Audio: Perspectives: Jooksing  Add your comment  LarryLeeStory
by Larry Lee  Since I was a child my elders would call me, an
American- born Chinese, "jooksing," meaning empty bamboo. All
form, no substance. My father's friends would ask me in
Cantonese, "Hey Jooksing! Why don't you learn to speak Chinese?"
In contrast, white people would ask me where I learned to speak
English so well. How crazy-making is that?  Years ago, on
vacation with my family, a store clerk asked where I learned to
I speak English so well. The same day at a Chinese restaurant
the waiter got my order wrong even though I ordered in
Cantonese. "Brainless jooksing," he muttered under his breath.
At that moment it hit me: I was culturally homeless, not Chinese
enough, not white enough. The betwixt and between dilemma of my
life.  Listen to the story here.  RSS Subscribe  Leave a Reply