The hyphen that lies between

Peter Ho Davies says that during World War II, “the Chinese moved from being the other to becoming allies. There was a change in American perceptions of China and the Chinese.” Provided To China Daily

Noted author Peter Ho Davies draws on Chinese-Welsh ancestry in his recent novel The Fortunes

Author Peter Ho Davies is bright and charismatic when he greets me in the lobby of his hotel. He was traveling around America to promote his latest novel The Fortunes, but the wear-and-tear of daily travel doesn't seem to have an effect on him. If it did, he doesn't show it.

Davies, also the author of The Welsh Girl, chats animatedly, pausing only so briefly when it seemed that another thought has burst into his head. Wearing a steel-gray button-down shirt and clear-framed glasses, he certainly looks the part of a successful author and academic.

His lifetime achievements of earning Guggenheim Foundation and National Endowment for the Arts fellowships, a New York Times Notable Book of the Year award and many other global book prizes are no small feats, but he reacts humbly when I remind him of this.

Currently a professor at the University of Michigan's Creative Writing Master of Fine Arts program, Davies channels his passion for writing into working closely with his students, wrestling with the pressing questions that many writers face, such as "What can I write about?" and "What right do I have to write about this community?"

The latter question in particular translates seamlessly into Davies' own experience, specifically as he was researching and writing his latest book.

The Fortunes is a multigenerational story that explores the lives of four Chinese-American characters navigating what it means to be Chinese in the US.

Davies, who is half Welsh and half Chinese, grew up in the UK and spent half of his life in the United States. His mother is from the Chinese community in Malaysia and his grandfather is from Guangzhou.

A transatlantic agglomeration of many backgrounds, Davies possesses a unique outlook into a world that remains mostly homogenous for now.

"The way I think of my identity as of being two halves - and I extrapolate that to think of Chinese-American-ness, there's a tendency to think of it as a duality. It's as if there were choices - you're either more this or more that.

"And there's this feeling that we're never quite fully authentic," Davies said thoughtfully. "But I think Chinese-American-ness is its own authenticity."

According to Davies, feeling more or less Chinese doesn't determine authenticity. "When I began writing the book, it wasn't so much about Chinese-ness or American-ness, but rather the hyphen that lies in between," he said. "A hybrid identity is its own third way."

To Davies, the Chinese-American community is a fascinating diaspora marked by several or broken ties. There are first- and second-generation Chinese-Americans, half-Chinese individuals, Chinese immigrants into the US, and adopted Chinese children with non-Chinese parents.

Davies himself is connected to his own Chinese heritage in a unique way, learning about the culture and history more from a writer's perspective.

"A lot of the writing I do is driven by discovery and trying to write into spaces we don't know. What is my relationship with Chinese-ness? How may I learn more about it?" Davies asked.

In his research for The Fortunes, Davies traveled to China to gain a better understanding of Chinese culture. What Davies ultimately learned is that the Chinese community, particularly in the US, remains strong, despite challenges and broken ties.

When asked about how far the Chinese-American community has come from the days of Asian-exoticization and terms such as "Chinaman" and "Oriental", Davies agrees that much progress has been made.

"I think during the Second World War period, the Chinese moved from being the other to becoming allies. There was a change in American perceptions of China and the Chinese," said Davies.

An incident in 1982 changed the Chinese-American community - the killing of Vincent Chin, a Chinese-American whose murderers were under the impression that he was Japanese. He is also one of the main characters in The Fortunes.

"Chin's death really helped mobilize the Asian-American community, allowing it to give a voice to a community that is quiet and a little invisible," Davies said.

"With a stronger voice, the Chinese-American community has found much progress in being able to unite together confronting adversity, even amongst its many cultural and ethnic differences."

As someone who is half-Chinese writing about the Chinese community, Davies admits that he faces representational anxiety on some level. "How do I write in ways that will represent my community?" Davies asked.

Instead of letting that anxiety discourage him from writing, Davies chose to write into it. His characters, which range from a Chinese immigrant in the 1860s to a Chinese-American actress in the 1920s, all face representational anxiety to an extent. They grapple with their own identities and connections to Chinese heritage, particularly in the face of stereotypes or anti-Chinese sentiments.

In their own journeys, Davies' characters (both immigrant and native) work on coming to terms with being both Chinese and American and how to effectively represent their hybrid identities.

In terms of Davies' own Chinese-ness and biracial-ness, he too finds a sense of resolve after years of grappling.

"I remember growing up as half Welsh and half Chinese, and I felt there was no one else like me. I think there's a bit of loneliness in my uniqueness.

"I'm not authentic because I'm alone; there's nobody else like me," Davies said. "I think as a child, my uniqueness felt like a burden. Now it feels like a gift. It feels oddly freeing."

Sophia Wu in Washington contributed to this story.