There are more than nine million people of Asian ancestry in the US, which may seem like a lot, but actually accounts for only 3% of the total population. Perhaps it is because they constitute such a small percentage of the population that one hears their voice so infrequently. Recently, with the end of the Cold War, amidst changes in the world situation and the restructuring of East Asian values, more and more people of Asian descent are rethinking their adherence to the "silence is golden" rule. They want their own cultural voice.

A. Magazine

A Voice for Asian-Americans

From an article by Yang Chih-ho: "A true story: My mother called me the other day to complain that we never talk anymore, just like she does every day. This time, however, she was more irritated than usual. 'Why,' she asked, 'is everyone calling to congratulate me on how rich you are?' This, of course, was news to both me and my banking institution. Instinctively sensing maternal sarcasm, I began to formulate an appropriate response: 'Mother, I am more than compensated for my lack of material assets by my sense of personal fulfillment. . .'"

At this point, Yang continues, his mother interjected: "And what in God's name is a Yoohoo?"

A window of opportunity

It turns out that some people had gotten Yang Chih-ho-whose English name is Jeff Yang-confused with Jerry Yang, a 27-year-old Chinese American who founded the Yahoo Internet information search company in Silicon Valley in California. One is on the West Coast, the other on the East, and they are separated by thousands of miles. But because they are of similar age, and are both of Chinese ancestry, and their Chinese names and English names are nearly identical, there are bound to be misunderstandings.

Though he does not have a personal worth measured in the tens of millions, Jeff Yang is pretty well known in his own right. For example, The New York Times has twice reported on A. Magazine, which Yang and friends established six years ago.

According to the Times, the major difference between this magazine-which combines commentary, fashion, and news in a general-interest English language format-and others in the market is that A. is targeted at Asian-Americans. The paper called A. "a window on the fast-growing market of Asian-Americans."

A native-born New Yorker, Yang is a second-generation Taiwanese-American. He was born into a family of doctors (including his grandfather, father, and a couple of uncles), and his parents were deeply disappointed by his choice of writing over medicine. Fortunately his sister decided to study medicine, thus relieving some of the pressure on him.

After graduating from the English Department at Harvard University, he and several like-minded friends got up US$10,000, rented an apartment, sent direct-mail inquiries to potential Asian-American readers, and produced a trial issue. In the end, more than half the people responded that they would support such a magazine.

The New York Times first introduced A. Magazine back in 1993. The paper at that time pointed out that many journals targeted at minority groups-African-Americans, Hispanic-Americans, Asian-Americans-have come and gone from the market. Their main problems have been: How can members of a minority group be attracted to purchase a magazine explicitly designed for them? Without the backing of a major corporate sponsor, can advertisers be attracted?

A market of nine million

Karen Wang is the National Advertising Director for A. Magazine. She is also sec-ond-generation Taiwanese-American. When she meets potential clients, she gets a lot of help from the numbers.

According to the US Census Bureau, although Asian-Americans account for only 3% of the total population, in the decade from 1980 to 1990, this group grew by 107.8%. Compared to European-Americans, African-Americans, and Hispanic-Ameri-cans, Asian-Americans have the highest average family incomes and levels of education (see the accompanying table).

Numbers talk. A. Magazine has attracted a list of corporate advertisers which includes Benetton, Calvin Klein, American Express, and Apple Computers. In a story carried in April of this year, The New York Times drew attention to A's success in going from a quarterly to a bimonthly, and in achieving a circulation of 100,000. The report affirmed A's competitiveness in the market.

Although those in charge at A. Magazine are all second-generation Chinese-Ameri-cans, their target readership includes all persons of Asian ancestry. However, not everyone agrees on what the definition of "Asian" should be.

Once a reader wrote to the magazine to express skepticism that Indian- or Filipino- Americans should be considered in the category "Asian." The magazine carried the letter, then responded: "A. defines 'Asian- American' as anyone of East Asian, Southeast Asian, South Asian, or Pacific Islander descent. . . ." The response continued: "There is much overlap in terms of physical phenotype, language, social customs, belief systems, the arts, and even food, clothing, and shelter. At the same time there is tremendous diversity."

Strategic alliance

The response to the reader noted, "Obviously, identity is a fluid thing."

Take for example managing editor Angelo Ragaza, the author of the magazine's response and a Filipino-American. He wrote, "My cultural identity encompasses the influences of Islam (by way of South Asia and Malaysia) and Catholicism (by way of Spain); of China and Malaysia (after centuries of migration and trade); and of the United States (after decades of colonization and military occupation)." He added, "As an American, I know I am not immune to racist slander targeting Chinese- and Japanese- Americans." He pointed out even more clearly, "In a perfect world, an Asian- American magazine might not be necessary. But at this stage of America's cultural, social, and political history, Asian-Americans have little to lose and much to gain from considering what we have in common, and from taking action collectively."

The bringing together of Asian- Americans may indeed be a strategic alliance. Any way you look at it, 3% is a small percentage of the population, so only through unity can they have a stronger voice.

To attract readers, A. covers a lot of ground-everything from Asians in politics to Asians in Hollywood and entertainment; from Asian traditions to Asian cuisine. Well-known figures of Asian descent from a variety of fields have graced the cover. The magazine has reported on Asian journalists at the three major US TV networks; on how the aesthetic values of the European-Ameri-can dominated society look through the eyes of Asian fashion models; and on film stars Chow Yun-fat (building his career in Hollywood) and Gong Li (who has become a major international star).

Learn from the masses

In their report on tennis star Michael Chang (who can barely speak a word of his parents' language), A. noted that, though Chang is very popular in Asia, "Make no mistake. Chang's heart is here, in the nation where he was born and bred. This is where his roots are, and this is the country whose virtues he touts in interviews." This sentence points to the greatest gap between the feelings of the first generation of immigrants and those of their children.

Jeff Yang points out that "since our readership is an English-speaking one, and mostly a younger, second-generation one, many of the barriers that stand between different groups of the first generation (such as language and, perhaps, political situations between countries) are reduced." He emphasizes, "The generation of Asians born in America in the late 60s is the first one to have the label 'Asian-American' put upon them" and "this generation is still, in many ways, trying to discover all the things that this label means."

"My father still reads Shijie Ribao [a US-based Chinese newspaper]. Even after being in the US for so long, he still wants to know what is happening in his homeland." Karen Wang can speak Chinese, but her reading knowledge of the language stops at the level of "reading a menu." Jeff Yang virtually cannot speak Chinese at all. For both of them, English is already the mother tongue.

In the past three years, A. has allowed its readers to vote for the 25 most influential Asian-Americans. The list is broad, covering politics, entertainment, and culture. Familiar figures like Harry Hungda Wu, I.M. Pei, and Ang Lee are on it.

But it seems that, in the minds of Asian-Americans, the most important people are those with political status. For example, in last year's vote, readers' top vote- getter as the most influential Asian-Ameri-can was a Japanese-American who became the first Asian justice on California's State Supreme Court. Second was a Japanese- American member of Congress.

Aimed at immigrants

What has been even more important in attracting the attention of Asian-Americans to politics has been the subject that has been a focus of A.'s reports this year. Since the presidential election began to heat up this spring, immigration has been a major topic.

First, Pat Buchanan, who ran in the Republican party primaries, promised that if he were elected president he would put a moratorium on all immigrant visas for five years (with the only exceptions being for spouses or children of those already in the States). At the same time, he advocated ending automatic citizenship for children of illegal immigrants born in the US (who under current law are US citizens regardless of their parents' status).

Early on, anti-immigrant sentiment seemed focused against illegal immigrants, but eventually legal immigrants were caught up in it as well.

Given large federal budget deficits, the Congress has been targeting social welfare programs for cuts. In the Welfare Reform Bill, Congress drastically cut welfare to legal immigrants. Under the new legislation, immigrants over 65 years of age who have never worked in the US would not be entitled to welfare no matter how long they lived in the US.

Also, proposed "English-only" legislation would require the federal government to designate English as the only official language. The bill would forbid the use of foreign languages on ballots or other federal documents.

Immigrants: the new enemy?

These steps unfriendly to immigrants caused quite a stir in minority communities. Why is there an anti-immigrant trend?

Jeff Yang suggests that immigrants are being used as "scapegoats" for America's domestic political problems. He says that in every era of recent American history the country has had a "hypothetical enemy." Before the collapse of the communist bloc, Soviet-led communism was the enemy. A decade or so ago, as Japanese products poured into the US market, Japan became the biggest excuse for the weak condition of the US economy. Later, with drug abuse rampant, Latin America became a symbol of evil.

Now the gun is pointed at immigrants "just because they are outsiders." Yang, noting that America is a country built by immigrants, wonders why the atmosphere in Congress is in such contradiction to the founding spirit of the country. Taking his parents for example, they worked hard to send their children to Harvard, a very expensive school. Immigrants have contributed a lot to the US economy-how can anyone say that they are a social problem?!

By the end of last July, the number of Asian-Americans had surpassed 9.7 million; of these, only three million-plus are eligible to vote. Using its own channel of communication, A. Magazine has encouraged more Asians to register to vote, arguing that if Asian-Americans have something to say about government policies, they should say it. Ballots are like a form of media-they are a way to express opinions.

"Where Time magazine is concerned, Asian-Americans are the exception; where A. Magazine is concerned, Asian-Americans are the rule." So says Jeff Yang. A. wants to be the voice of 100,000 people, and the bridge to the mainstream for the influence of nine million.

(Teng Sue-fen/

tr.by Phil Newell)

Z Gallery and Its Youthful Owner

hen newcomers to New York open their maps, the first thing they notice is that all the roadways north of 14th Street are perfectly straight, north-to-south and east-to-west. They divide Manhattan into neat little rectangles. Below 14th Street, things get a lot more complicated, and the map looks like a crumpled up paper chessboard. It is amidst this jumble that Soho is to be found.

The word Soho originally meant "south of Houston Street" in southern Manhattan. It describes the area bounded by Broadway in the east, Sixth Avenue in the west, Houston Street in the north, and Canal Street in the south. In this zone of six city blocks north-to-south and four blocks east-to-west, there are over 100 art galleries. In the past few years, Soho has become a synonym for cutting-edge art.

Soho renaissance

After WWII, as New York's well-off steadily moved to the suburbs, Soho became a factory and warehouse district, and fell into serious decline in the 1950s. Yet it was these very factories and warehouses-spacious, well-lit, and cheap to boot-that attracted artists to Soho. That was the beginning of Soho's renaissance.

The thing that writers and artists have found most attractive is the fact that quiet can be found amidst the urban bustle. Thousands of artists work in studios carved out of remodeled warehouses. When they close their doors, they can distil the world onto their canvasses. By opening those doors, a real and vivid world stands before them.

After the 1970s, art galleries sprang up in Soho like mushrooms after a spring rain. They became the step-ladder to success in modern art for the countless artists who crowded in.

The area has attracted not only artists, but top level art dealers, and it has become a focal point for critics and collectors.

It is afternoon, and the sun slants down on classic New York: brick buildings, cast- iron porches, and black fire escapes. We have arrived for a visit with the first art dealer of Chinese descent to set up a gallery in Soho-Zhang Zhang.

This is a very unusual name. It comes from that the fact that her parents both had the surname Zhang. Her gallery name, "Z," derives from her own moniker. In 1988, she came from mainland China to America to study economics. It was then that she discovered that art was her true vocation, and she transferred to New York University to study art history.

"I felt on the very first time I visited a gallery that this is what I wanted to do." Two years later she opened the first Soho gallery to be run by a Chinese. Only 24, she was the youngest gallery owner in the area, a status she has maintained to this day.

Summer vacation

For first-timers in Soho, being without a guide is like being left in a maze. It is common to run into confused tourists standing on the street poring over maps.

When we arrived, Zhang offered profuse apologies. Summer is vacation time in New York, and most galleries are closed, so there were no works on display. She took the opportunity to travel to mainland China, Hong Kong, and Singapore, and had only just returned. Before we went to see her, she instructed us to knock loudly upon arrival, and she left a note on the door with the same message.

When the door opened, before us there was an open space of 2,500 square feet. The latest works had not yet been hung on the walls, so the space appeared even more bright and cavernous. The exhibition hall, extended to downstairs, covered 1000 square feet.

Right now there are 300 or so galleries in Soho (of which less than ten are operated by persons of Asian descent). But the number which, like Z, have street-level fronts, has steadily declined because of high rents. The rent for the first floor and basement that make up Z comes to about US$100,000 a year.

Every time that she thinks about all the bills she has to pay, Zhang Zhang says: "Sometimes I really wish that the gallery were not mine, but something I just run for somebody else."

The concept of freedom

"A first-class gallery must be able to set trends." Each year Zhang looks over the work of more than 2000 artists. From among those artists whose work she feels spans both East and West, she can only choose to represent a mere 15 creators. From sketching to concept art, the common point among those who show at Z is that "their works are all related to nature or to human nature, and are very philosophical and spiritual," explains Zhang.

While most see modern art as generally guided by Western concepts, Zhang believes there is no distinction in art between East and West.

Perhaps affected by the ancient Chinese Taoist philosophers Zhuangzi and Laozi, Zhang favors promoting concept art. In fact, it has been concept art and installation art that has most attracted the attention of the New York arts community to Z. But what are these styles of art?

Let's look for example at the work of the mainland Chinese artist Niu Bo, who had a show at Z last year. His work incorporated ideas from Tibetan Buddhism, and was "very free and liberated." This is precisely the artistic viewpoint Zhang wants to express.

In 1985, Niu, then 25, altered a 1967 photograph of Red Guards doing homage to the giant picture of Mao Zedong in Tiananmen Square-Niu replaced Mao's face with a picture of himself as a child. He also suggested that, in place of Mao's visage, a different person should have their picture in Tiananmen every day.

As a result of this work, Niu was imprisoned for one year. In his cell, his dreams returned again and again to the sky. After being released, his works began to struggle against frames and boundaries.

A review in New York Magazine cites "sky painting" as Niu's "most dramatic art." Niu hires a plane to sky-write his works. For one, called Tower of Babylon, Niu's hired aircraft "drew" smoke-trail lines (such as a spiral) over the Statue of Liberty, suggesting "a spiral doodle of liberation from her heavy lamp." The review said, "What a seduction!" for Lady Liberty to be set free in this way, adding "She will never forget Niu Bo. . . ." Though Lady Liberty may be New York's most respected woman, there are times when she too must dream of putting down her heavy lamp and being more free.

According to New York, Niu's sky painting works are reminiscent of Chinese calligraphy; of his "longing for the sky while he was in jail"; of chalkboard drawings from his childhood (because paper was too expensive); "and of the Tibetan belief that the souls of saints become smoke and cloud shapes as they leave the body."

No novel stories

Zhang Zhang says, "Many people who come to the gallery tell me that they don't understand concept art. I tell them it's not necessary to understand, that they should just directly feel it. What is important is their feeling toward the work, and they shouldn't worry too much about modern art jargon."

With 12 exhibitions a year, over the last six years Zhang has come to be recognized in the New York arts community. She has also often held seminars or talks in her gallery, at which famous art critics discuss the strengths and blind spots of Eastern and Western perspectives on art.

"There are no exciting stories to tell," says Zhang, who doesn't consider it to have been especially difficult for a Chinese to break into Soho's art circles. "The hard part was the concept. My philosophy of life is that life is like water-it keeps on flowing day into day."

She states that many people think being an art gallery owner must be exciting, dazzling work. Add to this that she is a young Asian woman, and there is a lot of speculation and guessing going on. "I don't think of myself as a foreigner. The US media doesn't know me at all, and when they come to the gallery it is to see the exhibitions. The only really interesting story will be when the gallery is truly successful."

By "successful" she means that there will be a group of young artists, bursting with creativity, who develop a new viewpoint and have an impact on society. When she gets to this point in what she is saying, she stops and laughs: "That will probably take ten or twenty years of hard work." Zhang estimates that less than 2% of art galleries in New York survive more than five years. She most respects the ones that have stayed in business for 30 years or so.

For Zhang Zhang, the success of the artist and the success of the gallery are the same. "Choosing an artist is like choosing a marriage partner. You cannot expect overnight success. You must have faith and be kind to each other and support each other." Zhang jokes, "If you love someone, even if he is dirt poor, what can you do?!" Her main reward has been to be able to work with the most intelligent artists. The gallery is not her occupation, she says, "It is my life."

(Teng Sue-fen/tr. by Phil Newell)

p.101

The city that never sleeps. . . . In busy Manhattan, how much of a voice do Asian-Americans have? (photo by Pu Hua-chih)

p.102

The staff at A. Magazine are similar in profile to their target readers-second-generation Asian-Americans of about 30 or so. Second from left is chief editor and publisher Jeff Yang. (photo by Hsu Chen-hui)

p.104

A. Magazine Table on Asian-Americans

Population Growth 1980-90

Household Income

College Graduates

Asian-American

Hispanic-American

African-American

European-American

Source: A. Magazine, with original data from the US Bureau of the Census

(Chart by Tsai Chih-pen)

p.105

Most first-generation Asian-Americans are still sentimental about their old homes. In a typical "Chinatown" there are many Chinese-language publications from Taiwan, Hong Kong, and mainland China. (photo by Pu Hua-chih)

p.106

Soho is a colorful place that can surprise you.

(photo by Cheng Yuan-ching)

p.108

This past March, Z Gallery sponsored a personal show by Niu Bo entitled "A Tale of Two Rooms and a Blind Man." The gallery was divided into two rooms, one completely dark. Visitors passed through the dark room, temporarily "blinded," and emerged into a brightly lit white room. In the latter sat a blind person, who then listened to the visitors describe their sensations in the dark room. The black invitation card is as intriguing as the show itself. (courtesy of Zhang Zhang)

p.109

Zhang Zhang is the youngest gallery owner in Soho. Her spacious showroom is home to as many as 12 exhibitions a year. (photo by Hsu Chen-hui)