03.27.07
Amy Tan: I don’t speak for all Chinese
Author Amy Tan, whose 1989 novel “The Joy Luck Club” was widely thought to speak for all Chinese, tells the China Daily that she, in fact, does not speak for all Chinese.
“I read a lot about China: the history, architecture, food and so on, to learn the details I need in my writing,” she said. “But there is no authentic way to define Chinese people. I write about my experience, my family stories, it doesn’t mean all American Chinese are like this.”
Tan, in China for the Shanghai International Literary Festival, talked about her craft, her inspirations and the burden of culture. The article also mentions that the San Francisco Opera House is staging an adaptation of her 2001 novel “The Bonesetter’s Daughter.”