The Five Chinese Brothers

Infobox Book
name = The Five Chinese Brothers
title_orig =
translator =


author = Claire Huchet Bishop
cover_artist = Kurt Wiese
country = USA
language = English
series =
subject =
genre = children's books
picture books
publisher = originally Coward-McCann; currently Putnam
release_date = 1938
media_type =
pages =
size_weight =
isbn = 978-0698113572
preceded_by =
followed_by =

"The Five Chinese Brothers" is an American children's book written by Claire Huchet Bishop and illustrated by Kurt Wiese. It was originally published in 1938 by Coward-McCann.

Plot

The book is a retelling of a Chinese folk tale. At the beginning, a young man swallows the water in the sea so a boy can retrieve fish and treasures. When the man can no longer hold in the sea, he frantically signals to the boy, but the boy ignores him, and drowns when the man releases the water. The man is accused of murder and sentenced to death. However, his four brothers, who look exactly like him, each slip into his place and use their superhuman abilities to avoid execution. One has an iron neck; one can stretch his legs; one can survive fire; and the last can hold his breath forever. At the end of the story, a judge decides that the brother accused of murder must have been innocent, since he could not be executed, and the five brothers return home.

Reception

Though often considered a classic of children's literature, "The Five Chinese Brothers" has been accused of promoting ethnic stereotypes about the Chinese. In 1977, Albert V. Schwartz of the College of Staten Island criticized Wiese's illustrations, saying that they portrayed all Chinese people with "bilious yellow skin and slit and slanted eyes". [Albert V. Schwarz. "The Five Chinese Brothers: Time to Retire". "Interracial Books for Children Bulletin". Vol. 8, No. 3, 1977.] Others have made similar accusations, [Gillian Klein. "Reading into Racism: Bias in Children's Literature and Learning Materials". Routledge, 1990. 55.] [Joe L. Kinchloe. "How Do We Tell the Workers?: The Socioeconomic Foundations of Work". Westview Press, 1998. 289.] and many teachers have removed the book from their classrooms. [Tim McCaskell. "Race to Equity: Disrupting Educational Inequality". Between the Lines, 2005. 102.] However, the book has had some defenders. In a 1977 "School Library Journal" article, Selma G. Lanes described the illustrations as "cheerful and highly appealing", characterizing Wiese's "broad cartoon style" as "well suited to the folk-tale, a genre which deals in broad truths". She added, "I cannot remember a tale during my childhood that gave me a cozier sense of all being right with the world." [Selma G. Lanes. "A Case for the Five Chinese Brothers". "School Library Journal". October 1977. Vol. 24, Issue 2. 90-1.]

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