Wong Chin Foo

Wong Chin Foo (Pinyin: Huang Qingfu [Mae M. Ngai, [http://muse.jhu.edu/demo/american_quarterly/v057/57.1ngai.html Transnationalism and the Transformation of the "Other"] , "American Quarterly" 57.1 (2005) 59-65. Accessed online 17 October 2007.] ) was a Chinese-born journalist, lecturer, and writer, one of the most prolific Chinese writers in the English language press of the 19th century. He first came to the United States in 1868; he returned to China but was forced out for his political activism; he then moved to Japan and (in 1873) back to the U.S. [Yung et. al. 2006] , editors' note p. 70.?] [ [http://www.historygrandrapids.org/items.php?subject=408 Grand Rapids History, Wong Chin Foo] -- facsimiles of his naturalization papers and some newspaper articles about his activities. Website found 2008-05-21.]

In the U.S., he lived mostly in the East and Midwest, traveling and lecturing. He founded a weekly newspaper, "The Chinese American", in New York City in 1883, the country's first association of Chinese American voters in 1884, and the Chinese Equal Rights League to campaign against the U.S. policy of Chinese Exclusion in 1892. His work was published in periodicals including the "North American Review", "Chautauquan", "Cosmopolitan", "Atlantic Monthly", and "Harper's Weekly".

His 1887 essay "Why Am I a Heathen?" explains his rejection of Christianity in favor of traditional Chinese beliefs; [ [Wong Chin Foo 1887] , "passim"] it prompted a response that same year, "Why I Am Not a Heathen" by his fellow Chinese immigrant Yan Phou Lee, a Christian. [ [Yan Phou Lee 1887] , "passim"]

Wong went up repeatedly against anti-Chinese activist Dennis Kearney, heckling his speeches and at one point challenging him to a duel, and giving Kearney his choice of weapons: chopsticks, Irish potatoes, or Krupp guns. [http://www.historygrandrapids.org/learn.php?id=52] In 1904, he approved of Sun Yat-Sen's revolutionary message. [Hsiao, Andrew, " [http://www.villagevoice.com/news/9825,hsiao,226,1.html 100 Years Of Hell-Raising] ". In "The Village Voice", June 23, 1998, webpage found 2008-05-21.] He subsequently disappeared from recorded history. His date and place of death are unknown. [Moyers, Bill, " [http://www.pbs.org/becomingamerican/ Becoming American, the Chinese Experience.] " Public Broadcasting System 2003. Webpage found 2008-05-21.]

Notes

References

*Wong Chin Foo, "Why Am I a Heathen?" (1887) p. 70–78 in Judy Yung, Gordon H. Chang, and Him Mark Lai (compilers and editors), "Chinese American Voices", University of California Press (2006). ISBN 0520243102.
*Yan Phou Lee, "Why I Am Not a Heathen: A Rejoinder to Wong Chin Foo" (1887) p. 79–85 in Judy Yung, Gordon H. Chang, and Him Mark Lai (compilers and editors), "Chinese American Voices", University of California Press (2006). ISBN 0520243102.