A playwright, also called a dramatist, is a person who writes plays.

The term is not a variant spelling of "playwrite",^[1] but something quite distinct: the word wright is an archaic English term for a craftsman or builder (as in a wheelwright or cartwright). Hence the prefix and the suffix combine to indicate someone who has wrought words, themes, and other elements into a dramatic form, someone who crafts plays. The homophone with write is in this case entirely coincidental.

Early playwrights and playwriting theory[link]

The earliest playwrights in Western literature with surviving works are the Ancient Greeks. These early plays were written for annual Athenian competitions among playwrights^[2] held around the 5th century BC. Such notables as Aeschylus, Sophocles, Euripides, and Aristophanes established forms still relied on by their modern counterparts. For the Greeks, the playwright was "poeisis" the act of making plays. So the "poet" had a different connotation than it does today.

Aristotle's Poetics[link]

In the 4th Century BC, Aristotle wrote his Poetics, the first play-writing manual. In this benchmark text, Aristotle establishes the principle of "action" or "praxis" as the basis for all drama. Aristotle establishes a hierarchy of elements for the drama beginning with Plot (mythos), Character (ethos), Thought (dianoia), Diction (lexis), Music (melopeia), and Spectacle (lusis). The ends of drama were plot, character, and thought, the means of drama were language and music, and the manner of presentation was spectacle. Since the myths, upon which Greek tragedy were based, were widely known, plot had to do with the arrangement and selection of materials. Character was equated with choice, as opposed to psychology, thus, character is determined by action. In tragedy, the notion of ethical choice determined character of the man. Thought had more to do with arguments, and rhetorical strategies, rather than "theme" has it would today. Language and Music were the material means of drama, much like paint and brushes are the means of the painter. Aristotle's methodology was inductive and based on reading the great tragedians of his day. In other words, he redacted his theories from the plays themselves, rather than begin with a theoretical approach. As such, it is not intended as dogma (as it would later become) but was written as a guide describing best practices. His definition of tragedy as "the imitation of an action that is serious.....etc." brought in the concept of mimesis from real life, rather than from the ideal that Plato had touted. Thus, he developed his notion of hamartia, or tragic flaw, which was really an error in judgment by the main character or protagonist. The Poetics, while very brief, is highly condensed and worthy of study by any playwright today. It provides the basis of the "conflict-driven" play, a term we still tout as the sine qua non of dramaturgy. Perhaps, the most Aristotelian of contemporary playwrights is David Mamet. Mamet embraces the idea of character as "agent of the action" and exemplifies causality in the structure of his plays. His recently revived, Speed the Plow, is quintessentially Aristotelian: it observes the unities, with exception of Act Ii's change in place, and builds its plot through a causal stream of discoveries and reversals. The term playwright appears to have been coined by Ben Jonson in his Epigram 49, To Playwright,^[3] as an insult, to suggest a mere tradesman fashioning works for the theatre. He always described himself as a poet, since plays during that time were always written in meter and so regarded as the provenance of poets. This view was held even as late as the early 19th century. The term later lost this negative connotation.

Neoclassical theory[link]

William Shakespeare

The Italian Renaissance brought about a stricter interpretation of Aristotle, as this long-lost work came to light in the late 15th century. The neoclassical ideal, which was to reach its apogee in France during the 17th century, dwelled upon the "unities," of action, place, and time. This meant that the playwright had to construct the play so that its "virtual" time would not exceed 24 hours, that it would be restricted to a single setting, and that there would be no subplots. Other terms, such as verisimilitude and decorum circumscribed the subject matter significantly. For example, verisimilitude defined that characters were to based upon the ideal of a type, versus what might be considered realistic. It also prohibited actions that might not be considered possible within the limits of the unities. Decorum fitted proper protocols for behavior and language on stage. In France, Jean Racine in tragedy, and Molière, comedy, were purveyors of the unities and other strictures. Corneille, on the other hand was condemned by the French Academy, when his play Le Cid contained too many events and actions, thus, violating the 24 hour restriction of the unity of time. Neoclassicism never had as much traction in England—Shakespeare's plays are directly opposed to these models—and in Italy, improvised and bawdy commedia dell'arte and opera were more popular forms. In England, after the interregnum and restoration of the monarchy in 1660, there was a move toward neoclassical tragedy, but this was never popular. For example, Dryden's All for Love, a redaction of Shakespeare's Antony and Cleopatra, attempted to compress the sprawl of action and multiple settings from Egypt to Rome to a single place, and within a 24 hour time frame. One structural unit that is still useful to playwrights today is the "french scene" which describes any character entrance or exit. Thus, motivations and actions for characters will change based on who is present on stage. This is an excellent structural tool, and can let the playwright know exactly how much a particular character is involved in the action.

Well-made play[link]

Popularized in the nineteenth-century by the French playwrights' Scribe and Sardou. Perhaps, the most schematic of all formats the well-made play relied on a series of coincidences (for better or worse) that determined the action. This plot driven format was driven often by a prop device, such as letter, or glass of water, that revealed some secret information. In most cases, the character receiving the secret information would misinterpret its contents, thus setting off the chain of events. Well-made plays thus are motivated by various plot devices which lead to "discoveries" and "reversals of action" rather than character motivated. Ibsen's A Doll's House is an example of a well-made structure (built around the discovery of Krogstad's letter) that began to integrate a more realistic approach to character. Ironically, Nora's leaving is as much motivated by "the letter" and disclosure of a "past secret" as it is by her own determination to strike out on her own. The well-made play thus infected other forms of writing and is still seen in popular formats such as the mystery, or whodunit.

Play formats[link]

Full-length play: Generally, two or three acts with an act break (intermission or interval) that marks some kind of structural or time shift. Usually divided into scenes that are often defined by shifts in time and place. This type of structure is called episodic. Episodic plays often contain scene changes and require careful attention to transitions to maintain flow and continuity. Classical structure entails a more causal relationship between units and is often defined by the unity of time, place, and/or action. The latter is often marked by the Late Point of Attack whereas the former involves an Early Point of Attack. Point of Attack refers to the point in the story where the play begins. Late point of attack plays are generally reactions to an event that has already occurred, or to an outcome that is imminent. In Early point of attack, the play reveals itself as it goes along in the action. Short play: A more popular format recently, the short play removes the intermission and generally runs over an hour but less than an hour-and-a-half. One-act play: A useful form for experimental work (the absurdists made the form popular) with less reliance on character development and arc. Generally, under an hour in length.

10-minute play: Popularized over the past 20 years and now a staple of most play festivals, and many play contests. Takes on a number of approaches from traditional conflict-driven to very experimental. Useful in playwriting workshops and with beginning playwrights since the format requires rigor, yet can be processed or produced without onerous technical requirements.

Contemporary playwrights[link]

Contemporary playwrights in the United States often do not reach the same level of fame or cultural importance as some did in the past. No longer the only outlet for serious drama or entertaining comedies, theatrical productions must compete for audiences with films, television, and the Internet. In addition, the perilous state of funding for the arts in the United States and a growing reliance by non-profit theatres on ticket sales as a source of income has caused many of them to reduce the number of new works they produce. For example, Playwrights Horizons produced only six plays in the 2002-03 seasons, compared with thirty-one in 1973-74.^[4] As revivals and large-scale production musicals become the de rigueur Broadway (and even Off-Broadway) productions, playwrights find it difficult to earn livings in the business, let alone achieve major successes.

See also[link]

• List of playwrights
• Play (theatre)
• Screenwriter

References[link]

External links[link]

Look up playwright in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

Wikiversity has learning materials about Collaborative play writing

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Playwrights

• The Playwriting Seminars, Virginia Commonwealth University

Americans of Chinese origin
華裔美國人 or 美籍華人;
华裔美国人 or 美籍华人

] Gary Locke Anna May Wong I. M. Pei Roger Tsien Jeremy Lin Chris Lu Michelle Kwan Jin Maya Lin
Total population
3,794,673 1.2% of the U.S. population (2010)[1]
Regions with significant populations
New York City • San Francisco • Los Angeles • Boston • Washington D.C. • Chicago • Seattle • Houston
Languages
Predominantly English • varieties of Chinese: Mandarin Chinese (Standard Chinese) • Yue Chinese (Yuehai Cantonese • Taishanese) • Hakka • Wu Chinese[2] (Taihu Wu • Oujiang Wu), and Min Chinese (Min Nan • Min Dong[3]).
Religion
Buddhism • Christianity • Confucianism Taoism • Islam non-religious and others[4]
Related ethnic groups
Laotian Chinese Americans Hong Kong Americans • Taiwanese Americans Overseas Chinese

This article contains Chinese text. Without proper rendering support, you may see question marks, boxes, or other symbols instead of Chinese characters.

Chinese Americans (Chinese: trad. 華裔美國人, simp. 华裔美国人, pin. Huáyì Měiguórén; t 美籍華人, s 美籍华人, p Měijí Huárén) are Americans of Chinese – particularly Han Chinese^[5] – descent. Chinese Americans constitute one group of overseas Chinese and also a subgroup of East Asian Americans, which is further a subgroup of Asian Americans. Many Chinese Americans are immigrants along with their descendants from Mainland China, Hong Kong, Macau, Taiwan, as well as Malaysia, Singapore, and other countries in Southeast Asia and South America that include large populations of Chinese diaspora.^[6] Overall demographic research tends to include immigrants from mainland China, Hong Kong, Macau, and Taiwan as well as overseas Chinese who have immigrated from South East Asia into the broadly defined Chinese American category as both the governments of the Republic of China and the United States refer Taiwanese Americans as a separate subgroup of Chinese Americans.^[7][8][9]

The Chinese American community is the largest overseas Chinese community in North America, closely followed by the Chinese communities in Canada and Mexico. It is also the fourth largest in the Chinese diaspora, behind the Chinese communities in Thailand, Malaysia, and Indonesia. The Chinese American community is the largest ethnic group of Asian Americans, comprising 25.9% of the Asian American population as of 2010. They constitute 1.2% of the United States, including those with partial Chinese ancestry. According to the 2010 census, the Chinese American population numbered approximately 3.8 million.^[1]

History[link]

The first Chinese immigrants arrived in 1820 according to U.S. government records. 325 men are known to have arrived before the 1849 California Gold Rush^[10] which drew the first significant number of laborers from China who mined for gold and performed menial labor.^[11][12][13] There were 25,000 immigrants by 1852, and 105,465 by 1880, most of whom lived on the West Coast. They formed over a tenth of California's population. Nearly all the early immigrants were young males with low educational levels from six districts in the Guangdong province.^[14]

The Chinese came to California in large numbers during the California Gold Rush, with 40,400 being recorded as arriving from 1851–1860, and again in the 1860s when the Central Pacific Railroad recruited large labor gangs, many on five year contracts, to build its portion of the Transcontinental Railroad. The Chinese laborers worked out well and thousands more were recruited until the railroad's completion in 1869. Chinese labor provided the massive labor needed to build the majority of the Central Pacific's difficult railroad tracks through the Sierra Nevada mountains and across Nevada. The Chinese population rose from 2,716 in 1851 to 63,000 by 1871. In the decade 1861-70, 64,301 were recorded as arriving, followed by 123,201 in 1871-80 and 61,711 in 1881-1890. 77% were located in California, with the rest scattered across the West, the South, and New England.^[15] Most came from Southern China looking for a better life; escaping a high rate of poverty left after the Taiping Rebellion. This immigration may have been as high as 90% male as most immigrated with the thought of returning home to start a new life. Those that stayed in America faced the lack of suitable Chinese brides as Chinese women were not allowed to emigrate in significant numbers after 1872. As a result, the mostly bachelor communities slowly aged in place with very low Chinese birth rates. As a result of the Fourteenth Amendment and the 1898 United States v. Wong Kim Ark Supreme Court decision, ethnic Chinese born in the United States became American citizens.

Demographics[link]

Statistics of the Chinese population in the United States (1840–present)[link]

Chinese population % in U.S. states (Year 2000); locations of the largest Chinatowns of the USA - (click to enlarge). Source: US Census 2000.

The table shows the ethnic Chinese population of the USA (including persons with mixed-ethnic origin).^[16]

Percentage of Chinese population in the United States, 2000.

According to the 2010 Census, the three metropolitan areas with the largest Chinese American populations were the Greater New York Combined Statistical Area at 649,989 people, the San Jose-San Francisco-Oakland Combined Statistical Area at about 581,263 people, and the Greater Los Angeles Combined Statistical Area at about 473,323 people. New York City is home to the highest Chinese American population of any city proper (486,463), while the Los Angeles County city of Monterey Park has the highest percentage of Chinese Americans of any municipality, at 43.7% of its population, or 24,758 people.

The ten states with the largest estimated Chinese American populations, according to both the 2010 Census, were California (1,253,100; 3.4%), New York (577,000; 3.0%), Texas (157,000; 0.6%), New Jersey (134,500; 1.5%), Massachusetts (123,000; 1.9%), Illinois (104,200; 0.8%), Washington (94,200; 1.4%), Pennsylvania (85,000; 0.7%), Maryland (69,400; 1.2%), and Virginia (59,800; 0.7%). The state of Hawaii has the highest concentration of Chinese Americans at 4.0%, or 55,000 people.

The New York City Metropolitan Area, consisting of New York City, Long Island, and nearby areas within the states of New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, and Pennsylvania, is home to the largest Chinese American population of any metropolitan area within the United States, enumerating 665,714 individuals as of the 2009 American Community Survey Census statistical data,^[17] and including at least seven Chinatowns. Continuing significant immigration from Mainland China, both legal^[18][19] and illegal^[20] in origin, has spurred the ongoing rise of the Chinese American population in the New York metropolitan area; this immigration continues to be fueled by New York's status as an alpha global city, its high population density, its extensive mass transit system, and the New York metropolitan area's enormous economic marketplace.

San Francisco, California has the highest per capita concentration of Chinese Americans of any major city in the United States, at an estimated 19.8%, or 157,747 people, and contains the second-largest total number of Chinese Americans of any U.S. city. San Francisco's Chinatown was established in the 1840s, making it the oldest Chinatown in North America and the largest neighborhood of Chinese people outside of Asia,^[21][22] composed in large part by immigrants hailing from Guangdong province and also many from Hong Kong. The San Francisco neighborhoods of Sunset District and Richmond District also contain significant Chinese populations.

In addition to the big cities, smaller pockets of Chinese Americans are also dispersed in rural towns, often university-college towns, throughout the United States. For example, the number of Chinese Americans, including college professors, doctors, professionals, and students, has increased over 200% from 2005 to 2010 in Providence, Rhode Island, a small city with a large number of colleges.

Income and social status of these Chinese-American locations vary widely. Although many Chinese Americans in Chinatowns of large cities are often members of an impoverished working class, others are well-educated upper-class people living in affluent suburbs. The upper and lower-class Chinese are also widely separated by social status and class discrimination. In California's San Gabriel Valley, for example, the cities of Monterey Park and San Marino are both Chinese American communities lying geographically close to each other but they are separated by a large socio-economic and income gap.

Significant Chinese population centers[link]

New York City is home to the largest Chinese American population.

San Francisco is home to the second largest Chinese community in the United States.

A list of large cities (250,000+ residents) with a Chinese-American population in excess of one percent of the general population.^{[1][dubious – discuss]}

Influence on American culture[link]

Some of the noteworthy Chinese contributions include building Western half of the Transcontinental railroad and levees in the Sacramento River Delta; the popularization of Chinese American food; technological innovation and entrepreneurship; and the introduction of Chinese and East Asian culture to America, such as Buddhism, Taoism, and Kung fu.

Chinese immigrants to the United States brought many of their ideas, ideals and values with them. Some of these have continued to influence later generations. Among them is Confucian respect for elders and filial piety.^[23] Similarly education and the civil service were the most important path for upward social mobility in China.^[23][24] The first Broadway show about Asian Americans was Flower Drum Song.^[25]

In most American cities with Chinese populations, the new year is celebrated with cultural festivals and parties. In Seattle, the Chinese Culture and Arts Festival is held every year. Other important festivals include the Dragon Boat Festival and the Mid-Autumn Festival.

Analysis indicated that most non-Asian Americans do not differentiate between Chinese Americans and East Asian Americans generally, and perceptions of both groups are nearly identical.^[26] A 2001 survey of Americans' attitudes toward Asian Americans and Chinese Americans indicated that one fourth of the respondents had somewhat or very negative attitude toward Chinese Americans in general.^[27] The study did find several positive perceptions of Chinese Americans: strong family values (91%); honesty as entrepreneurs (77%); high value on education (67%).^[26]

Language[link]

Chinese, mostly of the Cantonese variety, is the third most-spoken language in the United States, almost completely spoken within Chinese American populations and by immigrants or the descendants of immigrants, especially in California.^[28] Over 2 million Americans speak some variety of Chinese, with Mandarin Chinese becoming increasingly more common due to immigration from mainland China and Taiwan.^[28]

In New York City at least, although Mandarin is spoken as a native language among only ten percent of Chinese speakers, it is used as a secondary dialect among the greatest number of them and is on its way to replace Cantonese as their lingua franca.^[29] In addition, the immigration from Fujian is creating an increasingly large number of Min speakers. Wu Chinese, a Chinese language previously unheard of in the United States, is now spoken by a minority of recent Chinese immigrants, who hail from Jiangsu, Zhejiang, and Shanghai.

Although Chinese Americans grow up learning English, some teach their children Chinese for a variety of reasons: preservation of an ancient civilization, preservation of a unique identity, pride in their cultural ancestry, desire for easy communication with them and other relatives, and the perception that Chinese will be a very useful language as China's economic strength increases.^{[citation needed]}

Politics[link]

Chinese Americans are divided among many subgroups based on factors such as age, nativity, and class and do not have uniform attitudes about the People's Republic or the Republic of China, about the United States, or about Chinese nationalism. Different subgroups of Chinese Americans also have radically different and sometimes very conflicting political priorities and goals.^{[example needed]}

Nonetheless, Chinese Americans are clustered in majority-Democratic states and have themselves trended Democratic in recent presidential elections  – polling just before the 2004 U.S. Presidential Election found John Kerry was favored by 58% of Chinese Americans and George W. Bush by only 23%,^[30] as compared with a 54/44 split in California, a 58/40 split in New York, and a 48/51 split in America as a whole on Election Day itself.

Chinese Americans were an important source of funds for Han revolutionaries during the later Qing dynasty, and Sun Yat-sen was raising money in America at the time of the Xinhai Mutiny which established the Republic of China. During the Cultural Revolution, Chinese Americans, like all overseas Chinese, generally speaking, were viewed as capitalist traitors by the People's Republic of China government. This attitude changed completely in the late 1970s with the reforms of Deng Xiaoping. Increasingly, Chinese Americans were seen as sources of business and technical expertise and capital who could aid in China's economic and other development.

Socioeconomics[link]

Education[link]

Overall, as a demographic group, Chinese Americans are highly educated and earn higher incomes when compared to other demographic groups in the United States.^[31] Educational achievements of Chinese in the United States are one of the highest among Asian Americans and also among all ethnic groups in the United States.^[32] Chinese Americans often have some of the highest averages in tests such as SAT, GRE, etc. in the United States. Although verbal scores lag somewhat due to the influx of new immigrants, combined SAT scores have also been higher than for most Americans. Chinese Americans are the largest racial group on all but one of the nine fully established University of California campuses.^{[33][34][35][36]} They are disproportionately represented among US National Merit Scholarship awardees, and constitute 13% of the nation's top Ivy League universities and other prestigious institutions of higher education around the United States. They are more likely to apply to competitively elite higher education institutions.^{[37][38][39][40]} They also constitute 24% of all Olympic Seattle Scholarship winners, 33% of USA Math Olympiad winners, 15.5% of Putnam Math Competition winners, and 36% of Duke Talent Identification Grand Recognition Ceremony attendees from the Dallas Metropolitan area.^[41][42]

International students studying at various higher education institutions around the United States account for a significant percentage of the international student body. International undergraduates, who make up 8 percent of Duke’s undergraduate body, come from China more than any other country.^[43][44] International Chinese students also comprise 11 percent of the nearly 5,800 freshmen at the University of Washington.^[45] Mainland China is the top sending country of international students to the United States.^[46] As a result of its growing economy and large population, more middle-class families from China are able to afford American college tuition, bringing an influx of Chinese students to study abroad in the United States. With a more diverse educational background and higher level of English proficiency, international Chinese students also value American degrees, as it gives them a huge advantage over their college educated counterparts in China by the time they return to their native country to seek employment.^[47] Many Chinese international students are also brand name conscious, choosing elite higher education institutes such as the Ivy League, University of California at Berkeley, UCLA, Stanford University, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Northwestern University, University of Michigan, University of Chicago, Carnegie Mellon University, Johns Hopkins University, Case Western Reserve University, California Institute of Technology, New York University, Duke University, Rice University, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Emory University, and University of Southern California as their target schools.^[48][49][50] International Chinese students are also widely found at many elite liberal arts colleges such as Barnard College and Mount Holyoke.^[51][52] Students from China gravitate towards Americans colleges and universities for their high quality and the style of education which stresses interdisciplinary approaches, creativity, student participation and critical thinking.^[53] Chinese students comprise 18 percent of the international student population in America, and make up 32.2 percent of the undergraduate students and 48.8 percent of the graduate students. Chinese international students tend to gravitate towards technical majors that involve heavy use of mathematics and the natural sciences. 27.5 percent of international Chinese students study business management, finance, or economics, 19.2 percent study engineering, 11.5 percent study the life sciences and 10.6 percent study math or computer science.^[54]

Among American PhD recipients in fields related to science and engineering, 25% of the recipients are ethnic Chinese.^[55] According to the 2010 U.S. Census Bureau of Labor Statistics, 51.8% of all Chinese Americans have attained at least a bachelor's degree, compared with 28.2% nationally and 49.9% for all Asian American groups. The Census reports that 54.7% of Chinese American men attained a bachelors degree and 49.3% of Chinese American women attained a bachelors degree. In addition, 26.6% of all Chinese Americans in the United States possess a master’s, doctorate or other professional degree, compared to 20.3% for all Asian Americans, and is roughly two and a half times above the national average.^[56]

Employment[link]

There has been a significant change in the perceptions of Chinese Americans. In as little as 100 years of American history, stereotypes of Chinese Americans have changed to portraying a hard working and educated minority. Thus, most Chinese Americans work as white collar professionals, many of whom are highly educated, salaried professionals whose work is largely self-directed in management, professional, and related occupations such as engineering, medicine, investment banking, law, and academia. 53.1% of Chinese Americans work in many white collar professions compared with 48.1% for all Asian Americans and a national average of 35.1%.^[56] They make up two percent of working physicians in the United States.^[57] Chinese Americans also make up a third of the Asian American high tech professional workforce and a tenth of entire Silicon Valley workforce.^[58] Chinese Americans also hold lower unemployment rates than the population average with a figure of 4.7% compared to a national rate of 5.9%.^[56]

Though Chinese Americans are also noted for their high rates of self-employment as they have a extensive history of self-employment dating back to the California Gold Rush in the 1880's.^[59] However as more Chinese Americans seek higher education to elevate themselves socioeconomically, rates of self-employment are generally lower than population average.^[60] In 2007, there were over 109,614 Chinese-owned employer firms, employing more than 780,000 workers, and generating more than $128 billion in revenue.^[61] Among Chinese-owned U.S. firms, 40% were in the professional, scientific, and technical services sector; the accommodation and food services sector; and the repair, maintenance, personal, and laundry services sector. Chinese-owned U.S. firms comprised 2% of all U.S. businesses in these sectors. Wholesale trade and accommodation and food services accounted for 50.4% of Chinese-owned business revenue. 66,505 or 15.7% of Chinese-owned firms had receipts of $250,000 or more compared with 2% for all U.S. businesses.^{[61][62][63][64][65][66]}

Economics[link]

With their above average educational attainment rates, Chinese Americans from all socioeconomic backgrounds have achieved significant advances in their educational levels, income, life expectancy and other social indicators as the financial and socioeconomic opportunities offered by the United States have lift many Chinese Americans out of poverty joining the ranks of America's middle class, upper middle class, as well as the enjoyment of substantial well being.^[67] Chinese Americans are more likely to own homes than the general American population. According to the 2000 U.S. Census, 65% of Chinese Americans owned a home, higher than the total population's rate of 54%.^[68][69] In 2003, real estate economist Gary Painter of the University of Southern California Lusk Center for Real Estate Research found out that when comparing homeowners with similar income levels Los Angeles, the Chinese-American home-ownership rate is 20 percent higher than Whites; in San Francisco, 23 percent higher; and in the New York metropolitan area, 18 percent higher.^[70] A 2008 Asian Real Estate Association of America report released on behalf of the American community survey, Chinese Americans living in the states of Texas, New York, and California all had high home ownership rates that were significantly near or above the general population average.^[71]

According to the 2010 U.S. Census, Chinese American men had a full-time median income of $57,061 and Chinese American women had a median income of $47,224. Chinese Americans also have one of the highest median household incomes among most demographic groups in United States, which is 30 percent higher than the national average but is slightly lower compared with the Asian American population.^[56]

Notable Chinese Americans[link]

Science and technology[link]

Chinese Americans have made prominent contributions to American Science and Technology. They also comprise 8% of the American Science and Technological workforce.^[55] They have been recipients of numerous prestigious scientific prizes such as the National Medal of Science, the Turing Award, and the Nobel Prize.^[72][73]

Chien-Shiung Wu was known to many scientists as the "First Lady of Physics" and won the Wolf Prize in Physics in 1978 for her contributions her role in experimentally demonstrating the violation of the law of conservation of parity in the field of particle physics. Tsung-Dao Lee and Chen Ning Yang received the 1957 Nobel Prize in Physics for theoretical work demonstrating that the conservation of parity did not always hold and later became American citizens. Samuel Chao Chung Ting received the 1976 Nobel Prize in physics for discovery of the subatomic particle J/ψ. The mathematician Shing-Tung Yau won the Fields Medal in 1982 and received the Wolf Prize in Mathematics in 2010. The geometer Shiing-Shen Chern received the Wolf Prize in Mathematics in 1983. The combinatorialist Terence Tao received the Fields Medal in 2006. Andrew Yao was awarded the Turing Award in 2000. Daniel Tsui shared the 1998 Nobel Prize in Physics in 1998 for helping discover the fractional Quantum Hall effect. The engineer Yuan-Cheng Fung received the 2007 Russ Prize "for the characterization and modeling of human tissue mechanics and function leading to prevention and mitigation of trauma." Fung is also regarded as a founding figure of bioengineering, tissue engineering, and the Modern Biomechanics.^[74]

Roger Tsien was awarded the 2004 Wolf Prize in Medicine for his "seminal contribution to the design and biological application of novel fluorescent and photolabile molecules to analyze and perturb cell signal transduction."^[75] Tsien was also awarded the 2008 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for his discovery and development of the green fluorescent protein.^[76] Ching W. Tang was the inventor of the Organic light-emitting diode and Organic solar cell and was awarded the 2011 Wolf Prize in Chemistry for this achievement. Min Chueh Chang was the co-inventor of the combined oral contraceptive pill and contributed significantly to the development of in vitro fertilisation at the Worcester Foundation for Experimental Biology.

Silicon Valley[link]

Silicon Valley remains the center of new product definition and developer of leading-edge technology. It is an attractive hotspot for Chinese professional immigrants and budding Chinese internet entrepreneurs.^[77]

Ethnic Chinese have been very successful in starting new firms in Silicon Valley and in developing Taiwan's reputation as a quality manufacturing center for computers and chips.^[78] Chinese Americans have been disproportionately successful in the hi-tech sectors of California's Silicon Valley, as evidenced by the Goldsea 100 Compilation of America's Most Successful Asian Entrepreneurs.^[79] Chinese Americans accounted for 4 percent of people listed in the 1998 Forbes Hi Tech 100 List.^[41]

Annalee Saxenian, a UC Berkeley professor, whose research interests include the contribution of Chinese immigrants on America's technology concludes that in Silicon Valley, carried out a study that showed that since 1998, one out of five high tech start-ups in Silicon Valley were led by Chinese Americans. In addition out of all the people working and living in Silicon Valley, nearly one third are ethnic Chinese. During the same year, 5 of the 8 fastest growing companies had Chinese American CEO's except for Yahoo, whose Jerry Yang was a founder but not a CEO. In Silicon Valley there are at least 2 to 3 dozen Chinese American organizations according to professional interests each with at least 100 members. One prominent organization of which is the Commitee of 100.^[80] Immigrants from China and Taiwan were key founders in 12.8% of all Silicon Valley start-ups between 1995 to 2005.^[81] Almost 6% of the immigrants who founded companies in the innovation/manufacturing-related services field are from Mainland China and Taiwan.^[82]

Research funded by the Public Policy Institute of California indicates that in 1996, 1,786 Silicon Valley technology companies with $12.5 billion in sales and 46,000 employees were run by Indian or Chinese executives. Moreover, the pace of entrepreneurship among local immigrants is increasing rapidly. While Chinese or Indian executives are at the helm of 13 percent of the Silicon Valley technology businesses started between 1980 and 1985, they are running 27 percent of the more than 4,000 businesses started between 1991 and 1996.^[83] Start-up firms remain a primary source for new ideas and innovation for Chinese American internet entrepreneurs. Many of them are employed or directly engaged in new start-up activities. The proportional share of start-up firms by ethnic Chinese in Silicon Valley skyrocketed from 9 percent 1980-1984 to about 20 percent between 1995-1998.^[84] By 2006, Chinese American internet entrepreneurs continued to start 20% of all Silicon Valley start-up firms, leading 2000 Silicon Valley companies, and employing 58,000 workers.^[55] They still continue to own about 20 percent of all Information Technology companies that were founded in Silicon Valley since 1980. Numerous professional organizations in perspective in the 1990's as a support network for fellow Chinese American high tech start-ups in the valley.^[85] Between 1980 and 1999, 17 percent of the 11443 high-tech firms in Silicon Valley - including some 40 publicly traded firms were controlled by ethnic Chinese. In 1990, Chinese Americans made up a third of the Asian American high tech professional workforce or 11% of the entire Silicon Valley professional workforce. In 1998, Chinese Americans managed 2001 firms, employing 41,684 workers, and ran up 13.2 billion in sales. They also account for 17% of all Silicon Valley firm owners, 10% of the professional workforce in the Valley, and 13.5% of the total sales accounting for less than 1% of the U.S. population at the time.^[86]

Business[link]

When Chinese Americans were largely excluded from labor markets in the 19th century, they started their own businesses. Restaurants are common business establishment started by Chinese Americans as Chinese food as it remains a staple composition in Chinese culture. Fast casual restaurant establishments such as Manchu Wok, Panda Express, and Pick Up Stix were founded by Chinese Americans. Panda Express is a famous fast casual restaurant chain serving American Chinese cuisine in the United States founded by Andrew Cherng and is one of the biggest Chinese American fast food restaurants in the United States.^[87] Chinese restaurants account for one third of all the ethnic restaurants in the United States. With a glut of Chinese restaurants in New York City, many Chinese emigrants have opened up taco stands, Mexican restaurants and sushi bars.^[88] Chinese Americans run many of the laundries in New York metropolitan area.^[88] Chinese Americans have owned convenience and grocery stores, professional offices such as medical and law practices, laundries, beauty-related ventures to founding numerous and influential hi-tech Silicon Valley firms and as a result have become very successful and influential in the American economy. The Chinese American 99 Ranch Market chain was also founded by Taiwanese American, Roger H. Chen. The chain is catered to the Taiwanese and Chinese American population.^[89] Several influential Chinese American entrepreneurs such as Patrick Soon-Shiong, Victor Fung, Ming Hsieh, and Jerry Yang have become billionaires in the process and top the Forbes 400 regularly.^[41] Though Chinese Americans still face barriers when advancing up the corporate ladder - particularity Fortune 500 corporations - due to stereotypes that they lack interpersonal skills, leadership, and English language competency, the number of Asian Americans on the boards of 750 publicly held companies increased from 15 to 26 from 1992 to 1995. Of the Asian Americans that rose to the top of the corporate boards were either Chinese Americans or Japanese Americans. In addition, Chinese Americans tend to be involved in their own business start-ups and founding their own independent companies, while occupying board seats of U.S. corporations by invitation.^[90]

Fashion designer Vera Wang, is famous for designing dresses for high-profile celebrities, started a clothing company, named after herself, which now offers a broad range of luxury fashion products. An Wang founded Wang Laboratories in June 1951. Andrea Wong served as the Chief Executive Officer and President of Lifetime Networks from April 2007 to February 2010.^[91][92] She oversaw Lifetime, Lifetime Movie Network, the myLifetime.com website and Lifetime’s public advocacy campaigns, among other areas of the company.^[93] Charles Wang founded Computer Associates, later became its CEO and chairman and is also the owner of the New York Islanders. Jen-Hsun Huang co-founded the NVIDIA corporation in 1993. Kai Huang is a co-founder and President of RedOctane, an American electronic entertainment company best known for producing the Guitar Hero series. In the the American financial epicenter or Wall Street, Chinese Americans are also gaining prominence. The investment banker and fund manager, Li Lu is the founder and Chairman of Himalaya Capital Management.^[94] Li Lu has been known as the man who introduced the Chinese battery and auto maker BYD Company to the legendary investors, Charlie Munger and Warren Buffett.^[95] The investment banker Donald Tang served as the former Vice-Chairperson of Bear Sterns and is the founder and CEO of the CSIP Group. Yan Huo is a co-founder of Capula Investment management and is one of Wall Street's highest earning hedge fund managers, garnering an estimated net worth of 201 million as of 2011.^[96][97]

Journalism[link]

Connie Chung was one of the first Chinese-American national correspondents for a major TV news network, reporting for CBS in 1971. She later co-anchored the CBS Evening News from 1993 to 1995. Carol Lin is perhaps best known for being the first to break the news of 9-11 on CNN. Lisa Ling, a former co-host on The View, now provides special reports for CNN and The Oprah Winfrey Show, as well as hosting National Geographic Channel's Explorer. News correspondent and commentator John Yang has won a Peabody Award.

Sheryl WuDunn worked for The Wall Street Journal and other publications, WuDunn joined the staff of The New York Times as a correspondent in the Beijing bureau in 1989. She won a Pulitzer Prize and shares it with her husband Nicholas D. Kristof for her reporting from Beijing about the Tiananmen Square protests of 1989. WuDunn and Kristof were the first married couple ever to receive a Pulitzer for journalism. In addition to the Pulitzer, she also won a George Polk Award and an Overseas Press Club award, both for reporting in China.

Sewell Chan is an American journalist who has worked for The New York Times since 2004. In February 2011 he was named deputy opinion page editor of the Times.^[98] He was previously a Washington correspondent covering economic policy.^[99] From 2007 to 2009, he was the founding bureau chief of City Room, the newspaper's local news blog.^[100]

Emily Chang is a Bloomberg TV anchor based in San Francisco, where she hosts a daily show focused on technology, called Bloomberg West.^[101] She was a CNN correspondent based in Beijing China from 2008 to 2010, prior to which she reported from CNN's London bureau. Before joining CNN, she was an award-winning reporter for KNSD in San Diego and KHON in Honolulu.

Government and Politics[link]

In recent decades, many Chinese Americans have started pursuing careers in politics and succeeded in getting elected and/or appointed into political office. In particular, several prominent Chinese Americans have in recent years served as members of the President's cabinet and other federal offices. Elaine Chao became the first Chinese American cabinet member in American history when she was appointed in 2001 to serve as Secretary of Labor under President George W. Bush, a position she held until 2009; she also was the first female Asian American to serve in a cabinet post in American history. In addition, Gary Locke became the first Chinese American governor when he was elected to this position for the state of Washington. Locke currently serves as United States Ambassador to China under the Obama Administration.

See also[link]

	United States portal
	China portal

• Americans in China
• China-United States relations
• Jook-sing
• List of common Chinese American surnames

References[link]

Further reading[link]

• Chinese American Understanding: A Sixty-Year Search, Chih Meng, China Institute in America, 1981, hardcover, 255 pages, OCLC: 8027928
• Chinese Americans and Their Immigrant Parents: Conflict, Identity, and Values, May Pao-May Tung, Haworth Press, 2000, paperback, 112 pages, ISBN 0-7890-1056-9
• Chinese Americans: The Immigrant Experience, Dusanka Miscevic and Peter Kwong, Hugh Lauter Levin Associates, 2000, hardcover, 240 pages, ISBN 0-88363-128-8
• Compelled To Excel: Immigration, Education, And Opportunity Among Chinese Americans, Vivian S. Louie, Stanford University Press, 2004, paperback, 272 pages, ISBN 0-8047-4985-X
• The Chinese in America: A Narrative History, Iris Chang, Viking, 2003, hardcover, 496 pages, ISBN 0-670-03123-2
• Being Chinese, Becoming Chinese American, Shehong Chen, University of Illinois Press, 2002 ISBN 0-252-02736-1 electronic book
• ABC Struggles in the Church
• On Gold Mountain: The One-Hundred-Year Odyssey of My Chinese American Family, Lisa See, 1996. ISBN 0-679-76852-1. See also the website for an exhibition based on this book [6] from the Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Program.
• Yellow: Race in America Beyond Black and White, Frank H. Wu, Basic Books, 2003, hardcover, 416 pages, ISBN 0-465-00640-3

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Chinese Americans

• Factfinder Chinese Americans 2005 American Community Survey
• The Rocky Road to Liberty: A Documented History of Chinese American Immigration and Exclusion
• Museum of Chinese in the Americas
• Chinese Culture Center & Chinese Culture Foundation of San Francisco
• Organization of Chinese Americans
• Chinese Historical Society of America
• The Asians in America Project - Chinese American Organizations Directory
• "Paper Son" - one Chinese American's story of coming to America under the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882
• Becoming American: The Chinese Experience a PBS Bill Moyers special. Thomas F. Lennon, Series Producer.
• Chinese American Contribution to Transcontinental Railroad - Central Pacific Railroad Photographic History Museum
• Emerging Information Technology Conference (EITC), organized by several Chinese American organizations
• Famous Chinese Americans Comprehensive list of famous Chinese Americans organized by professions. Includes short biographical notes and Chinese names.
• Chinese Information and Networking Association (CINA)
• Northwest Chinese Professionals Association
• The Yung Wing Project hosts the memoir of the first Chinese American graduate of an American university (Yale 1854).
• Chinese American Museum
• Documentary about the Golden Venture tragedy

v t e Asian Americans East Asian Chinese (Tibetan1) Japanese Korean Mongolian Taiwanese South Asian2 Bangladeshi Indian Indo-Caribbean Nepalese Pakistani Sri Lankan Tamil Southeast Asian Burmese Cambodian Filipino Hmong Indonesian Laotian Mien Singaporean Thai Vietnamese Other Afro-Asian Amerasian Asian Hispanic and Latino Americans Eurasian Multiracial American Punjabi Mexican History General Immigration Military Topics Arts and Entertainment Demographics Politics Stereotypes 1 The US Census Bureau reclassifies anyone identifying as "Tibetan American" as "Chinese American".[7] 2 The US Census Bureau considers Afghanistan a South Asian country, but does not classify Afghan Americans as Asian.[8]