Dead Man's Gold and Other Stories

Patricia Morley is professor emerita of English and Canadian Studies at
Concordia University and an avid outdoor recreationist. She is the
author of several books, including The Mountain Is Moving: Japanese
Women’s Lives, Kurlek and Margaret Laurence: T

Paul Yee finds folk tales and ghost stories, both popular genres in the
China of his ancestors, to be excellent routes to his goals. Yee wants,
as he puts it, “to dramatize the history of the Chinese in New World
mythology where immigrant stories can be told and retold.” The tales,
full of suspense and surprise, bring to life a folk culture that reminds
Chinese North Americans of their ancestors.

The title story, “Dead Man’s Gold,” is a harsh legend of two
Chinese men who search for gold in different areas of the New World.
Their methods are very different. The ending is tragic. The one who
fails to find gold kills the friend who has been successful. The result
is that his restless spirit is left “without a natural home.” Teens
should be sufficiently mature to realize that history is full of
tragedy.

“The Memory Stone” is a tragicomic tale with a happy ending.
Chinese people love jade for its medicinal and almost magical
properties. The story, handed down from the turn of the century, tells
of a young widow’s love for “Ox,” a blacksmith who stays for a
time with Willow and her mother in order to help them. When Ox leaves,
he asks Willow to wait for a time for his return, when they will marry.
Short as it is, the tale is complex as well as wondrous. Events work out
to a happy ending for two women a generation apart.

These and the other folk tales in this collection are unlike Western
fairy tales, but equally intriguing. Recommended.