In Chinese, there is a phrase, (chi ku). It means “to eat bitterness,” to endure hardship, to carry on, to persevere. My great-grandparents, Kao Tsao-Yuan and Loh Mei-Chun fled Shanghai for Hong Kong in 1949, before settling in the Bronx in 1960. They crossed through Ellis Island amid intense immigration restrictions from Asian countries. Leaving Shanghai was their bitterness to eat, as was navigating a new country.
Asian Americans
Foodways
Northern New York’s Tug Hill is a little shorter than the Himalayas, to say the least. Not far from the foot of that plateau, however, at the edge of downtown Watertown, New York, I was fortunate to sit down recently with Prabin and Saranga Bhat of B-Hat’s Curry House for a lovely visit, sharing some of their favorite Nepalese flavors.
Artist Spotlight: Zhong-Hua Lu
Zhong-hua Lu, who was born in 1958, learned Chinese brush painting from his father and five uncles in Shandong Province, China, beginning at age five. Currently, he teaches traditional Chinese Arts, including Tai Chi and Chinese brush painting, at Mass MOCA, Williams...
From the Killing Fields; Art and Healing in Asian America
A self-reflective essay on the use of folk art and performance to heal after conflict.