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TEA THAT BURNS: A Family Memoir of Chinatown Hardcover – August 2, 1998

by Bruce Hall (Author)

4.8 7 ratings

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A fourth-generation American man revisits his heritage, much of which is tied to New York's Chinatown, a place where his grandfather was a beloved bookie and where his family moved from the old world to the new. 50,000 first printing.

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Print length

320 pages
Language

English
Publisher

Free Press
Publication date

August 2, 1998
Dimensions

6.75 x 1.25 x 9.75 inches
ISBN-10

068483989X
ISBN-13

978-0684839899
Lexile measure

1460L
See all details

Ava Chin

114

Hardcover

64 offers from $8.42

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Freelance writer Hall, a fourth-generation Chinese American, has two wonderful stories to tell here: the history of New York City's Chinatown and the intertwined lives of his own family going back to their days in the Chinese village of Hor Lup Chui. Incidents such as his grandfather's wedding come vividly to life with feasting, firecrackers and suckling pigs, but this book suffers from overcrowding. There are just too many friends of friends and cousins back in China for the reader to connect with any one story. The overall feeling is one of frustration at characters who are never quite realized and a unique culture just beyond reach, depriving the narrative of the dynamism it deserves. Nevertheless, the history of the early Chinese immigrants emerges from the crowded pages: the widespread discrimination against these people who were denied the right to obtain citizenship and persecuted by the indigenous population. Chinese communities like New York City's Chinatown became culturally and geographically isolated, lacking language skills and being almost without women. No wonder the men turned to "the tea that burns," orAless poeticallyA"a teapot full of bootleg Scotch." Hall shows that only in their own community could Chinese find some security, and that turning inward gave rise to gang wars and turf battles, further isolating Chinatown from the rest of Manhattan. Sadly, in the end, Hall's lack of narrative skill and his irritating use of the running present tense that ends up merging all eras deprives us of what should have been a wonderful and exotic tale.
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal

Part history, part family chronicle, part personal reminiscence, this saga by fourth-generation Chinese American Hall (Diamond Street, Black Dome, 1994) follows the Hall family (whose surname was once transliterated "Hor") from the 19th-century in Hor Lup Chui, a village outside Canton, to late-20th-century America. While the extensive bibliography lists only one set of documents pertaining to the Hor family, Hall consulted hundreds of publications and papers on Chinese Americans and Chinatown in New York City, a sizable research effort for a family memoir. The Hor family history is full of colorful characters, including grandfather "Hock Shop," the bookie and bon vivant, whose scotch ("tea that burns") was served by the pot. Highly entertaining and quite informative, this excellent mix of Chinese tradition and Asian American history reads somewhat like Maxine Hong Kingston with footnotes. Recommended for all public libraries.?D.E. Perushek, Northwestern Univ. Lib., Evanston, IL
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist

New York's Chinatown from the mid-1800s through the current day is the scene for Hall's memoir of his family's emigration from China to the U.S. It is also the story of U.S. race relations throughout that period. Hall reconstructs the history of his family as well as others who were lured to the U.S. by the promise of fortunes to be made during the California gold rush and, later, the building of the railroads. Hall traces his family, originally named Hor, through an endless series of menial jobs, membership in the Tongs (Chinese Mafia), and involvement in the gambling establishments where they discovered the pot of tea that burns (scotch). The product of intermarriage and assimilation, Hall fondly recalls honored celebrations of first sons, funerals with candy to sweeten the loss of loved ones, careful placement of goldfish tanks to ward off evil spirits, and the long queues that brought racist taunts in the U.S. but were nonetheless worn for the anticipated return to China. Hall's account is an often hilarious, always compelling history of Chinese immigration. Vanessa Bush

From Kirkus Reviews

The history of New York's Chinatown as told through the author's personal history. Hall (Diamond Street, not reviewed) is the son of a second-generation Chinese American and a Yankee of Scottish descent. In his introduction, he writes, ``I guess I'm searching for continuity,'' and thus begins a backwards journey to discover his ``roots.'' The book, however, is not strictly a family memoir, but a history of the genesis and rapid growth of Manhattan's Chinatown with the stories of the author's predecessors woven into it. Hall conscientiously brings up the racism that Chinese immigrants faced in the late 19th century, culminating in the Exclusion Act of 1882. He also writes vividly of the way the Chinese were perceived by Americans (and vice versa), as well as about a particular hardship faced by the first wave of Chinese immigrants--the lack of Chinese women (he discusses the comlicated unions between Chinese men and white women). The book is at its best when he delves into the early history of Chinatown. Hall crowds his story with colorful characters and anecdotes in a way that is reminiscent of Luc Sante's Lowlife: the notorious Quimbo Appo, the crusading newspaperman, Wong Chin Foo. He also brings to life the rise of the Tongs, or Cantonese gangs, and their ensuing wars. While trying to illustrate the differences between cultures, he too often resorts to turns of phrase (``white ghosts,'' ``foreign devils,'' ``big noses,'' ``the seventh month of the Year of the Ox'') that are forced and render a quaint touch to the book. And unfortunately, during the moments when his own story emerges, the narrative goes flat. But from the turn of the century to the present day, Hall's book accelerates overall to a dizzying pace. -- Copyright ©1998, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.

Review

Mr. Hall weaves in rich details of how it might have looked or felt to be in the Chinatown of the time.... a fine read... -- The Wall Street Journal, Pui-Wing Tam

Product details

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Free Press (August 2, 1998)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Hardcover ‏ : ‎ 320 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 068483989X
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0684839899
Lexile measure ‏ : ‎ 1460L
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 1.35 pounds
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 6.75 x 1.25 x 9.75 inches

Best Sellers Rank: #1,243,752 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #365 in Mid Atlantic U.S. Biographies
- #1,022 in Asian & Asian Americans Biographies
- #2,185 in Chinese History (Books)

Customer Reviews:
4.8 7 ratings

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John Jung

Tea That Refreshes

Reviewed in the United States on December 25, 2002

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Tea That Burns was an unexpected pleasure to read. Not only is the writing fresh and engrossing, but the overall account of his family history back several generations is fascinating and rings of authencity. I have read numerous interesting Chinese-American memoirs, and what makes this one especially unique, is the ability of the author to connect the events occurring in U. S. History with concurrent events in China's history. This interweaving informs the reader in ways that are absent when the China context is not provided.
As a second generation Chinese whose father was a paper son, and whose parents had an arranged marriage, I already knew many of the factual aspects of the book. However, I never could entirely understand the 'process' underlying the facts until I read Tea That Burns. The author filled in many of these gaps with his eye for detail. The documentation at the back of the book reveals that the author knows his Chinese immigration history thoroughly, but fortunately he does not bog the reader down by inserting an abundance of citations within the body of the text.
I felt invigorated and refreshed after reading this excellent book.

8 people found this helpful

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CR86

Great historic information about NYC's Chinatown

Reviewed in the United States on September 9, 2021

Verified Purchase

Covers important parts of US History not found in textbooks. NYC's Chinatown is sacred.

One person found this helpful

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ele

Five Stars

Reviewed in the United States on September 24, 2014

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Great book!

One person found this helpful

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Jeff Moy (hansa@mmrd.com)

"Tea that Burns": After an hour you're hungry again.

Reviewed in the United States on February 10, 1999

I read Mr. Hall's narration and found it simultaneously interesting and dissapointing. Interesting because he cleverly portrayed the historical side of the story from an angle I could relate to, with credible detail that in and of itself made for the price of the book (Great Photos!). Disappointing because the individuals contained within were only briefly portrayed and therefore the personal aspect, that in my respectful opinion lends dimension to all historical fact, was somewhat disjointed. I look forward to Mr. Hall's next work to fill in the gaps and continue what he began.

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TEA THAT BURNS: A Family Memoir of Chinatown Hardcover – August 2, 1998

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