Eat a Bowl of Tea

==Setting and historical context==

==Setting and historical context==

The novel takes place in the 1940s, and the majority of the plot takes place in New York's Chinatown. Segments of the plot occur in other locations as well, including:

The novel takes place in the 1940s, and is mainly set in New York's Chinatown.

*[[Xinhui District|Sunwei]], China

*Stanton, [[Connecticut]] (possibly a reference to [[Stamford, Connecticut]]?)

*[[Washington, D.C.]]

*[[Newark, New Jersey]]

*[[San Francisco]], CA

Chu's novel begins right after the close of [[World War II]]. Numerous references are made to the Asian American soldiers represented by Ben Loy. After the war, many elderly men were confined to the cities of San Francisco, [[Seattle]], [[Los Angeles]], [[Boston]], and New York City, as the 1882 [[Chinese Exclusion Act]] and [[Immigration Act of 1924]] had prevented them from returning to their wives and family in [[China]] and also from bringing these family members to the [[United States]]. For this reason, many Chinatowns in the USA were "bachelor societies." This unfortunate predicament is depicted through the old men of the novel, such as Wah Gay and Lee Gong, but it also plays out in the way Mei Oi's arrival affects the entire community. In fact, the conflict of the novel arises from the [[Chinese Exclusion Repeal Act|repeal of the Exclusion Act]] in 1943, for Mei Oi could not have come to the States before then.

Chu's novel begins right after the close of [[World War II]]. Numerous references are made to the Asian American soldiers represented by Ben Loy. After the war, many elderly men were confined to the cities of San Francisco, [[Seattle]], [[Los Angeles]], [[Boston]], and New York City, as the 1882 [[Chinese Exclusion Act]] and [[Immigration Act of 1924]] had prevented them from returning to their wives and family in [[China]] and also from bringing these family members to the [[United States]]. For this reason, many Chinatowns in the USA were "bachelor societies." The conflict of the novel arises from the [[Chinese Exclusion Repeal Act|repeal of the Exclusion Act]] in 1943, for Mei Oi could not have come to the States before then.

Another aspect of the novel is the effect of Chinese American men on life back in China. Chinese men who had emigrated to the United States were known as ''gimshunhocks,'' or "sojourner in [[Gold Mountain (Chinese name for part of North America)|Gold Mountain]]" from the Chinese name for America. These men were highly desirable husbands for young women in China, as is seen in Mei Oi's willingness to marry Ben Loy.

Another aspect of the novel is the effect of Chinese American men on life back in China. Chinese men who had emigrated to the United States were known as ''gimshunhocks,'' or "sojourner in [[Gold Mountain (Chinese name for part of North America)|Gold Mountain]]" from the Chinese name for America. These men were highly desirable husbands for young women in China, as is seen in Mei Oi's willingness to marry Ben Loy.