Gold Mountain Blues [Paperback]

Chinese and Canadian history comes to life through the talented story telling by a young Canadian writer, Zhang Ling. She is an award-winning author in China, and the novel, GOLD MOUNTAIN BLUES (GMB), is her debut in English. This novel was first written in Chinese and is called GOLD MOUNTAIN. As one who has taught both Chinese History and Chinese literature, I am extremely impressed with her literary talents and meticulous historical research.

GMB reminds me of the traditional story tellers of the Song and Yuan dynasties. Zhang Ling is a mesmorizing story teller. However, be forewarned: once you start reading GMB, you won't want to put it down.

With GMB, a new transnational, panoramic perspective has arrived on our shores to inform and delight us. The English translation of GOLD MOUNTAIN by Nicky Harman is simply superb. I would dare to state that she is in the same league as the award-winning translator of Chinese literature, Howard Goldblatt, who has been translating Chinese literature into English for over 25 years.

GOLD MOUNTAIN BLUES is replete with Chinese History from Emperor Qian Long (11) to the 1896 visit to Vancouver by Li Hongzhang (99,149) and visits (1897, 1910, and 1911) by Dr. Sun Yat-sen (252). This historical framework [e.g., "... year five of the reign of Guangxu" (11)] may be a bit confusing if one does not have a background in Chinese History, yet it is balanced with a Canadian time frame (501).

The juxaposition of the history of these two great countries allows many voices to be heard. To me, that was her purpose. Within any family, there will always be those who have a particular viewpoint. That is even true about those who read the same piece of literature or historical document. We all have our own interpretations and our own perceptions. This is also another point that I love about Zhang Ling's novel: it causes the readers to reflect upon who we are, and how we wish to identify ourselves, as opposed to how others wish to label us. An example of this sense of belonging comes from the quote: "Grandad, why are you Chinese and I'm not?" (508) We don't need to accept the labels that others give us; we can identify ourselves as unique individuals. This Zhang Ling has done extremely well in her GMB.

Her literary references, such as the poems from the Tang dynasty (e.g., Du Mu, 99 and Wang Wei, 85) demonstrate her knowledge of the well-established Chinese literary traditions and just add to the richness of her stories.

In the next edition of this novel, I would like to make two suggestions: First, fix the only typo that I could find: "...the teign of Guangxu" (156), which is out of the hands of the author. Second, consider adding an Appendix (Study Guide with notes). High schools students could read this novel as a class project and mine the rich historical information therein. For example, group of students could look at the significance of Chinese names and note how they were changed as the names "immigrated" to a new country. Another group could look at the laws in Canada at that time and reflect on why they were made and why they were later changed.

Two worlds were divided by laws languages and stereotypes. Today the Chinese Exclusion Act (1923) has been repealed, and with GMB, Zhang Ling has overcome the language barrier and allowed us to hear some voices that we have not heard before. She has also tried hard to reduce the stereotypes, by bringing her Canadians with Chinese background to life and by allowing each of them to tell their own story in their own ways.

"First, the lucky spider, and now gthe magpie. She [Sixfingers] felt sure they were signs which boded well for the day ahead."(478) With GMB, Zhang Ling has brought great reading pleasure to this Canadian immigrant. In the words of so many Chinese who have called Canada home since the 1860s: M'goi saai [Thank you very much]. I look forward to reading your next novel with great anticipation.

Following a fictional family for several generations, this novel collects some of the familiar historical images of early Chinese immigrants and adds more that I never knew about. The voice was so intimate it gave me a start as a non-Chinese Canadian and must reassure and give voice to the many generations of Chinese Canadians. I particularly enjoyed seeing the impact of this exodus back in China. A treat for the history buff.

Gold Mountain Blues by Ling Zhang is an extraordinary read and page turner. The novel is a fictional family saga set in China and Canada, spanning 125 years from 1879 to 2004, with vivid stories about life and death, love and hate of the Fong Family.

The multi-generational epic starts with Amy Smith, the fourth generation of a Chinese immigrant, who visits her family mansion in China. Among the different artefacts found in the house, an opium pipe helps trace back to the early years of the Fong family and their eldest son, Ah-Fat's youth as a farm boy in Hoi Ping County of Guangdong Province. To help his family out of poverty, Ah-Fat leaves for Gold Mountain. His pigtail cut is a sign of cultural conflict, but not because of the Xinhai Revolution. Then a woman's old jacket and pair of silk stockings tell the story of Ah-Fat who returns to his hometown for an arranged marriage several years later.

Reading the letters discovered in the house, Amy learns about Ah-Fat's life in Vancouver and his wife with two children in Hoi Ping. Years later, Kam Shan, their eldest son joins his father farming in Canada. Kam Shan is, by inadvertence, involved in Dr. Sun Yat-sen's revolution, and the loss of his pigtail leads to his temporary disappearance. The second son, Kam Ho, also joins his father in Canada. During the Second World War Kam Ho enlists in Canadian Army and dies in France.

The photo Amy has brought with her links to the story of her mother, Yin Ling, the third generation of The Fong family, and Amy herself as the third generation of the unmarried women in the Fong Family. The reason for being unmarried is either being rejected by Chinese traditions or objecting the traditions. The novel ends with Amy making a surprising decision.

The epic portrays a historically true picture of the Fong family that gradually becomes affluent in the village as the financial support provided by their family members through hard work in Gold Mountain at the cost of the family dispersion. After the Chinese communists' takeover, the lives of the three generations of the Fong family come to a violent end in a rink, leaving the five-story mansion haunted for decades.

The novel is developed with historical facts and events, such as building the Canadian Pacific Railway, early years of Chinatowns in Victoria and Vancouver, the Chinese head tax, Sun Yat-sen's Revolution, Sino-Japanese War and the Land Reform Movement in China.

The setting is sophisticated. Through Amy Smith's eyes, the storyline goes back and forth between the present and past and between China and Canada. This story isn't only about the Chinese Canadian family, but also about this family's relationships with Caucasians and Native Indians.

Gold Mountain Blues is one of the best novels I've ever read, emotionally touching and compelling, with an intriguing plot, dramatic scenes and intricate characters. Suspense and O. Henry-style surprise are built throughout the novel.

If you enjoy this novel, you would like to read the following novels: The Rice Sprout Song by Eiling Chang, Field of Life and Death and Tales of Hulan River by Hong Xiao and One Hundred Years Of Solitude by Gabriel García Márquez.