In this interview with colleague Judy Yung, Him Mark Lai discusses at length the driving forces behind his passion for researching Chinese American history——his working-class background, progressive politics, training as a mechanical engineer, bilingual skills, and strong ethnic identity. Internationally recognized as the foremost authority on Chinese American history, Lai describes in detail his development as a pragmatic historian while researching and writing about such new topics as Angel Island poems, Pearl River Delta, Chinese American newspapers, regional groups, and Left movements.
On the Reconstruction of the Chinese American History in China Men
