Hollow bamboo

Ping, William (2020) Hollow bamboo. Masters thesis, Memorial University of Newfoundland.

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Abstract

William Ping, the narrator of the novel, Hollow Bamboo, is a typical, privileged millennial. His life revolves around eating at restaurants and then posting online about eating at restaurants. This all changes when a dinner with his Chinese girlfriend’s family forces him to confront both his biracial identity and his ignorance of his own Chinese heritage. Midway through dinner, Will suffers a potentially fatal injury and is visited by a dream-eating spirit named Mo who whisks him into the past to learn about the life of his grandfather, the first William Ping, who immigrated from China to Newfoundland in the 1930’s. Based on a true story, the novel recounts the often brutal struggles, and occasional successes, faced by some of the first Chinese immigrants in Newfoundland. A speculative biography, rehearsing familial anecdotes and personal histories, tempered with the problematic authority of documented facts; this blend of historical material and magical imaginings renders the novel a unique look at the integration and disintegration of Chinese culture in the life of two William Pings.

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