''A Native of Beijing in New York'', also known as ''Beijinger in New York'' () is a novel by

Glen Cao Glen Cao (born 1947) is also known by his Chinese name, Cao Guilin (曹桂林). He is the author of ''Beijinger in New York''. Mr. Cao wrote the book largely based on his own life experiences as an immigrant to New York City from Beijing in 1980. T ...

(曹桂林), based on his own immigrant story. It was translated into English by Ted Wang (卡本特王). The story follows Qiming Wang and his wife Yan Guo as they work towards the American dream — telling of their immigration, employment, the rearing of their daughter, their eventual success and tragedy — in the foreign environment of the United States. The book was China's #1 best-seller for 1991.

Success

The book was released in

Chinese Chinese can refer to: * Something related to China * Chinese people, people of Chinese nationality, citizenship, and/or ethnicity **''Zhonghua minzu'', the supra-ethnic concept of the Chinese nation ** List of ethnic groups in China, people of ...

in 1991 and was China's #1 best-seller for that year. In one week alone, over 120,000 copies were sold. The book was subsequently serialized in the ''

Beijing Evening News ''Beijing Evening News'' or ''Beijing Wanbao'' (), also known as ''Beijing Evening Post'', is a Chinese language tabloid newspaper in the People's Republic of China from Beijing. It was founded on March 15, 1958. Mao Zedong wrote the title for it ...

'' newspaper, increasing circulation of that paper fivefold. The book was made into a 25 episode television series, which aired on

CCTV Closed-circuit television (CCTV), also known as video surveillance, is the use of video cameras to transmit a signal to a specific place, on a limited set of monitors. It differs from broadcast television in that the signal is not openly t ...

. It was the first Chinese television program to be filmed in the United States and was directed by

Zheng Xiaolong Zheng Xiaolong (; born November 30, 1953) is a Chinese TV and film director and screenwriter. Selected filmography *''Stories from the Editorial Board'' (1991)—China's first sitcom *''A Native of Beijing in New York'' (1992)—first Chinese TV ...

and financed by Paulus Snoeren. The television program was very popular.Gries, p. 27. In 1993, an English version of the book was published and an English version of the television series produced. Peter Hays Gries, author of ''Tears of Rage: Chinese Nationalist Reactions to the Belgrade Embassy Bombing'', said that the television program had "repeated racist comments about Americans" and "marked the emergence of a popular anti-American sentiment in China".

References

* Gries, Peter Hays.
Tears of Rage: Chinese Nationalist Reactions to the Belgrade Embassy Bombing
"
Archive
''

The China Journal ''The China Journal'' is a journal of scholarship, information and analysis about China and Taiwan. It covers anthropology, sociology, and political science. Two issues are published per year by University of Chicago Press on behalf of The Australi ...

''. No. 46. July 2001. p. 25–43.

Notes

External links

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'' Article About Glen Cao 1991 novels Ai Weiwei Novels set in New York City {{AsianAmerican-stub