Lotus Among the Magnolias: The Mississippi Chinese is a 1982 book by Robert Seto Quan, published by University Press of Mississippi, with Julian B. Roebuck contributing. It is about the Chinese Americans in the Mississippi Delta.

Background

Quan, a Chinese American, had sociology as his specialty.[1] He conducted interviews through using Cantonese.[2] Quan recalled several from memory, and he did not record them.[3] He had a total of about 1,400 subjects interviewed.[1] Quan's historical information came from James W. Loewen of the University of Vermont.[4]

Reception

Loewen wrote that the work is " an alluring and informative small book" due to the presence of photography and quotes,[5] and he praised how the book "makes a distinctive ethnographic contribution" with Quan having distance from his recordings while having them be accurate.[2] Loewen added that the photography items "are poorly reproduced".[5] Loewen criticized the lack of explanation of how extended families or other sociological dimensions and that the author "does not probe some issues deeply enough."[2]

Ronald Love of Mississippi Valley State University praised the study of the impact of particular generations, arguing that the book "takes Loewen's analysis to a new level of understanding."[6]

Gary B. Mills of the University of Alabama criticized the reliance on unrecorded and memorized interviews.[3] He stated "To the historian Lotus is disappointing."[3] He added that there was entertainment value in reading the book.[3]

Shih-shan H. Tsai of the University of Arkansas stated "As a whole, [the work] is a successful one" though he stated that because Quan he got his historical data from Loewen, which Tsai stated had been contradicted, "historians will find it disappointing."[4]

See also

References

Notes

  1. 1 2 Tsai, p. 119.
  2. 1 2 3 Loewen, p. 711.
  3. 1 2 3 4 Mills, p. 469.
  4. 1 2 Tsai, p. 120.
  5. 1 2 Loewen, p. 712.
  6. ↑ Love, p. 832.


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