Cantonese & Toisan language promotion with Kim

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[7]In Episode 264 [8] of the CounterVortex podcast [9], Bill Weinberg interviews Kim of New York City's Chinatown Cantonese Toisan [10] group about her efforts to promote Cantonese [11] and Toisan [12] language and culture. Indigenous to China's Guangdong [13] province [14], these tongues are spoken by millions in a global diaspora. Thanks to the efforts of State Sen. Iwen Chu [15], Feb. 12 is now Taishan (Toisan) Day [16] in New York state, commemorating the day in 1499, during the Ming Dynasty [17], that Toisan County [18] was officially created—and honoring the contributions of Toisan immigrants, most notably in the dangerous work [19] of building [20] the Transcontinental Railroad [21]. It was a Toisan man born in San Francisco, Wong Kim Ark [22], who won the 1898 Supreme Court case that established birthright citizenship as a constitutional right. Yet in China, Cantonese and Toisan are relegated to the status of fangyan [23] (regional dialects) and officially [24] discouraged [25] in favor of Mandarin—leading to protests [26] in provincial capital Guangzhou in 2010 [27]. Even in the US, the children's book Coolies [28], about the Cantonese railroad workers, has been banned [29] from public libraries by local forces of intolerance [30]. Through exhibits, social gatherings and a weekly language class, Kim works to keep Cantonese and Toisan heritage and pride alive in the New York metropolitan area. Listen on SoundCloud [8] or via Patreon [31].

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In Episode 264 [8] of the CounterVortex podcast [9], Bill Weinberg interviews Kim of New York City's Chinatown Cantonese Toisan [10] group about her efforts to promote Cantonese [11] and Toisan [12] language and culture. Indigenous to China's Guangdong [13] province [14], these tongues are spoken by millions in a global diaspora. Thanks to the efforts of State Sen. Iwen Chu [15], Feb. 12 is now Taishan (Toisan) Day [16] in New York state, commemorating the day in 1499, during the Ming Dynasty [17], that Toisan County [18] was officially created—and honoring the contributions of Toisan immigrants, most notably in the dangerous work [19] of building [20] the Transcontinental Railroad [21]. It was a Toisan man born in San Francisco, Wong Kim Ark [22], who won the 1898 Supreme Court case that established birthright citizenship as a constitutional right. Yet in China, Cantonese and Toisan are relegated to the status of fangyan [23] (regional dialects) and officially [24] discouraged [25] in favor of Mandarin—leading to protests [26] in provincial capital Guangzhou in 2010 [27]. Even in the US, the children's book Coolies [28], about the Cantonese railroad workers, has been banned [29] from public libraries by local forces of intolerance [30]. Through exhibits, social gatherings and a weekly language class, Kim works to keep Cantonese and Toisan heritage and pride alive in the New York metropolitan area.

Listen on SoundCloud [8] or via Patreon [31].

Books discussed:

Fusang: The Chinese who Built America [33] by Stan Steiner, Harper & Row 1979

Coolies [28] by Yin & Chris K. Soentpiet, Philomel Books 2001

Production by Chris Rywalt [34]

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