Review of Ancestors in the Americas and Interview with Loni Ding

By Priscilla Chan
2001
(This review was printed in Sampan Boston. It is reprinted here with permission from the author.)

As early as the start of the 17th century, Asians have made their presence known in the Americas. Yet, as late as a few weeks ago, we are reminded that we are still "foreigners" to many in this country. What is our history here - that we cling so strongly to these lands? Producer, Director & Writer Loni Ding poses a strong response to this question in her "documemoir," Ancestors in the Americas. The series attempts an indepth analysis of the triumphs, struggles, and hopes of Asians in America - Asians dreaming of becoming Americans.

Loni Ding is an award-winning filmmaker, advocate, and professor. Her passion and dedication in ensuring "the story is told properly" is reflected in her commitment to researching the truth - good or bad - which characterizes the long history of Asians on this continent. Using an innovative "documemoir" approach, she combines narration with first-person voices to tell the "real terms" of how many Asians confronted the overwhelming obstacles in this society. "It is not a pretty story, so there better be a good reason to tell it," Ding strongly says. One of these reasons - and the one most endeared by Ding - is for young people - "for the next step."

From the beginning, Ding draws attention to some of the forgotten facts that have characterized East-West interaction. Today, many speak scornfully of the "overseas migration" which brought waves of Asian immigrants to America in the 20th century - to "take" from America and rarely give. Yet, who speaks of the "migration" which brought Westerners to Asian shores? After all, most can easily cite Christopher Columbus as the discoverer of America, but few can recall the true purpose of his journey. He was commissioned to find a shorter route to India - to obtain their goods and spices - yet was deterred by the large block of land already inhabited by people who Columbus would call the "Indians." This is the America we know - the product of the West seeking the East.

Ding continues her uncovering of Asian influence in the development of the Americas by recalling the pioneering expedition of Captains Merriweather Lewis and William Clark through the Louisiana Territory in the early 1800s, led by their guide Sacagewea. Yet, few know the underlying charge for their exploits, which resulted in the opening and mapping of the mid-western United States. President Thomas Jefferson impressed upon them the mission of locating the shortest path to the Pacific Coast - to "America's trade with China." Most likely, Jefferson thought fondly of the rich trade he could develop with China as he sat over his dinner, served on precious china plates. Ding takes the viewer to a Massachusetts museum where crafts made by skilled Chinese craftsmen are displayed - including a set of china engraved with "J" for Thomas Jefferson.

Not only was China's porcelain in demand in the United States, but tea also became one of the most internationally sought after goods once trade with Asia began in the 1600s. Ding highlights the success of one Chinese merchant named Houqua who pioneered the tea trade between the East and West. Houqua mentored a young John Murray Forbes, an overseas capitalist, who Houqua considered a "son." After Forbes' internship was over and he was to return to the United States, the Chinese patriarch handed him half a million Mexican silver dollars and told him to invest in the still-fledging railroad industry. As Ding projects photos of "coolie" workers constructing the Transcontinental Railroad, a voice narrates the underlying inference from Houqua's investment - it was not only Chinese labor which built the main passageway between the East and the West coasts of the United States, it was Chinese cash.

It was also Chinese tea that was thrown overboard during the 1773 Boston Tea Party rebellion in protest of excess taxes that ignited the Revolutionary War - sparking the creation of the United States. Similarly in Cuba, it was Chinese labor that collected the massive amounts of guano fertilizer on which many Cuban fortunes were made; and it was these same Chinese who aided in the Cuban independence movement, enabling the creation of their nation. The Chinese, while leaving their own homes, managed to help others create theirs. Yet, the Chinese hoped to create their new homes in this country - this "Gold Mountain" of opportunities. Ding concludes Episode 1 with an atmosphere of hope, but what would lie ahead in this "Gold Mountain" - California?

Almost immediately after the initial wave of immigrants to California, a series of racist taxes was exacted on the already financially strained Chinese. The Chinese, being so "visibly different" from the "Americans" could not hide from tax collectors, unlike their European counterparts who passed as Whites. Still, many complained that the Chinese only "took" from this country, even when approximately 50 percent of the California state revenue was generated through these racist taxes. Even fewer complaints were lodged against the introduction by the Chinese of innovative ways of growing citrus fruits (like the Bing cherry, named after Farmer Ah Bing in the Americas in the 1870s), or abundant Chinese assistance in the construction of wineries. These facts ultimately lead University of California at Berkeley Professor L. Ling-chi Wang to unequivocally state, "California's economic development in the 19th century could not have been accomplished without the Chinese."

The Chinese persevered in this hostile climate, and they eventually succeeded in expanding the definition of "American." Constitutional rights would be rightfully extended to them, as well as to the many immigrant groups who would follow in their footsteps. For example, Ding sheds light on the case brought by Ho Ah Kow against a local town sheriff who cut off Ho's queue when Ho was imprisoned. The judge ruled in Ho's favor, citing a violation of the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment, and ordered financial compensation for Ho - marking the country's first "$10,000 haircut."

During these pioneering times, there were more than 170 U.S. Supreme court cases brought by Chinese plaintiffs, fighting for the rights they deserved. Although many continue to perceive Asian Americans as weak, isolated, passive, "foreign," Ding eloquently shows that we are anything but those labels. There are few tangible artifacts that remain from those times, yet more importantly, there are lasting effects of our Ancestors in the Americas. We were strong - breaking our backs to earn meager wages. We were active - combating discrimination in the courts. We were inclusive - redefining the definition of an "American." We were home.

Ding's artistry, most of all, brings proper justice to the struggles of our ascendants. A haunting picture of a miner is a focal point throughout the commentary. In the photo, while the miner proudly wears his queue, his baldhead has grown a mat of cowlicks. And though he knows that he cannot vote in the election, he wears a campaign patch in support of Grover Cleveland's run for the presidency in 1888 - perhaps in hope of a future possibility of exercising his own suffrage. So often, Ding laments, Asians are purposely left out of pictures from this era, yet when she does come upon a picture, the mysteries are no more resolved. What would the miner say, if he could speak from the confines of the old photo? Perhaps he has spoken through his appearance, for he represents East meets West - cowlicks meets queuex an Asian transforming into an Asian American.

For extensive educational resources on Asian American issues or information
about Ding and the series, please see

PBS:

CETEL: Loni Ding's Site