Leaves from the Mental Portfolio of an Eurasian
Leaves from the Mental Portfolio of an Eurasian is a short autobiographical memoir by Sui Sin Far, pen name of Chinese-British-Canadian-American writer Edith Maude Eaton. It was written in 1890 and published in 1909. The account describes Far’s experiences with racism, including anecdotes stretching back to 1869, as a multiracial white and Chinese-American woman in America.
Summary
The story follows Far as she grows up, beginning with her earliest memories of others’ surprise at finding out that her mother is Chinese. While Far is playing with another child, a girl passing by says not to play with Far because her mother is Chinese. Although Far’s playmate is still willing to play, Far rejects her playmate. At a children’s party, an adult calls Far over to inspect her features and comment on which ones are Chinese and which are European, leading her to hide for the rest of the party.
After moving to Hudson City, New York, Far and her brother see Chinese people outside of their family for the first time. Far initially considers these men to be strange and wonders if she is also like this. A group of white children subsequently attack Far and her brother for being Chinese, but Far defies their derogatory comments by saying that she is proud to be Chinese.
In Eastern Canada, Far overhears comments from strangers who witness her family, and she faces questions about her life and cultural habits. During school, one student initially refuses to sit next to Far’s sister due to her race, but Far’s sister and the girl later become friends.
Starting as a child, Far experiences internal conflict over her identity as a multiracial person with a white father and a Chinese mother. After frequently visiting the library and educating herself on China, she gains pride in her heritage and is bothered not by her race, but by others’ prejudice.
While working as a journalist on local papers, Far’s assignments include most of the reporting on local Chinese people, whom she helps through her work. Through her reporting, she meets a variety of fellow Chinese-Americans, including other mixed Chinese-Americans. Far also notes non-mixed Chinese people expressing bias against mixed Chinese people, but she remains optimistic for the future of mixed Asian-Americans.
Living in a small town, Far’s employer and coworkers begin making derogatory comments about Chinese people, unaware of Far’s Chinese heritage. When she reveals that she is Chinese, her employer immediately apologizes and realizes his ignorance. However, the truth about Far’s ethnicity spreads to the rest of the town, so she leaves to escape the prejudice.
Far becomes a journalist in San Francisco and is assigned to obtain newspaper subscriptions from Chinatown residents, but many of the inhabitants mistake her for white and regard her with suspicion. Some do not believe that she is Chinese even when she tells them, while others do.
She recounts stories from two multiracial Chinese-American women that she met: one of them hid her ethnicity from her husband but was treated with acceptance once she told him; the other disliked her fiancé, whom she only married because he would not leave her alone, and she finally broke up with him after he became uncomfortable with her desire to use his money to help fellow Chinese people and her refusal to falsely claim that she was Japanese.
To conclude her memoir, Far explains that she remains sincere in her writing despite pressure to pursue literary fame by subscribing to Chinese stereotypes. She describes her multiple identities as someone attached to both the East and West, and she embraces both China and America.
References
Far, Sui Sin. “Leaves from the mental portfolio of an Eurasian.” 1890. Quotidiana. Ed. Patrick Madden. 1 Jun 2008. 13 Nov 2016 <http://essays.quotidiana.org/far/leaves_mental_portfolio/>.