and sorrows. This sweeping chronicle of five generations of a Chinese-American family encompasses stories of adventure and heartache, racism and romance, secret marriages and sibling rivalries. On Gold Mountain is a powerful social history of two cultures meeting in a new world.

In 1867, Lisa See's great-great-grandfather arrived in America, where he prescribed herbal remedies to immigrant laborers who were treated little better than slaves. His son Fong See later built a mercantile empire and married a Caucasian woman, in spite of laws prohibiting interracial marriage. Lisa herself grew up playing in her family's antiques store in Los Angeles's Chinatown, listening to stories of missionaries and prostitutes, movie stars and Chinese baseball teams.
With these stories and her own years of research, Lisa See chronicles the one-hundred-year-odyssey of her Chinese-American family, a history that encompasses racism, romance, secret marriages, entrepreneurial genius, and much more, as two distinctly different cultures meet in a new world.  

Out of the stories heard in her childhood in Los Angeles's Chinatown and years of research, See has constructed this sweeping chronicle of her Chinese-American family, a work that takes in stories of racism and romance, entrepreneurial genius and domestic heartache, secret marriages and sibling rivalries, in a powerful history of two cultures meeting in a new world. 82 photos.