Flora Belle Jan by Judy

¶ … Flora Belle Jan by Judy Yung [...] its particular value in sociological perspectives. This is a very poignant and compelling story of a young Chinese-American girl who was first interviewed about her life in 1924, at the age of seventeen. Her story has much implication for the Asian-American Pacific Islander today, as it shows the struggles immigrants have faced in their new homeland.

The article calls Flora Belle a "flapper" of the 1920s, "a woman who defied social control and conventions, who was modern, independent, sophisticated, and frank in speech, dress, morals, and lifestyle" (Yung 11). Thus, Flora Belle was a unique woman, as most Chinese did not rebel as she did - especially Chinese women. While in the U.S., she wrote on Chinese women's issues, but she married and went to China in 1932, where her health deteriorated, and her life was never the same. She died in 1950, a short time after she returned to the United States. This essay follows her life story, but more, it gives insight into how this remarkable woman lived and thought, and through her life, it gives insight into what it was like to be a Chinese-American in China, and in the United States at a crucial time in world history.

The essay gives her life story, and paints a picture of this young girl growing into a woman through her letters, interviews with her family members, and copious research into Flora Belle's life. Her letters sound like any other teenaged girl of the time, and if she did not mention culture and family problems, it would be nearly impossible to tell she was a Chinese-American. Her letters remove all race, and simply reveal a bright girl of her time, enjoying life and growing up. Her short stories and essays indicate a vivid imagination and a talent for writing and creating stories.

Her married life in China was far different from her life in the United States. She did not acclimate well to life in China, did not speak the language, and felt it was dirty, unhealthful, and she stubbornly hung on to her American ways. While she was there, the Japanese attacked, and war broke out. Her health deteriorated after giving birth to her third child, and she longed to return home to America. She discovered real racism for the first time, and made less money at her jobs in China, even though she had more qualifications than the others did in her office. She wrote to her friend, "It is hard to be born a woman but hopeless to be born a Chinese" (Yung 26). She finally returned to the United States with her two daughters in 1949, but died just a year later of high blood pressure and kidney disease, her health had never recovered from the hardships marriage placed on her mind and body. Her story indicates a woman ahead of her time, and unable to cope in a world that did not recognize women's talent or ambition.

This article is uplifting and heartbreaking at the same time. As a girl, Flora Belle had the enthusiasm and courage that could have taken her far in life. However, she chose to marry a Chinese student, and return to China with him after he finished school. It changed her life, and not for the better. Her husband was selfish, and really helped cause her early death at forty-three, because he refuse to use birth control, and she underwent several abortions. She also gave birth eventually to three children, and she never recovered her enthusiasm and optimism. Her life was actually harder than it had to be, because of the choices she made in her life. It seemed surprising that she married a Chinese national after her youthful exuberance and clear love of American customs and ways. She may have fallen in love with her husband, and thrown caution to the wind, but she was not often happy with him, and it seems her life, which showed so much promise when she was young, was somehow wasted as she grew older. She continued to write, but not at the same pace she did in the United States, and as she remained in China, she became somewhat of a "recluse." It is a very sad story, and it shows the difficulties that races face, wherever they live. It seems odd that she faced persecution in China, even though she was born of Chinese parents, but she was "foreign," despite her parentage, and she stubbornly refused to fit in.

Her story is unusual first because she was such a rebel in her conservative family, and second because her life in China shows how difficult it is to be a woman, even today to an extent, in many foreign countries. She simply was not given the same opportunities as men, and even other Chinese women were. If she had stayed in the States, it would not have been easy, because Chinese-American journalists were not common, either, and then the war broke out, and Asians, especially Japanese, faced heavy persecution in America. However, it is hard to believe that her life would have been as difficult, or as short as it was because of her marriage, and it still seems odd that she threw away her education and her strong desire to succeed for a man.

Flora Belle's story is unique because she was so rebellious at a time when most young women were not, and the ones who were, were "scandalous" and shocking. It seems most Chinese-American households are much more strict than Flora Belle's was. (for example, Amy Tan discusses her youth at a later time, but with a much stricter family, who actually urged her to get an education as a doctor, and balked at her choice to study English and eventually write.) it seems Flora Belle's family was too busy to keep her under control, and so she ran wild, but was not a "bad" girl, except in her own community. She was a very unique individual, and it would be interesting to read more of her letters, poetry, and essays, perhaps published in a full-length book. Her life was sad, but even through hardship, she was able to accomplish a lot more than many other women of her time, and she is both inspiring and a puzzle at the same time. Her life is very different from many Chinese-Americans, and so it is valuable to study what she did and how she accomplished what she did. She could be a role model for many young Asian girls today it seems, if her story was more well-known.