ThePatriarchalSocietyofChinatowninEataBowlofTea

胡艳歌

【Abstract】 Luis Chus Eat a Bowl of Tea presents transformation of New Yorks Chinatown from bachelor society to family society. In its transitive period， the transplanted patriarchal society of Chinatown has gone through tremendous change and become degenerated due to racial segregation imposed by American mainstream society. The thesis demonstrates turbulent change of patriarchal society of Chinatown and its degeneration during its transformation.

【Key words】Eat a Bowl of Tea； Patriarchal Society； Degeneration

Luis Chus Eat a Bowl of Tea （1961） gradually regained critical attention in the 1970s with its genuine and realistic descriptions of “bachelor society” in New Yorks Chinatown， a community deprived of normal family life due to series of Chinese immigration acts imposed upon those Chinese Americans since 1882. In contrast with its initial publications indifferent response from the public， the novel has been reevaluated and acclaimed “as a cornerstone in the Asian American literary tradition”. （Kim， 96） Jeffery Chan regards it as “the first and perhaps the last portrayal that accurately dramatizes the life and times of Chinese-Americans with a consistency of language and sensibility”. （Chan， 1） Without an idealized or exotic portrait of Chinese American community life， Chu scrutinizes those frustrated single men or “married bachelors” from the perspective of “the laundrymen and waiters” within the ghetto. （Kim， 119） Such a Chinese American enclave， geographically separated from China a great distance， yet politically excluded from American mainstream society， still preserves some of its cultural traditions from “a China that no longer exists”. （Chin， 212） Patriarchy is the one transplanted to the established enclave and it still has a strong influence upon the Chinese American community； nevertheless， the patriarchal society has gone through tremendous change in the displaced circumstance despite of the enclaves slow assimilation into American society. In the transitional period from bachelor society to family society， Chinatown has gone through turbulent metamorphosis. Meanwhile， owing to racial segregation imposed by American mainstream society， the displaced patriarchal society has become deformed and degenerated. The following part will attempt to present the transplanted patriarchal society in Chinatown， and analyze its deterioration due to exclusion from American society.

Eat a Bowl of Tea was set in New York Chinatown in the 1940s， telling a story of two generations revolving around the marriage of Wang Ben Loy and Lee Mei Oi. The newly-wed couple are soon thrown into frustration and misery when Ben Loy is found impotent， the result of which entangles Mei Oi into extramarital love affair and subsequent pregnancy. Informed of the adultery of his daughter-in-law， Wang Wah Gay slashes the ear of adulterer Ah Song， who in return accuses him of “assault and battery”. （Chu， 194） Under the pressure of Ping On Tong， the Wang Association， Ah Song withdraws the charges and gets penalty of banishment from the town for five years. Disgraced and humiliated， Wah Gay and Lee Gong have self-imposed exile from Chinatown of New York. Ben Loy and Mei Oi leave for San Francisco to start a new life with birth of the baby.

As a nearly enclosed community， Chinatown still preserves some traditional Chinese culture， social institutions， and patriarchy is also the grafted one that exercises its impact upon Chinese Americans social and familial life. Though the story was set in such a metropolis as New York in the 1940s， a phase when America has already entered a highly-developed period in history， the Chinese Community remains almost untouched by changes in larger society of New York. It is characterized as predominantly male society through its economic enclosure and social， cultural stagnation due to adverse effects of a series of U. S. immigrant laws that profoundly affect the life of Chinese Americans for decades. Segregated from American mainstream society， the Chinese immigrants rely more on community organization or clan association to get solace or “sense of belonging” in an indifferent environment. （Kim， 102） The organization such as Ping On Tong， or the Wang Association in the novel， plays important role in coping with love affairs， banishing the adulterer and pacifying the matter in the community without intervention of police from the outside. It functions to protect the benefits of its members just like Wah Gay， who is ultimately absolved from charge and imprisonment. The settlement of legal dispute by clan association rather than police embodies its strong impact upon social affairs in Chinatown. The influence of clan association can also be extended to its performance of “parental supervision”， which can be detected from the imposed exile of the young couple to Stanton when the exposed love affair is liable to damage reputation of the Wang Association. And their departure is deliberately planned by Chinatown leader Wang Chuck Qing whose dutiful commitment aims to defend dignity of clan association under the patriarchal system. His conspicuous role in resolving contradictions is emblem of power that the clan association exercises upon society in Chinatown.

The displaced patriarchy is not only embodied in clan associations participation in social affairs， but also finds its existence in familial relations. This is particularly apparent in terms of the relation between the father and son， Wah Gay and Ben Loy， who have never seen each other until the son joins the father in America when he is seventeen years old. Under “parental supervision” in patriarchal system， Ben Loy subjects himself to the arrangement made by his father and the larger Wang family， which was a usual practice in China for generations. （Chu， 245） His immigration， his job and marriage are all prearranged and taken care of. He lives in a typical family relationship which “parental supervision” is the mainstay， desiring to find a way out， but ultimately cornered in such an embarrassing way that he yields to convention. A case in point could be discerned when the son lives up to his fathers expectation to get married in China and commits obligations as a dutiful offspring. Initially， Ben Loy is reluctant to have an immediate return to China for the advent arranged marriage. His unwillingness invokes Wah Gays dissatisfaction， rebuking him that “If you dont get married when youre young， when would you marry， when youre old？” （42） When the son gives a further negotiation that he will wait till the next year， the father is almost flaming out of his temper， “Next year the Lord may not be so kind to me. A man of my age lives by the day， not by the year. Regardless of how you feel， you must return home to get married.” （42） To show his filial piety and reverence， Ben Loy has no other alternatives but mere obedience， and his struggle or any protest seems to be in vain when confronted with his paternal authority. As the book explicitly points out， “when a Chinese father and son get together， it is frequently a one-way bawling out.” （28）

Male-discourses almost dominate the bachelor society of Chinatown， and their biased attitude toward women culturally manifests an inherent Chinese patriarchy. They despise jook sing girls who “have no respect for elder people”. （19） These America-born Chinese girls are brought up in a different culture in their adopted country， and their codes of behavior seem queer or even unacceptable in cultural enclosure community. “They are always going out and having good time. Always new clothes， new shoes， new hats… You need to be a millionaire to support them.” （44） Girls concern more about their self interest and they turn to be more individualistic or self-centered， rather than a traditional domestic wife caring for the husband and children. Mens distrust in the “heartless” jook sing girls as “a threat to continuity of Chinese family tradition” is ironically set in contrast with the appreciation of those wives of ginshunhock left in remote villages in China. （Ling， 37） Despite their husbands long absence or even permanent departure from home， the lonely wives show no grudge over their husbands neglect or abandonment. Totally bounded by traditions， the dutiful wives are obliged to sacrifice their own needs to fulfill their familial obligations， cherishing little hope for almost unattainable reunion with their husbands in the future. Lau Shee， the wife left by Wah Gay for twenty-four years， is a paragon of such a virtuous woman appreciated by her husband. She even places her husbands picture on the wall of the church to honor him despite of the endured emotional pain of being separated from the ginshunhock husband， who merely has “lip service” to his wife about family obligations， but could never follow such a code of behavior himself. （Chan， 5） Like Wah Gay， these old bachelors in Chinatown still preserve “a simple male chauvinism”， demanding females absolute loyalty and devotion while they indulge themselves in loose conducts without much restraint. （Chan， 5）To hundreds of wives in their “husbandless existence” in Sunwei， these overseas men only maintain the form， but not the substance of the originally cultural-inherited male roles as husbands. Yet it is not justified or reasonable to attribute all these misfortunes to the tough-minded ginshunhock， who also endure hardships in an alienated and hostile circumstance. Men have lost their previous authority or power in their adopted country， and they are no longer domineering or influential in society as what they used to be in China. In other words， patriarchal society in Chinatown has degraded and becomes distorted because of the exclusion of the American mainstream society.

The members constituting patriarchal society of Chinatown are mainly the endured Chinese blocked from economic and cultural American mainstream society. These men are confined to be employed in “vice industry， in grocery and supply stores， in garment work and domestic service， as well as in restaurants and laundries.” （Kim， 99） The rigid regulations of employment force the majority of Chinese men to do “menial” work which is despised or unwanted by the white. According to Leong Gor Yuns report， “In 1936， 75 to 80 percent of Chinese in the United States were laundrymen or restaurants workers”. （Kim， 98） Narrowly restricted to such few concentrated employments as washing or cooking， which are traditionally undertaken by Chinese women， these overseas men have been metaphorically “emasculated” in their adopted land. Confronted with job discrimination， hardly could they have any access to important posts to exercise their influence upon social affairs beyond the community. Instead， many of them are stuck in racially marginalized ghetto， toiling themselves with drudgery laundry work in basements. “Laundrymen labored seventeenth hours a day， or an average of more than twice as long as the average American worker.” （Leong， 166-69） Their hardworking does not reward them corresponding economic success， and they are still marginalized as tough laborers at the bottom of society. Blocked culturally and politically from American society， the overseas Chinese men have deteriorated into masses of downtrodden， frustrated laborers， and their “dominating” power in social life could only be reflected in their participation in clan association within the community. In the book， though as a prestigious incumbent president of the Wang Association， Wang Fook Ming has to hurry back “to his grocery store” to help with the business even after he has just presided importantly over the clan association. （220） The domineering influence of man could only be temporarily demonstrated through his role assumed in the organization of the community， but when he shuttles back to life， he resumes to work painstakingly for a living， just like any other suppressed laborers in Chinatown. Enclosed in a physical boundary of Chinatown， stripped of dignity to live an abnormal family life， restricted to limited toilsome jobs， these overseas men have to endure hardships both physically and spiritually. Confronted with stark reality， they play mahjong， go to whores or babble about gossips to kill time. These men have little resemblance with their traditionally authoritative or strictly self-regulated forefathers in China. The patriarchal society of Chinatown has become deformed under the pressure of American mainstream society.

The distorted patriarchy in Chinatown could be discerned from the representative of the old generation Wah Gay， who attempts to provide Ben Loy with parental supervision in a traditional sense， but his efforts to exercise a role as parent can be seen as emblem of the old bachelors gradual but irretrievable loss control of the young generation in the failing patriarchal society of Chinatown. In fact， Wah Gay himself acutely realizes his embarrassing role as a father and mentor. Though admonishing his son to behave himself， Wah Gay was a frequent visitor to brothels when he was young. Besides， as an operator of mah-jong club， it is hard for him to set a good example for his son. As he realizes， “the proprietor of a mah-jong shop would hardly be the type to teach the wisdom of Kung fu-tze to the young ones.” （28） So he asks Chuck Ting to offer his son a job in Stanton， intending that his son might be immune to the vices in a safe distant place. However， in Chinese community， “whoring and gambling are particularly severe due to scarce of women by Chinese Exclusion Law.” （Wu， 49） Though Ben Loy is “banished” from the place his father inhabiting， he is still initiated into the alienating cycle of life in Chinatown under its influence. In the morally-degenerated bachelor society， the young generation could not live up to his fathers fantasy or illusion to be what the old generation fails to accomplish. Besides long-term estrangement from his father， Ben Loy soon follows the established life pattern of the old. The deteriorated ghetto entraps the old generation to be frustrated、indulging eldership and the young as forthcoming imitators as well.

Wah Gays failure to establish a self-disciplined paternal image may partly explain the frustration to guide his son properly. Bedsides， the want of genuine mutual interaction also contributes to such an abnormal、conceptualized father-son relationship， which accrues a seemingly arbitrary father and an overly dependent son. Wah Gay knows little about Ben Loy， for they have never met each other before the latters arrival in America as a fully-grown man. Even the ultimate reunion could not help the father understand the son better. Their estrangement is aggravated by the sons immediate departure from the father after his arrival because of the old mans fear of “his sons scrutiny of his failure”. （Kim， 112） The son is virtually neglected by Wah Gay， who seldom cares about the sons lonely life in an alienated place. Nor does he concern more about Ben Loys physical or psychological needs in segregated Chinese community. Meanwhile， Ben Loy also finds it difficult to “mingle socially with his father”， so he develops his own philosophy that “the less he saw his father， the better”. （28） As a result， with little communication， Wah Gay commits his paternal obligation to arrange his sons marriage so that he may shift his responsibility to care for the son. He figures that “after the marriage， Ben Loy would work harder to support a family”， he would have a daughter-in-law to take over the responsibility”. （46） Besides， he might get “a grandson” or “granddaughter” to carry on the family line. Wah Gay pays more attention to the continual of posterity rather than the marital life of his son. He knows nothing about the sons dissolute life of his bachelor years， nor does he care more about Ben Loys physical condition when the son becomes a laughing stick in Chinatown because of the adultery of Mei Oi.

Ben Loy is not only under the control of his father， but also influenced by the whole clan association or community organization， which further confines his freedom as an independent individual. The community is a society of acquaintance with little privacy to hide， “Chinatown is a closely knit community where everybody knows almost everybody else” （113） Talking about trivialities or spreading gossips has become sort of recreation for people in their spare time in the community. Anything private might be disclosed and targeted as a topic to be entertained in the public， for there are “few recreations available to the Chinatown bachelors”. （Kim， 101） The newly-wed couple could not escape their watchful eyes， either. Though Ben Loy hardly knows anybody else besides his own family or working fellows， yet as Wah Gays son， he is a “celebrity” to the community members， who are greatly enthused with his marital life， prying possible secrets of the couple. When Ben Loys impotency and Mei Ois adultery are ruthlessly exposed to the public by gossips， the couple seems detached from the matter and does not take any effective measures to change the status quo under intensified pressure from outside. To a certain extent， “Ben Loy is not only the son of Wah Gay， but also the son of the whole Chinatown”. （Hsiao， 159） Under the surveillance of Chinatown， Ben Loy is more inert and incompetent to tackle the problem， which is handled by the seniors in the community successively.

The dual supervision from the father and the community almost cripple Ben Loy as a vigorous young man. His fulfillment as an obedient and dutiful son， to a certain degree， transforms him into an impotent man metaphorically. His lack of masculinity is not only the embodiment of his sexual incompetency but also the reflection of his spiritual weakness or want of independency. Ben Loys freedom to make decisions at his own will is narrowly restricted by the paternal supervisor， who becomes an “accomplice” of his sons “metaphorical castration”. （Li， 100） It is in San Francisco that Ben Loy ultimately regains his manliness， discarding the memories in New York. With symbolic collapse of old social order in the form of his fathers self-exile from Chinatown， Ben Loy is also forced to realize that he must establish an independent self， free from dependence upon his elders. His spiritual rebirth comes about when he severs the old ties and strengthens himself in a new environment. The exile of the both generations represents gradual but irretrievable failing patriarchal society of Chinatown.

In Eat A Bowl of Tea， Luis Chu presents an accurate picture of Chinese American life under the pressure of American mainstream society. In almost enclosed community， these Chinese Americans are deprived of normal family life due to a series of trenchant Chinese immigration exclusion acts， which trivialize them to be frustrated， downtrodden laborers without any social significance in their adopted country. The segregated patriarchal Chinatown has become deformed due to the racial discrimination of American society. With his genuine portrait of Chinese American community without euphemism， Luis Chu reveals turbulent transformation of New Yorks Chinatown from bachelor society to family society.

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