Wong Chin Foo

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Wong Chin Foo (Pinyin: Huang Qingfu[1]) 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.[2] [3]


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.[2]

His 1887 essay "Why Am I a Heathen?" explains his rejection of Christianity in favor of traditional Chinese beliefs;[4] it prompted a response that same year, "Why I Am Not a Heathen" by his fellow Chinese immigrant Yan Phou Lee, a Christian.[5]

Wong went up repeatedly against anti-Chinese activist Dennis Kearney, heckling his speeches and at one point challenging him to a duel. In 1904, he approved of Sun Yat-Sen's revolutionary message. [6] He subsequently disappeared from recorded history. His date and place of death are unknown. [7]

[edit] Notes

  1. ^ Mae M. Ngai, Transnationalism and the Transformation of the "Other", American Quarterly 57.1 (2005) 59-65. Accessed online 17 October 2007.
  2. ^ a b [Yung et. al. 2006], editors' note p. 70.?
  3. ^ Grand Rapids History, Wong Chin Foo -- facsimiles of his naturalization papers and some newspaper articles about his activities. Website found 2008-05-21.
  4. ^ [Wong Chin Foo 1887], passim
  5. ^ [Yan Phou Lee 1887], passim
  6. ^ Hsiao, Andrew, "100 Years Of Hell-Raising". In The Village Voice, June 23rd, 1998, webpage found 2008-05-21.
  7. ^ Moyers, Bill, Becoming American, the Chinese Experience. Public Broadcasting System 2003. Webpage found 2008-05-21.

[edit] 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.