On Discovery by Maxine Hong Kingston
"On Discovery" is a story by Maxine Hong Kingston featured in her collection "China Men," published in 1980. This narrative takes the form of a fairy tale, beginning with the familiar phrase "Once upon a time," and follows a warrior named Tang Ao on his quest for the mythical Gold Mountain, a metaphor for America. His journey leads him to the Land of Women, a seemingly utopian realm free from taxes and wars. However, what unfolds is a strikingly different experience for Tang Ao, who finds himself subjected to a painful and dehumanizing process of feminization. As he is captured and prepared to serve the queen, he endures various forms of physical torment, including foot-binding—a traditional practice that symbolizes the constraints placed on women in Chinese culture. The story deeply explores themes of gender, identity, and power dynamics, ultimately transforming Tang Ao into a figure of beauty as perceived by the women of the court. The narrative evokes questions about societal expectations and the nature of femininity within a fantastical yet critical framework. This blend of fairy tale elements with stark realities offers readers a thought-provoking perspective on cultural practices and gender roles.
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On Discovery by Maxine Hong Kingston
First published: 1980
Type of plot: Fable
Time of work: The distant past
Locale: The Land of Women
Principal Characters:
Tang Ao , a warrior who stumbles into the Land of WomenSeveral women , who capture and attend to Tang Ao
The Story
"On Discovery," the first story in Maxine Hong Kingston's collection entitled China Men (1980), is a fairy tale that begins as most fairy tales do with "Once upon a time." Tang Ao, a warrior who is looking for the Gold Mountain, the traditional Chinese name for America, crosses an ocean and happens on a kind of utopia called the Land of Women, in which there are neither taxes nor wars. Consistent with the fairy-tale atmosphere is the narrator's comment that scholars cannot agree on the exact time and place for the narrative. Some argue that the Tang Ao incident took place during the reign of Empress Wu, beginning in 694 c.e.; others argue that it was in 441 c.e. Another theory is that the fantasy land existed not in China but in North America.
The action begins when Tang Ao, who cannot imagine a woman with a warlike spirit, is easily captured by the women. Even under guard, he assumes that he has been singled out for some special feminine favor. What follows is not the night of love that Tang Ao might have expected, but many months of physical pain, humiliation, and ultimately emasculation as the women prepare him to serve at the queen's court.
First, they usher him into a woman's ornate room, take off his armor and boots, and shackle his wrists and ankles. Next, they pull his earlobes taut and jab needles through each lobe. The most painful of the preparations involves the foot-binding process. The old women crack Tang Ao's arch, break many bones, plait his toes together, and bind his feet with tight bandages.
Each time that Tang Ao protests, he is dealt a new humiliation. When an old woman's dry fingers scratch his ear and neck, he wants to know what she is doing, but her incomprehensible reply is that she is sewing his lips together. When the women first begin the foot-binding process, Tang Ao weeps with pain. Their response is to wind the bandages even tighter and to distract him by singing foot-binding songs. When he eventually begs to have his feet rewrapped because of the pain from his shrunken veins, the women compel him to wash his dirty bandages. Continuing the feminization process, the captors serve Tang Ao white chrysanthemum tea in order to stir "the cool female winds inside his body" and vinegar soup to improve his womb.
Finally, it is decided that he is ready to serve the queen. For the occasion, jade studs are placed in his ears, curved shoes are strapped to his feet, his facial hair is plucked out, and his eyebrows, cheeks, and lips are painted. In short, he is made up to look like a proper Chinese woman. As he appears before the queen, he sways just as traditional, foot-bound Chinese women did. The makeover is a success as the diners at the queen's court, presumably all women, agree that Tang Ao is pretty and even refer to the former warrior as "she."
Bibliography
Crow, Charles L. Maxine Hong Kingston. Boise, Idaho: Boise State University, 2004.
Huntley, E. D. Maxine Hong Kingston: A Critical Companion. Westport, Conn.: Greenwood Press, 2001.
Janette, Michele. "The Angle We're Joined At: A Conversation with Maxine Hong Kingston." Transition, no. 71 (1996): 142-157.
Lee, Ken-fang. "Cultural Translation and the Exorcist: A Reading of Kingston's and Tan's Ghost Stories." MELUS 29 (Summer, 2004): 105-127.
Royal, Derek Parker. "Literary Genre as Ethnic Resistance in Maxine Hong Kingston's Tripmaster Monkey: His Fake Book." MELUS 29 (Summer, 2004): 141-156.
Shu, Yuan. "Cultural Politics and Chinese-American Female Subjectivity: Rethinking Kingston's Woman Warrior." MELUS 26 (Summer, 2001): 199-225.
Woo, Eunjoo. "'The Beginning Is Hers, the Ending, Mine': Chinese American Mother/Daughter Conflict and Reconciliation in Maxine Hong Kingston's The Woman Warrior." Studies in Modern Fiction 9 (Summer, 2002): 297-314.