Recommend reading: The Lucky Ones:... by Mae Ngai

[Doug 周]

The Lucky Ones: One Family and the Extraordinary Invention of Chinese America 
Mae Ngai ISBN-10: 0618651160

I highly recommend this book. Please refer to the other 22 (currently) reviews on Amazon ^click 

My reasons:

• Parallels the life of my ancestors and elders, the middle class of Chinese Americans.
  
• An excellent representation of the social, physical, and emotional environment of the turn of the 20th USA.
• Familiarity with the SF-Berkeley and Portland, OR region makes Ngai’s descriptions more poignant
• Despite being knowledgeable about racism against Chinese, one is awed by the amount and virulence of the anti Chinese sentiment. Even though it is an underlying and recurring theme, Ngai’s style is subtle but effective.
• Narrative is easy to read, novella-like. One might question its authenticity until the reader reaches the footnote section. A 2nd generation E book did not display the footnotes appropriately.
• Because of the extensive footnote section, this book should be a college level textbook. Such status would quadruple the price

IMHO

[douglaslam]

DJ, the name Tape, is it the same as in Tape Vs Hurley?

[Doug 周]

To paraphrase Mae Ngai’s preface:

Tape vs Hurley (1885) was the first Chinese American civil rights case which its successful prosecution forced San Francisco to admit Chinese children to its public schools. Joseph Tape’s Chinese name is phonetically spelled Jeu Dip in Cantonese.

DL, an Australian, is amazing in his breadth of knowledge of both Chinese-American and Chinese-Australian history.

[douglaslam]

DJ, I am not worthy of the high praise. What I knew is very shallow. To rephrase another well known saying: If I knew a little it is because I had access to the world wide web.

Do you know anything more about the Tapes over one hundred years on? Wonder where the family was originally from and their names in Chinese.

[Doug 周]

DL,

I agree that the Wide World Web is like having a library at my fingertips and has helped me, along with people like you, immensely with my family history.

Ngai’s book is about Joseph Tape’s life in the USA

This being a genealogy forum, here is some information I was able to extract from Ngai’s research and what she documented in the book

Her notes refer to Woodson’s (our sysop’s) genealogy page ^click. Joseph Tape’s (趙洽 Zhao Xia) ancestral village is 浮石 Fushi, Taishan and is the same as Woodson’s mother’s village. There is no information about Tape’s ancestors. Ngai indicated he was orphaned. Tape arrived to the USA in 1864.

Mary Tape was an abandoned child rescued by missionaries and was intended to function a servant (mui tsai 妹仔) upon arrival to the USA in 1868. She was abandoned in San Francisco.

The rest you should read yourself. Again, a pleasurable read and recommended for the reasons previously stated.

DJ

[FayChee]

Thank you for recommending this book Doug. I just bought the ebook and audioversion on Amazon.....can't wait to read/hear it!

Fay Chee

[Woodson]

The entire village is composed of one surname, Zhao. All trace back to one common ancestor, the second Song dynasty emperor. I know the genealogy records survived the Cultural Revolution. If Joseph Tape was born in the village then his name would be recorded since all males were recorded at birth. With a few thousand inhabitants, this huge number may be the biggest challenge in tracing his ancestry.

[FayChee]

Doug, I clicked on the link to Woodson's genealogy page and read the story of Jiu Thue Loon, but there was no page 2 or ending that I could find. Is this a book that I can order? I sure would like to read more.

Fay Chee

[Woodson]

There is no page 2. Guess I should continue.

[FayChee]

I can't be the first one wanting more of this enchanting story. What a cliffhanger.....how did Jiu word the declaration so her parcel wasn't discarded or confiscated by the Chinese authorities? How??? Please finish this mystery at least.....thanks. Fay Chee

[philiptancl]

Hi Doug,

I received your email this morning seeking my comment as to at what age the male is recorded in their jiapu and you referred me to this thread. Having seen quite diverse zupus/jiapus not only from other counties but from other provinces, and as well as from what I heard from others that had practiced this tradition, my take on the subject and a few other related matters would be as follow:

1. There are two places where the names of male descendants would be recorded. One place would be as children under the father profile and the other place on his profile, in his own right, as a male descendant. For the first instance, I would think that would be done after birth. In some places, female descendants are recorded as well including their date and time of birth and death, the name of her husband, her father-in-law and the village they are from. See image below.

2. I have seen places having two sets of generation names. One set for the Hui (諱) or Ming (名) generation name and another set for the Zi (字) as generation names. I suppose the Hui or the Ming name would be first recorded when entering under father’s profile.

3. The other place would the male descendant on his own right. I would think that this would be done after marriage where the Zi (字) name would also be recorded. The clan name of his wife and her date and time of birth would also be recorded. In some instances, her full name as well as that of her father and the village they were from could also be recorded.

4. When a child had been adopted or given away for adoption, some details may be recorded such as the biological parent name or the biological village. In my last trip to China for Winter Solstice last year, I tracked down and confirmed the identity of the adoptive family for my third granduncle from such recording. However that is another story that I have yet to record.

5. Lately I came across a Jiapu that even record what was carved on the gravestone. See image below.

6. A few years ago, someone related to me that recording of names into Jiapu was considered a very serious responsibility for the person in charge. If he neglected to do so, he could faced the future possibility of the departed sole coming to haunt him (as his story goes).

7. Tradition could change or evolve through passage of time or resulting from movement to another place of abode. I have a very good friend whose ancestry is from Taishan (台山). He is of the opinion that Hao (號) is name given upon marriage rather than Zi (字). Subsequently when I check on some zupu/jiapu from Taishan, I seemed to detect that while initial generations have Zi and Hao, but in later generations there appeared not to have Zi (字) any more.

8. In the image below, some information I find in the majority of other Jiapus are absent here.

9. When Chinese moved to new country in times of old, tradition in some instance, could be preserved as at that practiced during that period of time even though the descendants had even lost the ability of speaking their original language. See this article: www.peranakan.org.sg/culture/cuisine/chinese-peranakan-food-and-symbolism-in-malaysia/. The forefathers of this culture came from the same province where mine came from. In practices I had observed during my childhood days, I could identify some of the customs and dishes mentioned therein but never so very elaborate as described.



Philip

[kjhong]

Hardback copies of this book are on sale at Amazon for $10.40 USD, (compared to paperbacks which are going for $22.23).

[kjhong]

Doug, Thank for the recommendation. I just finished reading "The Lucky Ones" and it was a fascinating and easy read. How lucky indeed (from an genealogical standpoint) that they have such rich family and historical records with which to reconstruct their family story! [And an Ivy League professor to do it for them. =)].

My personal connections to the Tape family's story on both sides of the Pacific made the story an even more compelling read:
- On this side of the Pacific, my family immigrated perhaps a half generation after the Tapes. And it was enlightening to learn about the context in which these Chinese-American pioneers lived in.
- On the other side, my grandmother was also a Jeu 趙 and has the same middle name as Jiu Thue Loon 1903-1963. So, if I ever get more information about my grandmother's family, it will likely lead back 浮石 Fushi, which is across the road from my grandfather's village.

[Doug 周]

I had left an email this Spring 2014 in Professor Ngai's university email contact but have not received a reply . Family heritage research is always a personal endeavor, and usually needs the lead of a direct family member. I had asked that she forward my offer to the Tape family to help find Joseph Tape's genealogical record. kjhong has yet another possible link to Tape's side of their family historical record. My genealogy network has confirmed that Joseph Tape's Chinese name could very well exist in the Zupu.

Unfortunately my email must have gotten stuck in her spam filter. I had used the university's directory for her contact. When Ngai's next book comes out (which I am looking forward to reading), maybe I can make a personal request if the professor comes to the USA West coast for a book signing.