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Golden Mountain Chronicles #3
Dragon's Gate
In 1867, Otter travels from Three Willows Village in China to California -- the Land of the Golden Mountain. There he will join his father and uncle.
In spite of the presence of family, Otter is a stranger among the other Chinese in this new land. And where he expected to see a land of goldfields, he sees only vast, cold whiteness. But Otter's dream is to learn all he can, take the technology back to the Middle Kingdom, and free China from the Manchu invaders.
Otter and the others board a machine that will change his life -- a train for which he would open the Dragon's Gate.
In spite of the presence of family, Otter is a stranger among the other Chinese in this new land. And where he expected to see a land of goldfields, he sees only vast, cold whiteness. But Otter's dream is to learn all he can, take the technology back to the Middle Kingdom, and free China from the Manchu invaders.
Otter and the others board a machine that will change his life -- a train for which he would open the Dragon's Gate.
335 pages, Paperback
First published October 7, 1993
34 people are currently reading
1412 people want to read
About the author
Laurence Yep
120 books295 followersBorn June 14, 1948 in San Francisco, California, Yep was the son of Thomas Gim Yep and Franche Lee Yep. Franche Lee, her family's youngest child, was born in Ohio and raised in West Virginia where her family owned a Chinese laundry. Yep's father, Thomas, was born in China and came to America at the age of ten where he lived, not in Chinatown, but with an Irish friend in a white neighborhood. After troubling times during the Depression, he was able to open a grocery store in an African-American neighborhood. Growing up in San Francisco, Yep felt alienated. He was in his own words his neighborhood's "all-purpose Asian" and did not feel he had a culture of his own. Joanne Ryder, a children's book author, and Yep met and became friends during college while she was his editor. They later married and now live in San Francisco.
Although not living in Chinatown, Yep commuted to a parochial bilingual school there. Other students at the school, according to Yep, labeled him a "dumbbell Chinese" because he spoke only English. During high school he faced the white American culture for the first time. However, it was while attending high school that he started writing for a science fiction magazine, being paid one cent a word for his efforts. After two years at Marquette University, Yep transferred to the University of California at Santa Cruz where he graduated in 1970 with a B.A. He continued on to earn a Ph.D. in English from the State University of New York at Buffalo in 1975. Today as well as writing, he has taught writing and Asian American Studies at the University of California, Berkeley and Santa Barbara.
Although not living in Chinatown, Yep commuted to a parochial bilingual school there. Other students at the school, according to Yep, labeled him a "dumbbell Chinese" because he spoke only English. During high school he faced the white American culture for the first time. However, it was while attending high school that he started writing for a science fiction magazine, being paid one cent a word for his efforts. After two years at Marquette University, Yep transferred to the University of California at Santa Cruz where he graduated in 1970 with a B.A. He continued on to earn a Ph.D. in English from the State University of New York at Buffalo in 1975. Today as well as writing, he has taught writing and Asian American Studies at the University of California, Berkeley and Santa Barbara.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 191 reviews
February 11, 2020
"You can learn to change the world or go on being changed by it."
—Dragon's Gate, p. 35
When I think of the nationwide railroad that was built in America during the nineteenth century, I tend to picture a young Abraham Lincoln driving in railway spikes, tough young guys hardening their muscles and working at all hours and through the night, and a spirit of general camaraderie that united our country in its fledgling days. I did not, prior to reading this book, think of thousands of imported Chinese workers who came to America with hope, only to be stripped of their dignity and worker's rights.
Otter, a Chinese teenager who has inadvertently come into some trouble in his home Chinese province, departs his tumultuous homeland to join his father and Uncle Foxfire in "The land of the Golden Mountain", aka America. Otter is excited by the chance to join his Uncle Foxfire in the work that has made him a legend in China, building up a reputation at the Golden Mountain until one day he will be able to return to China and take it back from the Manchu revolutionaries who have turned his country upside down.
While the United States may have been a place of equality for all westerners, however, upon arrival in America Otter soon learns that Chinamen do not necessarily fit into that picture of equality. After making his way to the mountain where his uncle and father work at trying to bore a tunnel for the new railway, Otter is told that he will be required to stay and work among the men, even in the dangerous freezing winter conditions, and that the westerners have broken nearly all of their promises to the Chinese laborers about working conditions.
Watching the transformative process that affects Otter's new life is fascinating. Not only do we see the subtle changes occur within his own heart and mind, but we, as well, are able to be changed by the wisdom that Otter experiences through the lives of the hardworking men around him. All of Otter's preconceived notions about Foxfire's heroism are severely challenged yet somehow, ultimately, find their lasting root in parts of Foxfire's personality that have always remained hidden from Otter beneath the surface, in areas that could only have been found by living in close proximity to his uncle for many months.
Author Laurence Yep not once glamorizes the courage of the Chinese workers beyond the dictates of reality, yet the view of their lives and character, as a unit, shows a passionate strength that no reader will ever be able to forget. The thought processes of the Chinese workers is vastly different from their American counterparts, but their weaknesses are balanced by some areas in which they view the world with a kind of wisdom that is unknown to the westerners.
This is an important story, I think. It definitely is an example of first-class writing and story building all the way, and it hooks in exceptionally to an historical tale about a mistreated group of thousands who finally banded together to take back their rights. It is also a superior cultural novel about growing up in another nation among strangers, and finding peace with one's own decisions and the responsibility that one has to those around oneself.
—Dragon's Gate, p. 35
When I think of the nationwide railroad that was built in America during the nineteenth century, I tend to picture a young Abraham Lincoln driving in railway spikes, tough young guys hardening their muscles and working at all hours and through the night, and a spirit of general camaraderie that united our country in its fledgling days. I did not, prior to reading this book, think of thousands of imported Chinese workers who came to America with hope, only to be stripped of their dignity and worker's rights.
Otter, a Chinese teenager who has inadvertently come into some trouble in his home Chinese province, departs his tumultuous homeland to join his father and Uncle Foxfire in "The land of the Golden Mountain", aka America. Otter is excited by the chance to join his Uncle Foxfire in the work that has made him a legend in China, building up a reputation at the Golden Mountain until one day he will be able to return to China and take it back from the Manchu revolutionaries who have turned his country upside down.
While the United States may have been a place of equality for all westerners, however, upon arrival in America Otter soon learns that Chinamen do not necessarily fit into that picture of equality. After making his way to the mountain where his uncle and father work at trying to bore a tunnel for the new railway, Otter is told that he will be required to stay and work among the men, even in the dangerous freezing winter conditions, and that the westerners have broken nearly all of their promises to the Chinese laborers about working conditions.
Watching the transformative process that affects Otter's new life is fascinating. Not only do we see the subtle changes occur within his own heart and mind, but we, as well, are able to be changed by the wisdom that Otter experiences through the lives of the hardworking men around him. All of Otter's preconceived notions about Foxfire's heroism are severely challenged yet somehow, ultimately, find their lasting root in parts of Foxfire's personality that have always remained hidden from Otter beneath the surface, in areas that could only have been found by living in close proximity to his uncle for many months.
Author Laurence Yep not once glamorizes the courage of the Chinese workers beyond the dictates of reality, yet the view of their lives and character, as a unit, shows a passionate strength that no reader will ever be able to forget. The thought processes of the Chinese workers is vastly different from their American counterparts, but their weaknesses are balanced by some areas in which they view the world with a kind of wisdom that is unknown to the westerners.
This is an important story, I think. It definitely is an example of first-class writing and story building all the way, and it hooks in exceptionally to an historical tale about a mistreated group of thousands who finally banded together to take back their rights. It is also a superior cultural novel about growing up in another nation among strangers, and finding peace with one's own decisions and the responsibility that one has to those around oneself.
November 14, 2021
This book is a good introduction of what was happening in the United States in the 19th century. It is a piece of fiction, that incorporates events that happened to Asian workers that came to the US for a new start in life.
This work is also a Newberry Honour book, so it is well worth the read.
This work is also a Newberry Honour book, so it is well worth the read.
October 20, 2012
This is my all time favorite book for young adults, and is also a great tie between literature and fiction. Yep is the only author of children's fiction I know of who includes a bibliography at the end of his book, to show he is informed and well-researched, even though he has chosen the vehicle of fiction.
Chinese Americans came toward the end of the gold rush. A few got lucky, but most were too late. China was on the brink of civil war; the Manchu Dynasty was on the throne, with the help of the British, who wanted a friendly government that would let them send their opium trade elsewhere, where it needn't muck up Britain, as had been the case.
The ethnic minority known as the Strangers, taller than most Chinese and with distinctive facial features,became overnight targets of the Manchus because of their longstanding affiliation with the T'ang Dynasty, which was attempting to regain power. As has happened so many places and at many times in history, some of them found the place unsafe, and had to get out of Dodge. In addition, famine was widespread in the countryside, and those who signed on to work the American railroad construction, in hugely hazardous jobs that most Caucasians would not do, would make money that was a rock-bottom wage in the USA, yet meant virtual wealth in a remote Chinese village. To have a family member sending back money from the "Gold Mountain" meant increased status for the entire family, and their money sometimes funded a village's entire infrastructure.
This is the fictional story of an adolescent whose father and uncle work the railroads, and come home for a visit. Otter, the name of the protagonist, inadvertently causes a Manchu soldier to fall on his own sword, and Otter's mother hides him in the mountains until he can leave with his relatives for the US.
Most of the setting is in the US, post-Civil-War, and is told from a Chinese immigrant's point of view. Anything said in English by anyone is italicized, because that is the foreign language, through the eyes of a Chinese.
I rarely say this, but I recommend this book for adults too. It is absorbing, and provides information you may not see anywhere else. If you like historical fiction or are interested in Asian Studies, Laurence Yep's book (one of many, and I think his best) is just what you need.
Chinese Americans came toward the end of the gold rush. A few got lucky, but most were too late. China was on the brink of civil war; the Manchu Dynasty was on the throne, with the help of the British, who wanted a friendly government that would let them send their opium trade elsewhere, where it needn't muck up Britain, as had been the case.
The ethnic minority known as the Strangers, taller than most Chinese and with distinctive facial features,became overnight targets of the Manchus because of their longstanding affiliation with the T'ang Dynasty, which was attempting to regain power. As has happened so many places and at many times in history, some of them found the place unsafe, and had to get out of Dodge. In addition, famine was widespread in the countryside, and those who signed on to work the American railroad construction, in hugely hazardous jobs that most Caucasians would not do, would make money that was a rock-bottom wage in the USA, yet meant virtual wealth in a remote Chinese village. To have a family member sending back money from the "Gold Mountain" meant increased status for the entire family, and their money sometimes funded a village's entire infrastructure.
This is the fictional story of an adolescent whose father and uncle work the railroads, and come home for a visit. Otter, the name of the protagonist, inadvertently causes a Manchu soldier to fall on his own sword, and Otter's mother hides him in the mountains until he can leave with his relatives for the US.
Most of the setting is in the US, post-Civil-War, and is told from a Chinese immigrant's point of view. Anything said in English by anyone is italicized, because that is the foreign language, through the eyes of a Chinese.
I rarely say this, but I recommend this book for adults too. It is absorbing, and provides information you may not see anywhere else. If you like historical fiction or are interested in Asian Studies, Laurence Yep's book (one of many, and I think his best) is just what you need.
April 24, 2019
Overall, it was all right.
Pros:
An interesting perspective of the intercontinental railroad being built.
Good characters
Cons:
Slow to develop
Skips lots of potential story time in the end
Overall: 5/10 (Mediocre-OK)
Pros:
An interesting perspective of the intercontinental railroad being built.
Good characters
Cons:
Slow to develop
Skips lots of potential story time in the end
Overall: 5/10 (Mediocre-OK)
June 11, 2016
I chose to read this YA historical novel because it was part of my kid’s school curriculum but I hadn’t realized it was the third novel in a 10-book series. No matter; this read as a complete story in itself with a beginning, a middle, and an end and I was quite satisfied to read it as a stand-alone novel (although, it’s quality will likely result in my seeking out the other books in the series).
As I understand it, the series as a whole relates the lengthy tale of the Youngs family of Three Willows Village in China and their ongoing fascination with the Land of the Golden Mountain (America). This novel features a young man named Otter and his adventures from his home in China all the way to his hardship labor in California, drilling tunnels for the railroad. Most of the novel occurs in America in the year 1867 and in most respects, is a coming-of-age novel. It’s a great way for students to learn about the historical aspects of early Chinese immigrants, the incredible hardships of railroad construction, as well as the cultural pitfalls of trying to integrate with other, dissimilar cultures. It is certainly historically accurate but it also is a heart-warming story of a young person’s gradual growth into adulthood.
As I understand it, the series as a whole relates the lengthy tale of the Youngs family of Three Willows Village in China and their ongoing fascination with the Land of the Golden Mountain (America). This novel features a young man named Otter and his adventures from his home in China all the way to his hardship labor in California, drilling tunnels for the railroad. Most of the novel occurs in America in the year 1867 and in most respects, is a coming-of-age novel. It’s a great way for students to learn about the historical aspects of early Chinese immigrants, the incredible hardships of railroad construction, as well as the cultural pitfalls of trying to integrate with other, dissimilar cultures. It is certainly historically accurate but it also is a heart-warming story of a young person’s gradual growth into adulthood.
March 28, 2016
I'm a Yep fan, and Dragon's Gate only increased my appreciation for his ability as a storyteller. Since I'm also always interested in the 1850s during the Gold Rush and the building of the Trans-Continental Railroad, this was a perfect story for me.
Yep paints a cold picture of how the Chinese labored under wicked condition--little food, severe weather, grueling back-breaking labor and discrimination. A proud man from China was treated as less than human, paid less than his Anglo co-workers, and worked longer almost unendurable hours. But inside this story is another one, one about a young Chinese boy who learns about life from two perspectives--his own and that of the western world.
I loved the flawless prose and beautiful characters that emerged from this writer's pen.
Yep paints a cold picture of how the Chinese labored under wicked condition--little food, severe weather, grueling back-breaking labor and discrimination. A proud man from China was treated as less than human, paid less than his Anglo co-workers, and worked longer almost unendurable hours. But inside this story is another one, one about a young Chinese boy who learns about life from two perspectives--his own and that of the western world.
I loved the flawless prose and beautiful characters that emerged from this writer's pen.
December 25, 2019
Although this is listed as being part of a series, it totally stands alone.
We start in the village in China where Otter has a privileged lifestyle. His family members working in the USA send back lots of money. making his mother and aunt rich. One fritters it away in opium, the other does good works. The first part of the book introduces us to the politics of China at the time of the Opium Wars. But this book is not about that. It is about the workers from China who made the journey to the new world of opportunity, to help unite the country by building a railroad alongside the Americans. They aim to learn the secrets of engineering and other modern ways, so that they might improve their own country.
Otter hankers after his uncle and father, and when he’s the victim of a setup, escapes ‘justice’ by heading for the railroad himself. At first, it continues the somewhat irritating self-important point of view of the young man, but as he starts to discover the realities of life, so the story improves, in my opinion. Becomes more interesting, anyway. A side issue of a ‘forbidden friendship’ with a Yankee boy who arrives with him, adds to the contrast between the locals and the migrant workers.
Up to this point, I felt the usual yawn I get when reading so many nominees or winners of the Newbery Prize. It’s just that the stories seem so ‘worthy’. I can almost hear the teachers discussing the historical and moral issues in the classroom. But then Yep’s magnificent descriptions start to take over. The mountain they are tunnelling through comes alive, and the snow threatening to avalanche their wooden huts into oblivion dances with both storm and sparkle.
From a book set aside to pick up again when I had time, this turned into a can’t-put-downer. It is definitely worth traipsing through the build-up to get to the exciting, almost visceral climax. There’s a fairly boring wrap-up, but it may mean more to those whose history it celebrates.
All in all, Dragon’s Gate turned from a generous 3-star to a solid 4-star read for me. Thank you, Mr Yep, for some wonderful insights into bits of history I knew little about, excitingly told. Although I’m afraid the conditions they experienced didn’t surprise me one bit. Well worth reading.
We start in the village in China where Otter has a privileged lifestyle. His family members working in the USA send back lots of money. making his mother and aunt rich. One fritters it away in opium, the other does good works. The first part of the book introduces us to the politics of China at the time of the Opium Wars. But this book is not about that. It is about the workers from China who made the journey to the new world of opportunity, to help unite the country by building a railroad alongside the Americans. They aim to learn the secrets of engineering and other modern ways, so that they might improve their own country.
Otter hankers after his uncle and father, and when he’s the victim of a setup, escapes ‘justice’ by heading for the railroad himself. At first, it continues the somewhat irritating self-important point of view of the young man, but as he starts to discover the realities of life, so the story improves, in my opinion. Becomes more interesting, anyway. A side issue of a ‘forbidden friendship’ with a Yankee boy who arrives with him, adds to the contrast between the locals and the migrant workers.
Up to this point, I felt the usual yawn I get when reading so many nominees or winners of the Newbery Prize. It’s just that the stories seem so ‘worthy’. I can almost hear the teachers discussing the historical and moral issues in the classroom. But then Yep’s magnificent descriptions start to take over. The mountain they are tunnelling through comes alive, and the snow threatening to avalanche their wooden huts into oblivion dances with both storm and sparkle.
From a book set aside to pick up again when I had time, this turned into a can’t-put-downer. It is definitely worth traipsing through the build-up to get to the exciting, almost visceral climax. There’s a fairly boring wrap-up, but it may mean more to those whose history it celebrates.
All in all, Dragon’s Gate turned from a generous 3-star to a solid 4-star read for me. Thank you, Mr Yep, for some wonderful insights into bits of history I knew little about, excitingly told. Although I’m afraid the conditions they experienced didn’t surprise me one bit. Well worth reading.
July 30, 2018
Pretty good book about how a Chinese boy goes all the way to America so that he could work with his father and uncle making a tunnel through a rock hard mountain for a railroad in freezing cold winter. At first the boy thought that it’d be an ok job because back home he was treated a prince and his father and uncle were heroes to his town. However he later finds out that in America they ere just the heads of a group with outcasts only. Also, the boy gets bullied by the other American boys because he was new, weak, Chinese, and an easy target. This was a pretty easy and fast read and it was a bit emotional in some parts. Good overall.
April 10, 2021
This book is recommended as an extra read for Sonlight's HBL K homeschool curriculum (specifically if you are using the curriculum with older children too as this is a chapter book written for ages 10+). I read this for myself and I am glad that I did. An insightful look at the Chinese hand in the building of the transcontinental railroad. A beautiful blend of American history and Chinese history told in story format. I highly recommend this book to go along with learning about the Transcontinental Railroad. I am thrilled to see that there are ten books in this series! I'd like to read them all.
December 17, 2024
Dragon's Gate took me to a new point in history I knew nothing about - Chinese railroad worker camps in 1860s California. These men worked in terrible conditions in the Sierra Nevada mountains, receiving unfairly low wages and working longer hours than their American counterparts. I can see why this received a Newbery Honor and is included in our homeschool material.
January 10, 2019
This was a great book (once you got into it). It starts out a bit slow, but leaves you "on the edge of your seat".
October 18, 2019
I thoroughly enjoyed Dragon's Gate by Laurence Yep. It's made me want to read more books in the Golden Mountain Chronicles series. ~ Lizzie :)
April 17, 2023
Interesting historical fiction about the conditions of the people from China working on the railroads
May 26, 2023
It starts slow, but has a very solid finish. It definitely feels like it's aimed toward people who are younger. I liked how the author chose to make English the non-native language in italics.
November 8, 2022
Cleanliness:
Children's Bad Words
Mild Obscenities & Substitutions - 9 Incidents: Shut up, tarnation, darn, hang it all, the devil take you, what in blazes
Name Calling - 31 Incidents: You little pig, ingrate, traitor, you scum. old turtle, demon, hicks, meatball (called repeatedly throughout book), tiger snacks, the wretched cur, s*cker’s, donkey, Prince Useless, a regular idiot, misfits. you little rat, tardy ingrates, fool (repeated several times throughout the book), stupid, you filthy little heathen, you young guttersnipe, jack*ss, brigands, lazy monkey, “You’re an idiot and worse than an idiot. You’re a jellyfish, too.”, poor devils. old bull, the devil, selfish brat, hoodlums (used several times throughout), idiots.
Scatological Terms - 1 Incident: Bl**dy (as in lots of blood)
Religious Profanities - 6 Incidents: Thank Heaven, what in God’s creation, heaven forbid, for Heaven’s sake, for the love of God
Religious & Supernatural - 9 Incidents: “The astrologers say you were born in the hour of fire on the day of fire in the month of fire, so you were bound to join my family, because we’ve been rebels and troublemakers for seven generations.” Superstitious people believed a man found gold by magic. Mentions Muslims. References Incarnation. Mentions a dragon and a spirit in the gate.
A boy thinks about “those tableaux in the temples.” A boy silently “prays” to his parents. A father and son believe a man’s ghost resides in the mountain and that they must find his body to put the spirit at rest. A boy thinks his dead uncle sent him a dream.
Romance Related - 6 Incidents: “They’re all love letters from your sweethearts, so I threw them away.” A man sings a love song. A man’s pants are not zipped. “Uncle Foxfire stripped to the buff without any sign of self-consciousness.” Many other men do the same, bathing. When a boy refuses, the men force him to strip and bath in their presence. A man strips his clothes off. A man takes off his shirt.
Violence - 2 Incidents: A boy accidentally kills a man. Describes a man who needs an amputation.
Attitudes/Disobedience - 10 Incidents: A boy is known to be a bully and mocks a boy in town. A boy sulks about how he’s not regarded as anyone of importance. A boy lies about where he goes. His father told him not to hang around a certain boy but he does. A boy brags about how his teacher “wore out three bamboo sticks switching me.” A man and a boy get into a fight - partly due to racial prejudice. “It didn’t matter what our fathers thought.” A man and a boy get into a fist fight.
When a father asks his son whether he disobeyed, the son replies he had no choice. A boy had been hiding food for himself and not sharing with his starving father, uncle and other crew members. A boy gets angry and yells at his uncle.
Conversation Topics - 11 Incidents: Drugs, opium in particular, are mentioned negatively and frequently in the book. Whiskey, alcoholic beverages and drunks are mentioned. A boy is told: ‘“You can’t let other people live your life for you,” he warned me. I stared at him in puzzlement. Of course you could. Everybody did. You listened to your parents and your parents listened to the clan elders and the clan elders obeyed the wishes of the dead…’ A side character’s dad is a drunk and not a good father figure. Uses the descriptive phrase: “The metallic song became the cold, hard laughter of a ghost in hell.” A man admits he’s never set people’s perception of him right - so they have a false impression of him. There’s a lengthy discussion and is referenced throughout the book. Men place a bets and gamble. “You’re young yet, so things are either black or white, and there’s no such color as gray. When you get to be my age, you’ll realize that you can’t set the world on fire right away.” “Ma loved her whiskey even more than Da, and she took it out on me when there was none in the house.” “Kilroy stared at me as if I were a dog that had just done something on him.” A boy realizes that his uncle sacrificed himself for him and the rest of the camp. The boy thinks about going back to try to save him but assumes his uncle would want him to carry on with the bigger task of rescuing the camp.
**Like my reviews? Then you should follow me! Because I have hundreds more just like this one. With each review, I provide a Cleanliness Report, mentioning any objectionable content I come across so that parents and/or conscientious readers (like me) can determine beforehand whether they want to read a book or not. Content surprises are super annoying, especially when you’re 100+ pages in, so here’s my attempt to help you avoid that!
So Follow or Friend me here on GoodReads! And be sure to check out my bio page to learn a little about me and the Picture Book/Chapter Book Calendars I sell on Etsy!
Children's Bad Words
Mild Obscenities & Substitutions - 9 Incidents: Shut up, tarnation, darn, hang it all, the devil take you, what in blazes
Name Calling - 31 Incidents: You little pig, ingrate, traitor, you scum. old turtle, demon, hicks, meatball (called repeatedly throughout book), tiger snacks, the wretched cur, s*cker’s, donkey, Prince Useless, a regular idiot, misfits. you little rat, tardy ingrates, fool (repeated several times throughout the book), stupid, you filthy little heathen, you young guttersnipe, jack*ss, brigands, lazy monkey, “You’re an idiot and worse than an idiot. You’re a jellyfish, too.”, poor devils. old bull, the devil, selfish brat, hoodlums (used several times throughout), idiots.
Scatological Terms - 1 Incident: Bl**dy (as in lots of blood)
Religious Profanities - 6 Incidents: Thank Heaven, what in God’s creation, heaven forbid, for Heaven’s sake, for the love of God
Religious & Supernatural - 9 Incidents: “The astrologers say you were born in the hour of fire on the day of fire in the month of fire, so you were bound to join my family, because we’ve been rebels and troublemakers for seven generations.” Superstitious people believed a man found gold by magic. Mentions Muslims. References Incarnation. Mentions a dragon and a spirit in the gate.
A boy thinks about “those tableaux in the temples.” A boy silently “prays” to his parents. A father and son believe a man’s ghost resides in the mountain and that they must find his body to put the spirit at rest. A boy thinks his dead uncle sent him a dream.
Romance Related - 6 Incidents: “They’re all love letters from your sweethearts, so I threw them away.” A man sings a love song. A man’s pants are not zipped. “Uncle Foxfire stripped to the buff without any sign of self-consciousness.” Many other men do the same, bathing. When a boy refuses, the men force him to strip and bath in their presence. A man strips his clothes off. A man takes off his shirt.
Violence - 2 Incidents: A boy accidentally kills a man. Describes a man who needs an amputation.
Attitudes/Disobedience - 10 Incidents: A boy is known to be a bully and mocks a boy in town. A boy sulks about how he’s not regarded as anyone of importance. A boy lies about where he goes. His father told him not to hang around a certain boy but he does. A boy brags about how his teacher “wore out three bamboo sticks switching me.” A man and a boy get into a fight - partly due to racial prejudice. “It didn’t matter what our fathers thought.” A man and a boy get into a fist fight.
When a father asks his son whether he disobeyed, the son replies he had no choice. A boy had been hiding food for himself and not sharing with his starving father, uncle and other crew members. A boy gets angry and yells at his uncle.
Conversation Topics - 11 Incidents: Drugs, opium in particular, are mentioned negatively and frequently in the book. Whiskey, alcoholic beverages and drunks are mentioned. A boy is told: ‘“You can’t let other people live your life for you,” he warned me. I stared at him in puzzlement. Of course you could. Everybody did. You listened to your parents and your parents listened to the clan elders and the clan elders obeyed the wishes of the dead…’ A side character’s dad is a drunk and not a good father figure. Uses the descriptive phrase: “The metallic song became the cold, hard laughter of a ghost in hell.” A man admits he’s never set people’s perception of him right - so they have a false impression of him. There’s a lengthy discussion and is referenced throughout the book. Men place a bets and gamble. “You’re young yet, so things are either black or white, and there’s no such color as gray. When you get to be my age, you’ll realize that you can’t set the world on fire right away.” “Ma loved her whiskey even more than Da, and she took it out on me when there was none in the house.” “Kilroy stared at me as if I were a dog that had just done something on him.” A boy realizes that his uncle sacrificed himself for him and the rest of the camp. The boy thinks about going back to try to save him but assumes his uncle would want him to carry on with the bigger task of rescuing the camp.
**Like my reviews? Then you should follow me! Because I have hundreds more just like this one. With each review, I provide a Cleanliness Report, mentioning any objectionable content I come across so that parents and/or conscientious readers (like me) can determine beforehand whether they want to read a book or not. Content surprises are super annoying, especially when you’re 100+ pages in, so here’s my attempt to help you avoid that!
So Follow or Friend me here on GoodReads! And be sure to check out my bio page to learn a little about me and the Picture Book/Chapter Book Calendars I sell on Etsy!
May 14, 2019
I didn't like this book. It started too slow and ended too fast.
January 28, 2021
This book is part of a series but it works fine on its own. This is fiction about Chinese railroad laborers told from their perspective, with some interesting language conventions -- any time the characters are speaking in English, the words are italicized, the opposite of the usual convention. We found other books that talked about the hardships and unfairness the Chinese workers faced, but none that explored their lives in China, why they came to California, or how their own social hierarchies interacted with the hypocrisy of a nominally egalitarian society that brutally discriminated against them.
This was a fascinating read and I'm glad we read it, but I think it would be a hard book to hand to a kid to read on their own since there is a lot of discussion of opium addiction in the first section, plus murder, beatings with a whip, death, amputation, etc. It worked really well for our homeschool fourth grade California history curriculum but my son would never have finished it on his own.
(The relationship between Otter and the Irish boy, Sean, confused my son, because he totally read it as a romance and was disappointed that they never declared their affections. I had to explain that the 1990s were a different time and there were no gay characters in kids' books in those days. Maybe the author did not intend this as a romance, but I agree with my kid, Sean and Otter appear to be in love and, as my kid put it, "I ship it.")
This was a fascinating read and I'm glad we read it, but I think it would be a hard book to hand to a kid to read on their own since there is a lot of discussion of opium addiction in the first section, plus murder, beatings with a whip, death, amputation, etc. It worked really well for our homeschool fourth grade California history curriculum but my son would never have finished it on his own.
(The relationship between Otter and the Irish boy, Sean, confused my son, because he totally read it as a romance and was disappointed that they never declared their affections. I had to explain that the 1990s were a different time and there were no gay characters in kids' books in those days. Maybe the author did not intend this as a romance, but I agree with my kid, Sean and Otter appear to be in love and, as my kid put it, "I ship it.")
January 25, 2009
Dragon’s Gate is a wonderful historical fiction book that engages the reader at the start. Laurence Yep created exceptional characters that are well-rounded and intriguing, but what stayed with me were the surprising twists in the plot line. The story line is tightly plotted with each event leading to the next. Yep uses foreshadowing to suggest what will happen in the story. In addition, Yep builds tension throughout the story as Otter witnesses and is part of numerous moments of cruel treatment of the Chinese workers. From the moment that the main character, Otter, arrives in America the conflict arises with the treatment of the Chinese by the European supervisors. To me, this story tells about conflict of man vs. society and Otter striving for the America’s famed “equality for all men.”
In a surprise ending, Yep left the plot line open-ended as the last railroad spike is driven into the ground in Utah. The reader can only imagine Otter’s next brave step to carry on the work as he vows, “I won’t forget.” (p331).
In a surprise ending, Yep left the plot line open-ended as the last railroad spike is driven into the ground in Utah. The reader can only imagine Otter’s next brave step to carry on the work as he vows, “I won’t forget.” (p331).
November 21, 2014
Dragon's Gate is a great book that is not only interesting, but also informative. Most people know about the transcontinental railroad, and they might know that it was built by the Chinese and Irish, but only a handful of people know about the harsh conditions and lack of pay and food that these workers faced. Being historical fiction, Dragon's Gate tells the tale of Otter and his journey to America - the "Golden Mountain." Dragon's Gate is well-written and Lawrence Yep, the author, has won two Newberry Medals, including Dragon's Gate. My favorite part about this book was that it keeps you reading by having a lot of suspense. Dragon's Gate is a great historical fiction work and everyone should read it.
November 10, 2008
book i was told to read at age 6 by my school teacher to learn about asian america since it wasnt important enough to be in the curriculum... and I met Laurence Yep a few weeks ago and we had an interesting conversation about it!
April 24, 2019
Good.
December 8, 2021
This was very interesting. It's part of a longer series, but this is the first one I have read and it can definitely be read alone.
The summary lets you know that Otter, a Chinese boy, comes to join his father and uncle in America and work on the transcontinental railroad. Given that, I expected a story of hard struggle, mistreatment, prejudice, and overcoming. All those factors are present here, but there is also a lot in this book that I did NOT expect.
First, we start out in China and the whole thrust of the story is about China. Everyone who travels to America does so to earn money and learn skills that will allow them to have better lives back home. And there is also a political motive, where Otter's uncle has a visionary interest in taking what he's learned to modernize China and drive out the Manchu dynasty currently ruling there.
Once Otter makes it to America, which he only does because of circumstances forcing him to flee his home, it becomes a survival story: horrific mining conditions, terrible treatment by railroad authorities, long workdays, strikes and strike-breaking, and the ever-present danger of the freezing cold weather. It's also the story of Otter picking up the pieces of his shattered, idealized worldview and figuring out what really matters to him.
Yep also does this thing, also present in his other books, where he italicizes all the dialogue spoken in English and writes the Chinese dialogue normally. I found this to be very interesting and help me to see more with the perspective of the Chinese person, where English was unusual and alien and Chinese was the default.
Overall, Dragon's Gate was an enjoyable story of survival and coming of age, and the added elements of ambition and politics were a surprise that definitely enhanced the book for me.
The summary lets you know that Otter, a Chinese boy, comes to join his father and uncle in America and work on the transcontinental railroad. Given that, I expected a story of hard struggle, mistreatment, prejudice, and overcoming. All those factors are present here, but there is also a lot in this book that I did NOT expect.
First, we start out in China and the whole thrust of the story is about China. Everyone who travels to America does so to earn money and learn skills that will allow them to have better lives back home. And there is also a political motive, where Otter's uncle has a visionary interest in taking what he's learned to modernize China and drive out the Manchu dynasty currently ruling there.
Once Otter makes it to America, which he only does because of circumstances forcing him to flee his home, it becomes a survival story: horrific mining conditions, terrible treatment by railroad authorities, long workdays, strikes and strike-breaking, and the ever-present danger of the freezing cold weather. It's also the story of Otter picking up the pieces of his shattered, idealized worldview and figuring out what really matters to him.
Yep also does this thing, also present in his other books, where he italicizes all the dialogue spoken in English and writes the Chinese dialogue normally. I found this to be very interesting and help me to see more with the perspective of the Chinese person, where English was unusual and alien and Chinese was the default.
Overall, Dragon's Gate was an enjoyable story of survival and coming of age, and the added elements of ambition and politics were a surprise that definitely enhanced the book for me.
May 31, 2020
Otter is a young man living a privileged life in China during the 1860's. He longs to go to the Land of the Golden Mountain (the United States) where his father and uncle are working.
He gets his wish when he inadvertently kills a Manchu man. His mother sends him to California. He is sent to the railroad and is surprised to find that his relatives are basically slave labor. At home in China, they are considered upper class and are looked up to, so Otter is ashamed that they don't stand up to their American overseers. The job of the immigrants is to pick and blast through a mountain so the railroad can get through.
The true story is really Otter's coming of age, from a spoiled boy to a resilient young man.
There are other books in the series, but this novel easily stands alone. It won a Newbery Honor Award in 1994.
Students may find it a little difficult to begin with - all the characters' names seem more like nicknames, and it could be hard to keep them all straight. The plot is, at times, slow. But if students are unfamiliar with this period of American history, this is a great introduction to the time period and the injustices that the Chinese workers experienced.
He gets his wish when he inadvertently kills a Manchu man. His mother sends him to California. He is sent to the railroad and is surprised to find that his relatives are basically slave labor. At home in China, they are considered upper class and are looked up to, so Otter is ashamed that they don't stand up to their American overseers. The job of the immigrants is to pick and blast through a mountain so the railroad can get through.
The true story is really Otter's coming of age, from a spoiled boy to a resilient young man.
There are other books in the series, but this novel easily stands alone. It won a Newbery Honor Award in 1994.
Students may find it a little difficult to begin with - all the characters' names seem more like nicknames, and it could be hard to keep them all straight. The plot is, at times, slow. But if students are unfamiliar with this period of American history, this is a great introduction to the time period and the injustices that the Chinese workers experienced.
June 12, 2023
So this is a sequel? to Dragonwings, and it's a little hard to read, for me, just from my inability to focus on something that doesn't have me absolutely captivated. I really want to read it without my attention wandering, too, as it's all culture and history and the Chinese POV of Britain ruining China by introducing opium (haven't fact checked yet).
I did FINALLY chug my way through the end, and it was definitely a more depressing Dragonwings. To be clear, Dragonwings was more a reimagining of an actual Chinese man who copied the Wright brothers' plane and flew it, while Dragon's Gate is a reimaging of the (highly glossed-over at the time) Chinese railroad strike of 1867. Wings is more or less positive and hopeful. Gate is bleak and a bit sad. Still, both are really good and books I would hand down to my kids...
IF I HAD ANY
...so, next best thing, hope someone picks it up at the free library and also finds value in it.
I did FINALLY chug my way through the end, and it was definitely a more depressing Dragonwings. To be clear, Dragonwings was more a reimagining of an actual Chinese man who copied the Wright brothers' plane and flew it, while Dragon's Gate is a reimaging of the (highly glossed-over at the time) Chinese railroad strike of 1867. Wings is more or less positive and hopeful. Gate is bleak and a bit sad. Still, both are really good and books I would hand down to my kids...
IF I HAD ANY
...so, next best thing, hope someone picks it up at the free library and also finds value in it.
May 31, 2025
Three star goes to the story and writing, which feels mediocre at best. That said, it is a children's book after all, so maybe I am holding the bar a bit too high.
However, I want to give an extra star to the book for raising the awareness of the history of Chinese workers building the transcontinental railway despite the harsh conditions (from the nature, the danger of the work, and the unfair compensation). I have read a history book on this topic a few years back (Ghosts Of Gold Mountain), so it is refreshing to see some of the key historical contexts and events -- the cold and snow, the explosives, the strike, the unequal pay -- condensed to the experience of one young man.
Finally, the names of the characters give me some chuckle. Firefox and Bright Star are cool; Otter, Shrimp, Doggy, and Tiny are funny but okay; but Squeaky and Keg Mouth are full-on goofy.
However, I want to give an extra star to the book for raising the awareness of the history of Chinese workers building the transcontinental railway despite the harsh conditions (from the nature, the danger of the work, and the unfair compensation). I have read a history book on this topic a few years back (Ghosts Of Gold Mountain), so it is refreshing to see some of the key historical contexts and events -- the cold and snow, the explosives, the strike, the unequal pay -- condensed to the experience of one young man.
Finally, the names of the characters give me some chuckle. Firefox and Bright Star are cool; Otter, Shrimp, Doggy, and Tiny are funny but okay; but Squeaky and Keg Mouth are full-on goofy.
December 2, 2022
Dragon's Gate
By Laurence Yep
1993
1994 Newbery Honor.
Like Dragonwings, this novel deals with the being Chinese in America experience. Set in the 1860s, teenaged Otter is caught up in the political turbulence of China, and flees to "The Golden Mountain" (America) to work with his father on the railroads. Once in America, he learns first hand that the land of freedom and inequality is not free and equal to everybody, especially Chinese workers that the white overseers just call "John".
I was enraptured by the history unraveling in front of me as I read this middle school grade novel. I had never really studied Chinese history. So looking up the political situation of 1860s China helped me to understand why things were happening in the book. I will need to read the next book in the series that deals with the Boxer Rebellion.
4 1/2 stars
By Laurence Yep
1993
1994 Newbery Honor.
Like Dragonwings, this novel deals with the being Chinese in America experience. Set in the 1860s, teenaged Otter is caught up in the political turbulence of China, and flees to "The Golden Mountain" (America) to work with his father on the railroads. Once in America, he learns first hand that the land of freedom and inequality is not free and equal to everybody, especially Chinese workers that the white overseers just call "John".
I was enraptured by the history unraveling in front of me as I read this middle school grade novel. I had never really studied Chinese history. So looking up the political situation of 1860s China helped me to understand why things were happening in the book. I will need to read the next book in the series that deals with the Boxer Rebellion.
4 1/2 stars
March 21, 2018
Read this with a group of fifth graders. They found the text pretty challenging but the story engaging. Great introduction to what led Chinese immigrants to work on construction of the transcontinental railroad and to the working conditions in the Sierra Nevadas. The story picks up in the end when the T'ang workers discover they work more, earn less, and do more dangerous jobs than the Western workers. Yep put years of research into making this book historically accurate.
Good discussion points around lines like "Americans are better in theory than in practice" regarding freedom and equality.
My students enjoyed the book, and there's much that's good about it, but the writing itself was a bit dry for me.
Good discussion points around lines like "Americans are better in theory than in practice" regarding freedom and equality.
My students enjoyed the book, and there's much that's good about it, but the writing itself was a bit dry for me.
June 29, 2018
A heartwarming story about a Chinese immigrant boy’s search for meaning in America, or “The Land of the Golden Mountain,” Dragon’s Gate follows Otter as he and the rest of the Young family labor as railroad workers under the intense California sun in 1867. Parents may be concerned with the abundance of alcohol and opium references made throughout the story—as such were common during the time—yet Yep handles this subject matter appropriately and with purpose. Also included is a lengthy bibliography where Yep cites his sources and inspirations for the narrative. Dragon’s Gate is an excellent exploration of a minority group’s history in America that is too often overshadowed by lesser books. Recommended.
July 9, 2023
I was excited to read a book about the Railroad from the perspective of a Chinese immigrant worker, but it didn't really meet my expectations.
It was not especially well written. The plot was all over the place, and the writing was mediocre at best. It did win a Newberry Honor, which frankly surprised me. Maybe I'm being too hard on it. I just felt that this was not a historical fiction that I would use for my homeschool. There is nothing overtly wrong with it, just poorly written. It did give a lot of information about China (even mentioning the Opium wars), and about workers conditions building the railroad, but it was a lot of telling and not a lot of showing. I'd pass on this one.
It was not especially well written. The plot was all over the place, and the writing was mediocre at best. It did win a Newberry Honor, which frankly surprised me. Maybe I'm being too hard on it. I just felt that this was not a historical fiction that I would use for my homeschool. There is nothing overtly wrong with it, just poorly written. It did give a lot of information about China (even mentioning the Opium wars), and about workers conditions building the railroad, but it was a lot of telling and not a lot of showing. I'd pass on this one.
October 7, 2019
Otter travels from China to the States to join his father and uncle in the land of the Golden Mountain. But all he finds there is bitter cold and unfair working conditions as the white men overwork and exploit the Asian workers who are building a train tunnel through the mountain. Still, he manages to learn some valuable life lessons, including how to stand up for what's right in the face of terrifying authority, and by the time he begins his journey back home, he is ready to take that fight back to the Manchu.
This Newbery Honor book was fair but not earth-shattering. I admit to falling in and out of attention as I listened to it, although it did have its occasional gripping moments.
This Newbery Honor book was fair but not earth-shattering. I admit to falling in and out of attention as I listened to it, although it did have its occasional gripping moments.
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