Doris C. J. Chu

That Gentleman from China Doris C. J. Chu

A Chinese merchant came to Boston in 1850 and stayed for 28 years. His exotic attire and language arouse curiosity at first. Soon he became a successful businessman. He and a Caucasian American girl fell in love with each other. In order to tie the marriage knot he had to promise her parents that he would become an American citizen, adopt Christianity, and never take her to China. He was the first Chinese to do so in history. His success, wealth and generosity earned him tremendous respect in the high society. At the same time his compatriots in the Pacific coast, those uneducated laborers who contributed immensely to the building of the American west, were being persecuted. Distressed by his lack of ability to help them, plus the loss of his wife to illness, he left his three children and all his wealth behind and returned to China. The story was based on historical facts and most of the characters are real people of mid to late 19th century.