The Original Work

TheJoy Luck Club is a1989 novel written by Amy Tan. In 1993, the novel was adapted into a feature film. The novel was also adapted into aplay, by Susan Kim, which premiered at Pan Asian Repertory Theatre inNew York. Itfocuses on four Chinese American immigrant families in San Francisco who start aclub known as The Joy Luck Club, playing the Chinese game of mahjong formoney while feasting on a variety of foods. The book is structured somewhatlike a mahjong game, with four parts divided into four sections. That is twosections focusing on the stories of the mothers and two sections on the storiesof the daughters. It has sixteen chapters. Sixteen interlocking stories aboutthe lives of four Chinese immigrant mothers (one mother, Suyuan Woo, diesbefore the novel opens) and their four American-born daughters share storiesabout their lives in the form of vignettes. Each part is preceded by aparable relating to the game.

This arrangement represents the four seatsat the Mah Jong table. Each chapter in a section is devoted to one mother ordaughter, and their stories eventually intertwine to the point that the storyof Jing-mei and Suyuan Woo becomesa symbol of fulfillment for all of them. The mothers approach their daughtersas they do the game of Mah Jong; they know the best strategy is to make any andall moves secretly so that the revelation comes at the last minute. In thisway, the mothers shape their unknowing daughters, imparting precious wisdomwhile seeming blunt and at times even ignorant. At the same time, the daughtersare aware of their mothers' cleverness, which they alternately fear, love,resent, and imitate.

Each mother-daughter pair struggles withcultural and generational differences. The daughters tend to see their mothersas old-fashioned, overbearing, out-of-touch, and even threatening. In turn, themothers are exasperated over their daughters' lack of understanding of Chineseculture, attitudes towards men, and satisfaction in "unglamorous"jobs. It is in moments of conflict with one another and with others that eachmother or daughter realizes the validity of the other's perspective. To someextent, they are able to step into one another's skins. The climax of the novelcomes when Jing-mei travels toChinafor the first time to meet her long-lost sisters. It was Suyuan Woo's specificwish to be reunited with her long-lost daughters, but the essence of this wishlives in all the mothers--to be truly connected in spirit to their daughters.Therefore at the end of the novel, Jing-mei has fulfilled not only her ownmother's legacy, but also those of all the members of the Joy Luck Club.

TheJoy Luck Club hasreceived criticism for perpetuating racist stereotypes about Asian Americans.Literary figures such as Chinese American author FrankChin have noted that the novel contains fabricated Chinese folk tales thatdepict "Confucian culture as seen through the interchangeable Chinese/Japanese/ Korean/Vietnamese mix (depending on which is the yellow enemy ofthe moment) of Hollywood." Novelist Nancy Willard, in a somewhat positivecritique, said that "Amy Tan's special accomplishment in this novel is nother ability to show us how mothers and daughters hurt each other, but how theylove and ultimately forgive each other."

附中文：喜福会人物故事图

The Film Adaptation

TheJoy Luck Club is a1993 American film about the relationshipsbetween Chinese-American women and their Chinesemothers. It was directed by Wayne Wang and stars Ming-Na Wen, Rosalind Chao, LaurenTom, Tamlyn Tomita, France Nguyen, KieuChinh, Lisa Lu, Tsai Chin and Vivian Wu.The film is based on the eponymous 1989 novel by Amy Tan,who co-wrote the screenplay with Ronald Bass.The film was produced by Bass, Tan, Wang and PatrickMarkey while Oliver Stone served as an executiveproducer. Four older women, all Chinese immigrants living in San Francisco, meetregularly to play mahjong, eat, and tell stories. Each of these women hasan adult Chinese-American daughter. The film reveals the hidden pasts of theolder women and their daughters and how their lives are shaped by the clash ofChinese and American cultures as they strive to understand their family bondsand one another.

Development of the project began when Wangapproached Tan in 1989 at the time of the novel’s release. Concerned about thenovel’s complex storytelling and character development, they teamed up withBass in January 1990, who added a farewell party not in the original novel and voiceoversto compress the film’s storytelling without changing the main plot. In1990, Carolco Pictures initially supported the project until thefilmmakers turned down the contract for not receiving the creative control thatthey demanded. After the first draft was written between August and November1991, the filmmakers shifted to Hollywood Pictures in spring 1992.The filming took place in San Francisco, thenovel and the film’s main setting, in October 1992 and then in China in February1993. The filming was completed in March 1993.

The film was privately screened in sneakpreviews in spring 1993 and film festivals in August and September 1993. Itpremiered in Los Angeles, New York City,and San Franciscoon September 8, 1993. The film earned nearly $33million in theUnited States.With the film’s $10.5 million budget, it was moderately successful inthe box office. It received positive critical reactions but also criticism ofits perceived stereotypical presentation of Asian American male characters.

The soundtrack wasreleased by Hollywood Records onSeptember 28, 1993. It was composed and produced by Rachel Portman, co-orchestrated byPortman and John Neufeld, conducted by J. A. C. Redford. Chineseinstruments were used as well as Western music. Filmtracks website and Jason Ankeny from Allmusic gave the soundtrack four stars out offive. Filmtracks found themusic cues not as "outstanding" as Portman's "other singularachievements in her career" but the website noted that the whole album"never becomes too repetitive to enjoy" even when the music cues lackdiversity from each other. The first 14 tracks was composed by Rachel Portman.The 15th and final track, "End Titles", was composed by David Arnold,Marvin Hamlisch, and Rachel Portman. The album duration is around 44 minutes.