The Forbidden Phoenix by Marty Chan

Content: Chan’s play was an adaptation from Wu Cheng’en’s 16th-century classical Chinese novel, Journey to the West. It uses the same protagonist, Sun Wukong, who leaves his son behind in seek of new opportunities. He walks through a waterfall, acting as a portal between China and Canada, only to be faced with the likes of “van Horne”, an overly ambitious industrialist who wants to enter a place called “Forbidden Mountain”; this particular locale is a symbolic reference to Gumshan or “Gold Mountain,” the name Chinese immigrants gave to the West Coast of British Columbia and the mountainous Sierra Nevada region of California, US, as the lure of the gold rush was widely known locally and abroad. Throughout the play, Sun Wukong is tested morally and physically, pitted against enemies who want him to sacrifice his safety and integrity in exchange for the assumed riches of the Forbidden Mountain. The play alludes to moments in Canada’s history—the building of the Canadian Pacific Railway and its use of labor, replete with characters based on real individuals—while providing an allegory for the plight of early Chinese immigrants. The narrative unfolds episodically, signaling to readers and audiences that the play references an actual moment in Canada’s immigration history and formation.”

Interpretation: Marty Chan’s play challenges the official version of history preserved in imperialist texts as it “tell [s] the other side of the conquering whites’ story”. It draws attention to “the other side” of Canadian history as seen through the perspective of a Chinese immigrant. 

A Reimagination of Journey to the West in a Canadian Context

The lone nature of Sun Wukong in Marty Chan’s play in comparison to the original Chinese novel, where the novel was a collective recollection by Sun WuKong with his master, Tang Sen, Zhu BaJie, etc., reflects the journey of Chinese men who often came to Canada alone, without the accompany of friends or family. It is also worth noting that in Wu Cheng’en’s original novel, Journey to the West, the “West” refers to Sun Wukong’s journey from China (East) with his master, Tang Sen, to India (West) to find Buddhist scriptures. Here, in Marty Chan’s play, the “West” is replaced with Canada, complicating and undermining the notion of the “West” from a centralized North American or European perspective, reminding the audience that there are other definitions of “West”. 

Sun WuKong as a symbol of Chinese Canadian Laborers

The character of Sun Wukong himself also challenges the cultural hegemony in the post-colonial lingua franca of English Canada, as it represents and is dedicated to the thousands of Chinese Canadians who worked on the CPR (Canadian Pacific Railway) between 1881 and 1885. Furthermore, the character of protagonist Sun Wukong also fulfills a dual function as both hero-protagonist and ordinary or “common man” who finds himself somewhat compromised as he navigates his way through foreign land, proving the idea that the “common man is as apt a subject for tragedy in its highest sense as kings were” (Miller 3). Here, Sun Wukong, assuming a tragic role, is refreshing as it highlights the plight of not only constrained to immigrants at the time but also other average persons who might not otherwise make his or her way into the history books. 

Photo by Tim Matheson (2011). Courtesy of Gateway Theatre.

Van Horne and the Exploitation of Chinese Canadian Laborers

Furthermore, Sun Wukong’s ironic role as both a well-respected “Monkey King” in his native land, China, and the burden of a working-class or “common man” in his adopted land of Canada, and his journey filled with challenges including the antagonist van Horne character, who is based on the real-life William van Horne, the American-turned-Canadian railroad magnate who provided leadership to the CPR as general manager, Vice President, and President. Van Horne's character is portrayed as having false empathy, representing greed and unbridled capitalism. Although dramatized, Chan’s play reflects the Chinese laborers who risked their lives while building the CPR, the forced acceptance of extremely dangerous working conditions, and the poor treatment. It alludes to the real-life instances and detailed negated narratives of Canadian history that only tended to focus on the benefits of building the CPR, focusing on economic growth and national building, while forgetting the lost lives and discrimination that plague the memory of the CPR’s actual construction. 

Photo by Tim Matheson (2011). Courtesy of Gateway Theatre.

Love and Emotional Representation of Immigrants

“As the play closes, the main protagonist is seen reunited with his son, Laosan, who says, 'I love you, Father.” Sun Wukong simply responds, “I love you” (Chan 66). This simple exchange of affection between family members begins “working towards a politically conservative empathy that includes difference” (Rogers 426), and one that encourages audiences to “read emotions from the body” (429). Chan ensures that immigrant characters are portrayed in love, and capable of love, countering hegemonic portrayals of love, which often “became the preserve of the dominant racial group,” socially constructed “such that love is also a whitened emotion in mainstream representation.”