Thousand Pieces of Gold
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Thousand Pieces of Gold
A novel about a Chinese slave girl set in China and Idaho from the late 1850s to the 1930s; published in 1981.
by Ruthanne Lum McCunn
Synopsis
A Chinese girl is sold into slavery and brought to America in the late nineteenth century. Beginning as a barmaid in a mining-town saloon in Idaho, Lalu eventually wins her freedom through a poker game. She manages a boarding house and later marries the man who won the poker game.
Events in History at the Time the Novel Was Written
The Novel in Focus
Events in History at the Time the Novel Takes Place
Ruthanne Lum McCunn has written several books about the role of the Chinese in American history. A Chinese American herself, McCunn lived in Boise, Idaho-the state in which her novel is set-with her father's family. She later moved to San Francisco, where she wrote Thousand Pieces of Gold. The well-researched biographical novel serves as a depiction of the life of a typical female Asian immigrant in Idaho during the gold rush era.
For More Information
McCunn, Ruthanne Lum. An Illustrated History of the Chinese in America. San Francisco: Design Enterprises of San Francisco, 1979.
McCunn, Ruthanne Lum. Thousand Pieces of Gold. San Francisco: Design Enterprises of San Francisco, 1981.
Peterson, Ross F. Idaho: A Bicentennial History. New York: W. W. Norton, 1976.
Yung, Judy. Chinese Women of America: A Pictorial History. Seattle: University of Washington Press, 1986.
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Thousand Pieces of Gold
For the film, see Thousand Pieces of Gold (film).
Thousand Pieces of Gold is an English-language novel written by Ruthanne Lum McCunn and based on the life of Polly Bemis, a 19th century Chinese immigrant woman in the American Old West. The novel was adapted into a film of the same name stars Rosalind Chao, Chris Cooper, Dennis Dun and Michael Paul Chan, and is directed by Nancy Kelly.
In a backdrop of adventure, romance and heroism, film explores the themes of slavery, racism, misogyny and harsh frontier life. It does not paint a flattering picture of the Chinese male characters, but shows the reality of the late 19th century, a time when Chinese immigrants were often treated no better than slaves, and Chinese women especially fared worse. Rosalind Chao's performance garnered high praise.[1]
Plot
Lalu is the oldest daughter of a Chinese farmer. Her father loses everything by risking his money on winter wheat one year and Lalu finds herself being thrust into poverty. At the end she dies.
References
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Copyrights:
Gale Notable Literature & Its History
Literature and Its Times © 1997 Joyce Moss and George Wilson © 2007 The Gale Group, Inc. All rights reserved. Read more
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