Pam Chun

Click and type in a question or comment

For Discussion:

1. The family and social structure of traditional Chinese culture is defined by Confucian standards, which preach that harmony comes from order. Therefore, family and social positions were highly structured, and people’s worth was defined by how well they lived up to these standards. Since family order was seen as the basis of social order, maintaining a harmonious and orderly family was vital to the Chinese. Parents had authority over children throughout life, husbands over wives, First sons over Second sons, and so on, and First wives over Second wives. In The Money Dragon, were family members of lower rank always obedient? How did they get around these rules?

2. L. Ah Leong’s life mission is to become an honorable Chinese man, admired by his neighbors and esteemed by the country’s officials. How did L. Ah Leong display his success in Hawai‘i’s society? How did this differ from the ways he chose to display his success in China? What does this tell us about which country he felt was his true “homeland”?

3. L. Ah Leong believes he has reached success according to Confucian ethics. What makes him employ American laws to disrupt this hierarchy in his family? How was his ploy both a success and a failure?

4. In the Chinese culture depicted in The Money Dragon, men and women hold different views of family. This may be attributed to their “roles” within the family structure. We see these beliefs questioned by the younger generation. How does L. Ah Leong’s view of “family” differ from his son Tat-Tung’s? How does Fung Dai-Kam’s view of family differ from Phoenix’s?

5. How does Fung Dai-Kam’s attitude towards her rights as a Chinese woman in the 1800s compare to her attitude toward her rights as a woman in the 1900s? Why do you think First wife decided to divorce L. Ah Leong despite the social stigma? What does this reflect about her? About her understanding of society? How has her concept of a wife’s duties changed from 1880, when she was married, compared to the 1920s when she filed for divorce?

6. Phoenix was raised with Confucian beliefs. Does her attitude change as she confronts life in Hawai‘i? How does she adapt her Confucian beliefs to survive in the Western world?

7. What romantic notions of family and marriage does Phoenix have as a young girl? How do they change after as she marries and matures? How does Phoenix’s attitude toward marriage and her in-laws change over time?

8. Is Phoenix a “good wife”? How do her husband, father-in-law and mother-in-law view her?

9. What is more difficult for Phoenix, the physical demands of running a household or the emotional problems of being L. Ah Leong’s First daughter-in-law?

10. How do the Confucian ethics of honor and hierarchy conflict with American beliefs of the 1920s? How does L. Ah Leong use Confucian ethics to his advantage?

11. Tat-Tung was raised with Confucian beliefs as well as Western beliefs. Does he hold to these Confucian beliefs? How do his beliefs change? How does his understanding of both Chinese and Western beliefs help him in his family, in his business, and to maintain his honor?

12. L. Ah Leong strove for success in both the Western world and the Chinese world. What are the measures of success of the Chinese world? What are the measures of success in the Western world? How do they conflict? How does this knowledge help Tat-Tung in his personal and business life? Does this make it easier or more difficult to maintain his “honor”?

13. Why does Tat-Tung continue to work for L. Ah Leong Store even though he does not agree with his father and the wages are low? What does this demonstrate about his concept of a “dutiful son”?

14. Who is your favorite character in The Money Dragon and why?

15. The overthrow of the Hawaiian monarchy changed the lives of the Chinese who lived under the laws of the Hawaiian Kingdom. Under the Hawaiian monarchy, L. Ah Leong could have up to seven wives. Under American law, he could have only one spouse, and that marriage had to be conducted according to American law. How could the Americans have fairly handled the situation when one had more than one wife, which was allowable under a government but illegal under a conquering government?

16. One of L. Ah Leong’s attorneys was also the Attorney General for Hawai‘i. Did this give him an unfair advantage in the judicial system? Should this have been allowed?

17. Although the Americans consider Second wife Ho Shee L. Ah Leong’s legal wife, the Lau family has the opportunity to demonstrate Confucian harmony by allowing Dai-Kam to march as First wife. How does the final outcome bode for the future of the family? Is there honor and social harmony? If not, what do we surmise will happen?