Interview with author Dori Jones Yang
by Marjorie Coughlan*

Dori Jones Yang grew up in Ohio, the daughter of a bookseller, and fell in love with foreign travel at an early age. Among other languages, she speaks fluent Mandarin and has lived in Singapore and Hong Kong, where she was foreign correspondent for Business Week.

Her first book, The Secret Voice of Gina Zhang, was a Skipping Stones Honor Book in 2001, and was also awarded the Pleasant T. Rowland Prize for Fiction for Girls. Her most recent book is Daughter of Xanadu, set in 13th century Mongolia, under the Khubilai Khan.

Dori lives near Seattle with her husband Paul Yang; they have three grown-up children.
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Your latest book, Daughter of Xanadu, is set in the thirteenth-century Mongol Empire and conveys a great deal of what life was like under Khubilai Khan.  What research did you do and at what point did you find your story within it?  How much did you draw on Marco Polo’s writing? 

Marco Polo’s own book about his travels inspired me. He tells the tale of Ai-Jaruk, a Mongolian princess who defeated all would-be suitors in wrestling and won the right to become a warrior and live her own life. That story sparked my imagination. But the character I created, Emmajin, is an archer, not a wrestler, and she is deeper and more thoughtful.

Daughter of Xanadu’s heroine, Emmajin, is a forceful character whose views are increasingly challenged as the book progresses, mostly through her contact with Marco Polo, “the foreigner.”  How difficult was it to write of Emmajin’s convictions and in particular her determination to become a soldier?

In my life, I was one of the first women students at Princeton and one of the early women business journalists, so I understand what it feels like to break into traditionally male worlds. However, I know little about the military and never aspired to be a soldier, so I had to imagine that desire.  Mainly, Emmajin wanted to earn respect, so she aimed for the most highly admired profession in her society: war hero.

One of the many themes explored in the book is the gulf between the reality of war and the reshaping of those experiences into epic tales told after the event.  How important did you feel it was not to shy away from giving a vivid description of the Battle of Vochan?

Marco Polo himself described the Battle of Vochan in dramatic terms, how the Mongol archers faced thousands of elephants, so I openly borrowed from him. However, I do believe that stories of battles are retold in overly glorious ways meant to encourage young soldiers to fight, and I wanted to make sure Emmajin realized that.

What do you hope today’s young readers will relate to and ponder in the story?

The main message is that it’s important to get to know foreigners. In every country, in every era, it’s easy to slip into an ‘us-vs.-them’ mentality, to look on ‘them’ as sub-human so that we can wage war on them. But when you get to know someone from a faraway country as a human being with hopes and dreams, your worldview shifts. By learning how others see the world, you come to understand yourself and your own people better, and war no longer seems like a sensible option.

During your visits to Mongolia, did you travel by any of the routes described in the book?  Can you tell us a bit about your trips? Do you have any plans to go back?

Mongolia is a fascinating place to visit! The language, the lifestyle, the food, and the attitudes are very different from those in China. I did not follow the same route, but I visited many of the places Marco Polo visited, including Xanadu, site of Khubilai Khan’s marble summer palace and gardens. Xanadu is now in ruins, but standing there, in a wide field of wildflowers, I could feel the magic of history. If Daughter of Xanadu does well, I hope to go back to Mongolia and support a good cause there.

You were a business journalist for many years.  What was the springboard from that into writing fiction?

Writing fiction was my first love, a passion that began in childhood. My dad told me I couldn’t get a job writing novels, so I chose journalism as my career. I love delving into new subjects and talking to experts, so journalism was great fun – especially when Business Week gave me my dream job: as a foreign correspondent in Hong Kong, covering China during the years when it was starting to open up.

What triggered your passion for China and the East?
After college, I lived in Singapore for two years, teaching English and studying Mandarin. I travelled all over Asia and fell in love with it, especially China. My husband is from China; we met and married in Hong Kong. So I have many romantic associations with Asia!

Your first book for young readers was The Secret Voice of Gina Zhang, which is the story of 12-year-old Jinna’s move from China to the US and the difficulties she has coping with being immersed in the English language: so much so, that she loses her voice altogether.  This is a powerful analogy.  What responses to the book have you had?

I enjoy visiting classrooms and talking to students who have read my children’s book. One especially powerful response came from an American girl who had the same difficulty as Gina speaking in public; she told me my book helped her overcome her problem.

In the ten years since the book was published, do you think there is better awareness of the differing needs of children who for whatever reason find themselves having to learn to live in a new culture with a new language? 

I hope so! I tell students that if they see a classmate who is quiet, because of either shyness or language difficulties, they should try to make friends. Underneath the quiet exterior, that person may have a fascinating personality and a vivid imagination, like Gina Zhang.

In an article for the Huffington Post at the end of last year you suggested a New Year’s Resolution be to learn Chinese, and you also talk about the opportunities for raising cultural awareness that this would offer.  How important do you think this is as a separate issue, even without the possibility of learning the language?  Is that one of the reasons you wrote Daughter of Xanadu?

Raising cultural awareness is vital. I see many examples of cultural misunderstanding, especially between Chinese and Americans. I hope Daughter of Xanadu will help a new generation of Americans become more familiar and comfortable with East Asia and develop a greater openness to all people they meet from foreign countries. Mutual awareness and understanding are the keys to defusing tension and conflict.

Your latest project is a book called The Second Wave: Chinese Americans in Seattle. One of the 35 people featured in the book is your husband, Paul Yang.  What did this mean to you, and how significant do you think all these stories are for young Chinese Americans today?

For me, that book of oral histories is a project of the heart. My husband’s generation of Chinese immigrants is quiet and often overlooked, and I wanted to give them a voice – a chance to tell their own stories in their own words. I hope the book will help young Chinese Americans today gain a greater understanding of the difficulties their parents and grandparents faced, leaving behind a familiar culture and entering a new world.

What are you working on at the moment?

I am exploring the adventures of Marco and Emmajin after the end of Daughter of Xanadu! I hope many readers will be eager to go on that journey with me.

*Marjorie Coughlan is PaperTigers' Editor .

Posted March 2011

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