Wuxia America: The Timely Emergence of a Chinese American Hero

By Michael A. DeMarco

Dr. Jason Lou represents a medical tradition transmitted over centuries through his family lineage. In 1857, his ancestor brought the art to San Francisco from China to serve the growing Chinese population who arrived during the gold rush and railroad building period. In today's social atmosph

• Language: English
• Publisher: Via Media Publishing
• Release date: Apr 15, 2023
• ISBN: 9781893765993

Michael A. DeMarco

迈克尔·德马科（文学硕士，方向为亚洲研究）于1965年开始学习一种中国和印度尼西亚混合武术，其后专注于太极拳。迈克尔在许多亚洲国家的学习和工作使他能够深入体验武术传统。二十多年来，迈克尔出版了同行评议的《亚洲武术》季刊，并继续出版文选和书籍。他还为探索频道、艺术与娱乐频道、历史频道和学习频道播出的有关武术的电视纪录片提供咨询并出镜。

Book preview

Chapter 1

Doctor Who?

ID 31128037 © Shannon Fagan | Dreamstime.com

The chief editor of the Sacramento Bee clears his throat. It’s a call to attention. He rises from his desk and adjusts his tan cardigan. The sweater isn’t needed for warmth on this mid-April day but is worn more as part of his job description. The elbow patches are showing wear. He’s been here a while. He still exudes ink from a bygone publishing era. Chief Shawn Barber knows what he’s doing. All the staff writers respect him and raise their heads in expectation for the day’s directives, and I await mine.

Rory Griffin! Here’s your next assignment.

I get up from my desk to grab the printout detailing what is expected of me. Others gawk at me, and I wonder if it is because of their being inquisitive of my assignment or just to stare in awe of my natural orange hair and cluster of ample facial freckles. I’m low on the totem pole here because I only arrived from Boston just over a year ago. Although I have more than twenty years’ experience as a wordsmith, being hired by a newspaper founded in 1857 and winner of six Pulitzer Prizes assumes only the highest writing standards of all reporters. An Irish-born newspaperman founded the paper after heading West during the gold-rush frenzy.

I’ve been given a task for the features section. It’s for an in-depth interview with one of the top traditional Chinese medical doctors in the country, Jason Lou. Hmm, this sounds interesting, but others may be much more qualified for this particular job. Back east, I had visited Chinatown and frequented some restaurants, but what I know about Chinese history and culture can fit in a grain of rice. I approached Mr. Barber’s desk to explain my situation.

Yes. For sure, you don’t know squat about this topic. You’re perfect for the piece.

Good lord, I prayed to myself. Does this guy want to make a fool of me?

Since you’re unfamiliar with this topic, you can ask the appropriate questions that will fully color the feature story. Dr. Lou is a national treasure, and we’re fortunate he lives in our state, in our city. All our features are important, but I expect this one will result in a masterpiece. You have the kind of mind to pull it together. I’m confident the result will be a highlight for the newspaper’s reputation, particularly as a tribute to the longstanding Chinese contributions to California.

I sense the significance of this task. I feel a growing pressure on my lungs, like I’m in limbo under thirty feet of water. What can I say?

I’ll get right on it.

Our secretary has already set an appointment for the interview. I have a week to prepare. I immediately contact the California Research Bureau and the state librarian, and I dive into newspaper sources. I must get a good overview of what traditional Chinese medicine entails and learn what I can about Dr. Lou.

What I discover over the week is nothing short of amazing. The doc’s family history goes back to the earliest decades of Chinese immigration to the state in the mid-nineteenth century. Lou seems to be the epitome of the ideal Chinese medical doctor. I systematically organize my notes and formulate a questionnaire that will stimulate conversation.

Date: Wednesday, April 20, 2022

Appointment: Dr. Jason Lou

Time: 5:30 to 6:30 p.m.

Today’s the day. I drive to work and review my notes and list of questions for Dr. Lou. I check Google Maps and locate his office. Geez, it’s only a fifteen-minute walk from our office building at 1601 Alhambra Boulevard. He’s on H Street, just across from the Memorial Rose Garden, a part of McKinley Park with its quaint biodiverse Lake Kiesel, and lovely array of pines, cypresses, and acacias. On such a wonderful day, I decide to walk to Dr. Lou’s office.

Most employees are leaving work at 5:00. I leave too and can arrive early at the doctor’s office with extra time to stroll through the Rose Garden. The homes facing the park are all nice. Lou’s is a charming traditional design for this area with high palm trees along the curbside. The horizontal wooden planked exterior is painted a dark gold, which sets off a cherry-red front door as well as lawn, shrubbery, and blooming flowers. The overall aesthetic is natural and inviting. It’s 5:25. A small sign on the door says to enter.

A kindly looking lady behind a reception desk looks over her shoulder.

Ah, she says, Mr. Griffin from the newspaper?

I smile and nod in affirmation. Her name is Rosa. She looks very professional in her white uniform, her long walnut-tone hair in a single braid, tailing down mid back.

The doctor will soon be free to meet with you. His last patient for the day is about ready to leave. Please have a seat.

I hear a door open down a hallway and hear a lady thanking and praising Dr. Lou for all he’s done. His response I can barely hear. She then turns to walk to the front desk for a brief chat with Rosa. She moves with aristocratic elegance. I see absolutely no indication of any health issue from this robust lady, whom I guess is about sixty years of age.

As the woman readies to leave, Rosa says, I’m so happy Dr. Lou got you up walking again and out of pain!

Ahh, thanks, Rosa, the woman replies. Two weeks ago, I arrived in a wheelchair, and after this fourth visit, I feel ready to go jogging.

Dr. Lou said you’ll be fine, Rosa says.

Sure, the lady affirms. While reaching to open the door, she gives a sideways glance at me, and says with a raised eyebrow, Now I’m ready to find a jogging partner who can keep up with me.

The departing image of the lady lingers, her fitting emerald skirt and flesh-colored silk nylons transfixing my brain cells, leaving me oblivious as to why I’m at the office.

Rosa’s voice brings me back to reality: Mister Griffin, you can meet with Dr. Lou now.

I arise from my stupor and follow Rosa to Dr. Lou’s office.

Welcome, Mr. Griffin! Come in. Come in. Dr. Lou continues with a friendly smile, Make yourself comfortable and we’ll discuss whatever you wish.

I provide a few details about myself and ideas about writing the feature.

How about we start with your personal background, family history, medical education, and how you came to settle in Sacramento? Then we can focus on your medical work. OK?

That sounds fine, Mr. Griffin. I’ll give a general overview, but feel fine to break in anytime if you have any questions or would like more details.

Just then, Rosa enters the room with a burnt-siennacolored clay pot of tea for us. Through the steaming spout spreads a wonderful flowery aroma around the room.

I hope you like this golden lily tea from the high mountains of central Taiwan, she says. I’ll bring another pot later if you wish.

While Dr. Lou reads over some family records, I notice just how healthy he appears. He must practice what he preaches. For a man of fifty-five years, I don’t see one gray hair. His skin is smooth with a glowing flesh tone, probably due to good blood circulation. Being thin and perhaps only five-feet-six in height, Doc could easily pass for a thirty-fiveyear-old. Under a white medical coat, he wears a light blue dress shirt and subtly colored tie. Very Western, I think. Such are the superficial things.

What speaks most about the man comes from his facial features. Without the need for words, there is confidence in his overall demeanor. Clear brown eyes seem to express only sincerity, compassion, and knowledge. The slightly high cheekbones exhibit an inner strength, perhaps exposing a quality that is not so apparent from his relatively small physical frame.

Dr. Lou busily retrieves some items from desk drawers and wall shelves around the room. He reaches, not just with his hands and arms, but somehow with total body coordination. Smooth. Accurate. When around my own desk, I embody the definition of the word clumsy— fumbling, stumbling, and dropping items. This is probably why I notice how agile he is. He finishes placing a few items on the desk, returns to his seat, and starts to read a paper.

Ah, yes, it says here that the earliest Chinese immigrants to the US arrived around 1815. There were only a few then, but by 1852 there were over twenty-five thousand, mainly enticed by news of the gold rush. My great-great-grandfather arrived in 1863. As a well-known doctor in Kwangtung Province, his skills were needed by the immigrants who were doing extremely dangerous work and faced an array of illnesses. Just for labor on the transcontinental railroad, over twenty thousand Chinese were hired. The Chinese population grew rapidly. By 1889 the Chinese population was over a hundred thousand, about a tenth of California’s population. So, my great-greatgrandfather was busy every day of his life here.

Was your ancestor from Hong Kong?

No. He was from Toisaan, a city farther west. It’s located south of Kwangtung, the city you may know as Canton. This area is famous because of the Pearl River, historically extremely important for trade. Hong Kong is located just east of the river and Toisaan is west of the river. It is because of the coastal location that those in the Pearl River delta came into early contact with Western countries for trade. Most of the Chinese immigrants in the US are from this region . . .. Sorry. Perhaps this history is too boring and getting us off track?

Oh no, no! I stress. All the details are very interesting, providing just the kind of background necessary for an in-depth feature. I won’t include all the details in the article, but the tidbits of information will help me to be accurate.

Being considerate, Dr. Lou doesn’t want to burden me with a barrage of trivia. If I rattle on too much, just let me know, he says.

Well, he continues, you see that I am part of the fourth generation of my family living in the US. All in the male line were doctors. From our family records, it seems the medical tradition goes back centuries. Our medical knowledge is a family tradition, passed on from generation to generation.

I ask how the early relatives settled and set up their businesses.

The first ancestors to arrive in San Francisco had married in Toisaan. They had the same cultural background and dialect. Since the family was prosperous in Toisaan, the couple’s voyage was first class. Soon after arriving in 1863, they purchased land and built a home. The doctor was thirty-five years old, and his wife was only eighteen. My great-grandfather was born in San Francisco in 1865, and four other siblings were born within the next five years.

With family roots in San Francisco, I wonder why Dr. Lou ended up here in Sacramento. He seems to anticipate the question.

Sacramento became the state capital in 1879 and had a growing population with many Chinese settling here after the gold rush and completion of the transcontinental railroad. So, my great-grandfather moved here in 1890, when he was only twenty-five. My grandfather was born in Sacramento in 1901 and worked together with his father. When my dad was born in 1934, he followed in their footsteps. All lived and worked in the area where Old Chinatown Square is today, between Fourth and Fifth Streets. I was born here in Sacramento too, in 1967. I decided to purchase a home here for my office to be closer to the UC Davis Medical Center. It’s not like the old days, when my grandfather had primarily Chinese patients.

I feel some similarities between Dr.