The Last Cantonese Warrior (fiction)
This story appears in the Spring 2008 Issue of the Kartika Review. The name was changed to Hidden Menu.
Other fiction on this site
chancelucky
Labels: chinese restaurants cantonese language authentic Chinese food
posted by Chancelucky @ 3:21 PM
4 Comments:
I guess we're each a world and a culture. The Great History isn't as true. The protagonist's mother prevails and Sh'ih Huang Ti is dust.
I don't know that she prevails, but she doesn't quit.
Mr. Pogblog, I want to thank you for always reading and commenting on almost all my posts, but especially my short stories. It's meant so much to me as someone who might not be as stubborn as the mother in the story but who keeps trying to write fiction anyway.It's juset invaluable to know that someone is willing to read it.
This reminds me of something that happened to me and a college buddy a few decades ago.
My friend was born and raised in San Francisco, but to two Chinese immigrants. So, as a result, he could speak fluent Chinese but pretty much was as American as any other kid from San Francisco.
One weekend, we took a road trip to my favorite Chinese restaurant in Sacramento. The staff knew me pretty well there. But when I walked in with this Chinese guy, they really lit up. Immediately they started talking to him in Cantonese and he fluently talked back.
So when we sat down at our table, they gave me one menu and they gave him another menu, one that was written completely in Chinese.
At that point, I never realized they had a Chinese-only menu. My friend thanked them in Cantonese and started studying the menu.
The waitress walked away to tend to another table when my friend turned to me and said "Can I look at your menu?"
I asked him if he wanted to compare the dishes to see if they were different from his menu to mine.
"No," he replied. "I can't read Chinese. I have no idea what the Hell this says."
I almost fell off my chair laughing.
Inky,
that's a great story! We assume so many things about language and culture, yet always miss how many gradations there can be and how it impacts every one of us in a unique way.
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