Frank Chin on “Names”
Frank Chin
I received the following e-mail from Frank Chin, and he asked me to post it:
To: Byron Wong
Sent: Monday, October 13, 2008 7:52:17 AM
Subject:
Byron
Why haven’t you changed your Greek name to an Asian name? It’s been years. If you’re Asian (I mean “Confucian” Chinese-Korean-Japanese) and an actyivist org you would have found an Asian name for yourselves.
The talk abouut Asian dating other thanh Asians is offensive to me. Chinese lit (the Chinese children’s storyu and the heroic tradition) respects individual privacy. What happens in the bedroom and with whom is nobody’s business unless the individual makes his or her provate life public.
The concern should be the children. Your children are going to learn JACK AND THE BEANSTALK with or without you. If your partner is not Chinese and you’re going to tell your kids they’re AA, they should know the Chinese children’s stories. That’s the parents responsibility. The parents should have their own schools (remember Chinese school?) Public school is white and white racist. If your kds don’t know the Asian stories to match the European stories they’re taught as American, they’re not Asian. They’re American tourists.
You’re conference where you talked to someone who’d written his dissertation on me was without any real content. You didn’t name names till the end and left the impression that feminists have a case against me and for Kingston.
Your interviewee disstertation seems to have strayed from literature into Socioology (feminism).
The feminists haven’t proven they know the history of feminism or why Asian are responsible for changing their history to conform to their view of what should have been, and the rest of the world including whites are left untouched. That racism. AAS, sociocolgy, Karthika, and the name Thymos as you use it is racist at worst and young self-pity to be generous. But I’m not generous.
TAKEYUKI’S BOOTS is to be circulated privately until it’s published. Is it real? How do you know?
Share this with Thyos and the Fightig 44’s. (I would change the name. 44 is double death to the Asian)
FCC
You’ve gotta have the highest respect for Frank Chin–not only is he a pioneer of Asian American activism, but he’s still active. He’s one of the few people in Asian American literature who has done it all–he co-founded Asian American Lit, spearheaded and conceptualized the Day of Remembrance, and is now working to bring traditional Chinese stories to Asian American children. I can tell you from personal experience that it’s an experience to speak with him. It’s rare to meet someone with Mr. Chin’s achievements who has radically influenced history.
The interview he’s referring to is the one with THX, which we hosted at the 44s West Coast meeting. You can hear it here.
As for names, the board of Thymos has always been open to change. It’s just that we’ve never found an Asian name that really works. Mr. Chin is correct in that it’s a bit funny to have a Greek name on an Asian organization. Our usage is based on an idea first reported by the Greek Plato, transformed into an idea of recognition by the German Hegel, and interpreted by Japanese American Francis Fukuyama (though whose ethnicity has nothing to do with his or our treatment of his text).
Names are funny. I just saw an article in the Oregonian last week about a mostly white motorcycle gang who call themselves the Mongols. I think they probably derived some of their inspiration from Genghis, the same way we derived inspiration from the ideas developed by the aforementioned individuals (although we don’t have the criminal element in Thymos!). So the question is this: Should an Asian American organization have an Asian name?
I actually agree with Mr. Chin and think he’s right. Overall, I would love to have an Asian name, as it’s the very first word that hits the eye or ear whenever we write or talk about ourselves. Ideas or suggestions on this topic?
