Donald Duk by Frank Chin
An interesting view of the Chinese New Year celebration in San Francisco written in the early 90’s by Frank Chin. The reader is taken along on a journey through a young boy’s battle of fitting in at school, and his internal fight as he comes to grips with heritage of a Chinese America.
Young Donald Duk attends a snooty prep school, where he is one of a few Chinese Americans students in a school of upper middle class white kids. Donald is doomed with a name that makes most American’s think instantly of the famed Walk Disney character, Donald Duck, is often the ammunition for much of the teasing he receives at school and from the kids in Chinatown where he lives. Donald is not proud to be Chinese, in fact he finds he can’t stand most Chinese people and wishes he wasn’t surrounded by them.
We see as Donald, pulls away from the traditional Chinese American lifestyle his family lives. And dreams of being a great tap dancer like the 1950’s actor and dancer, Fred Astaire. Donald wishes to be the next Chinese Fred Astaire, and he takes tap lessons from an older gentleman named Larry Louie. Louie is older man now, but at one time he was seen as the one of the best dancers from Chinatown. Louie was “The Chinese Fred Astaire” that Donald dreams to be, but Donald can’t see past his distaste for Chinese people and shows Louie no respect.
With the Chinese New Year coming, the Duk family prepares. King Duk(Donald’s father) and his his two sisters build many small planes, which on the last day of the 12 day celebration. They will fly and set on fire, paying respects to their heritage and the memory of the 108 Outlaws. This Represents the Rise and Fall of life and the Mandate of Heaven, which Donald doesn’t understand and has no interest in learning about. He thinks Chinese traditions are stupid and they make it harder to be accepted as an America.
Donald’s only friend is a young rich white kid, named Arnold. They go to the same school and Donald’s family invites him to join their family during the celebration. Arnold is fascinated by the things the Duk family does and engages in conversations with Donald’s parents. His asks questions that make Donald mad, and he gets the attention from his parents that upset him.
Donald ends up taking one of the planes down and sneaking up to the roof top of their building while everyone is sleeping. He is trying to find out why his family spends so much time building these little model planes only to turn around and burn them. He knows it will make his father angry if he catches him, but selfishly wants to see what is so appealing of the process. Starting the small engine and lighting the fuse and he watches the plane buzz through the street above Chinatown. As the plane soars from the rooftop, Donald notices the Fong Twins watching the little plane fly. Twin’s are girls He ducks and hurries towards the roof top door, the plane explodes and echoes through the empty streets.
At this same time Donald is grabbed by a man he calls American Chang, a poor scatter brained man in a camouflage jacket, who ends up getting arrested for the murder of a local gangster. Later in the book Donald ends up admitting he saw American Chang on the roof at the same time as the murder was taking place, resulting in his release from jail. At the time he is scared the twins, who are friends of his fathers, will tell they saw him flying the plane off the rooftop.
When quietly sneaking across the floor in his best Bruce Lee ninja attempt, Chin the author giving a small nod to the San Francisco born Chinese American martial arts master and actor. Donald is caught in the act, his uncle who is staying with them saw the whole thing. He sits the young boy down and they talk quietly about what Donald has done by burning the plane and tries to explain to him what the planes represent to their Chinese heritage. Uncle Donald Duk, who is in town with the Cantonese Opera, is more understanding of Donald’s angst towards the Chinese heritage and why the he fights so hard to not be like them.
Uncle Donald shares with young Donald the story of the 108 outlaws, which is the Chinese version of the America Tale of Robin Hood. He explains that each of the planes hanging his father and sisters built, represent one of the outlaws in the legend. He also tells Donald that his family name before coming to America was Lee, not Duk and that his great-great grandfather was the first Lee to come from China. He explains that his great-great grandfather worked on the building of the transcontinental railroad and was present when the final spike was driven at the Golden Spike ceremony.
This is a turning point for young Duk, that night he falls asleep and begins to have vivid dreams about the 108 Outlaws and about life in the shoes of a young Chinese railroad worker under the leadership of the famous Kwan Kung. Chin uses Donald’s dreams to bring him closer to his heritage. Showing him the battles along the railroad through the high Sierra Mountains that the rail men endured and the way this has made the Chinese Americans into the people they are in America today. It begins to instill that seed of pride that Donald needs to find piece in himself as a young Chinese American, living in a time where people are not taught the true events of the Chinese peoples past in American schools.
Donald’s dreams are riveting and they scare him at times, but each night he sleeps during Chinese New Year, they continue to give him a better understanding of his people and the battles they faced in the past. He is offered a new outlook as the team of Chinese rail workers work tirelessly under the guidance of Kwan Kung. Donald begins to see the ties between Kwan Kung the foreman and the great mystical warriors of the 108 Outlaws that visit him in his dreams. He starts to see the lack of respect the rail men get from the white people, how they want them to work through the rain and snow to reach the railroad owners goals, to reach a goal if 10 miles in one day finishing the railroad. And how Kwan fought for them to be respected as equals.
Chin draws us into the journey as Donald, learns to dance in the lion dance in his dreams, supporting the rail men as they work in the final hours. When Donald finally tells his father of the dreams he is having, his father tells him how lucky he is to have the great Song Goong visit him. How he had been studying the Kwan Kung roll with the opera for years, and that he was never brought the truth in his dreams like Donald was. His father tell him how blessed he is and this builds Donald’s pride to new levels.
After sharing the experiences of the 12 day Chinese New Year with his family, his best friend, the Chinese rail men and the Mystical Warriors in his dreams. Having lived in the shoes of his great-great grandfather and dancing in the great lion head, he sees the things his people have done to be a part of America. He learns that without his people he would not be here and Chinatown wouldn’t be what it is today without the battles they took on before him.
Donald and Arnold dance inside dragon during the final parade and finally he is able to be happy dancing with his people and showing pride in their heritage. He makes his family proud and most of all he makes himself proud.
I enjoyed this book, and am eager to read more of Frank Chin’s work. I felt Chin’s story telling and use of Donald dreams as a way to bring the young boy to a turning point was great. Although this is a book for young adults, I connected with Donald and his battle to fit in. I also fought to be excepted as a kid, and didn’t know much of about my families battles to be accepted when they came to America either. I would love to visit Chinatown during the Chinese New Year too, and thank Chin for a chance to live vicariously through Donald Duk.