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Golden Child
“A vivid, moving play in perfect command of its eternal theme of family and change.” – Wall Street Journal
“Written with insight, compassion, and a sharp eye for the unintended consequences of clashing cultures, Golden Child is one of Hwang’s best works, as entertaining as it is thought-provoking.” – Backstage
David Henry Hwang draws on the true stories told to him by his grandmother of his great-grandfather’s break with Confucian tradition by his conversion to Christianity, and the eventual unbinding of his daughter’s feet. A “skillfully-told story that engages the emotions as well as the brain,” Golden Child explores the impact of these decisions on each of his great-grandfather’s three wives, and succeeding generations ( Entertainment Focus ).
David Henry Hwang is the author of the Tony Award-winning M. Butterfly , Yellow Face (OBIE Award, 2008 Pulitzer Prize finalist), Golden Child (1997 OBIE Award), FOB (1981 OBIE Award), Family Devotions (Drama Desk nomination), and the books for musicals Aida ( co-author), Flower Drum Song (2002 Broadway revival), and Tarzan , among other works. David Henry Hwang graduated from Stanford University, attended the Yale School of Drama, and holds honorary degrees from Columbia College in Chicago and The American Conservatory Theatre. He lives in New York City with his wife, actress Kathryn Layng, and their children, Noah David and Eva Veanne.
“Written with insight, compassion, and a sharp eye for the unintended consequences of clashing cultures, Golden Child is one of Hwang’s best works, as entertaining as it is thought-provoking.” – Backstage
David Henry Hwang draws on the true stories told to him by his grandmother of his great-grandfather’s break with Confucian tradition by his conversion to Christianity, and the eventual unbinding of his daughter’s feet. A “skillfully-told story that engages the emotions as well as the brain,” Golden Child explores the impact of these decisions on each of his great-grandfather’s three wives, and succeeding generations ( Entertainment Focus ).
David Henry Hwang is the author of the Tony Award-winning M. Butterfly , Yellow Face (OBIE Award, 2008 Pulitzer Prize finalist), Golden Child (1997 OBIE Award), FOB (1981 OBIE Award), Family Devotions (Drama Desk nomination), and the books for musicals Aida ( co-author), Flower Drum Song (2002 Broadway revival), and Tarzan , among other works. David Henry Hwang graduated from Stanford University, attended the Yale School of Drama, and holds honorary degrees from Columbia College in Chicago and The American Conservatory Theatre. He lives in New York City with his wife, actress Kathryn Layng, and their children, Noah David and Eva Veanne.
112 pages, Paperback
First published October 1, 1998
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About the author
David Henry Hwang
57 books134 followersDavid Henry Hwang (Chinese: 黃哲倫; pinyin: Huáng Zhélún; born August 11, 1957) is an American playwright who has risen to prominence as the preeminent Asian American dramatist in the U.S.
He was born in Los Angeles, California and was educated at the Yale School of Drama and Stanford University. His first play was produced at the Okada House dormitory at Stanford and he briefly studied playwriting with Sam Shepard and María Irene Fornés.
He is the author of M. Butterfly (1988 Tony, Drama Desk, Outer Critics Awards, Pulitzer finalist), Golden Child (1998 Tony nomination, 1997 OBIE Award), FOB (1981 OBIE Award), The Dance and the Railroad (Drama Desk nomination), Family Devotions (Drama Desk Nomination), Sound and Beauty, and Bondage. His newest play, Yellow Face, which premiered at Los Angeles' Mark Taper Forum and New York's Public Theatre, won a 2008 OBIE Award and was a Finalist for the 2008 Pulitzer Prize. He wrote the scripts for the Broadway musicals Elton John & Tim Rice's Aida (co-author), Rodgers & Hammerstein's Flower Drum Song (2002 revival, 2003 Tony nomination), and Disney's Tarzan. His opera libretti include three works for composer Philip Glass, 1000 Airplanes on the Roof, The Voyage (Metropolitan Opera), and The Sound of a Voice; as well as Bright Sheng's The Silver River, Osvaldo Golijov's Ainadamar (two 2007 Grammy Awards) and Unsuk Chin's Alice In Wonderland (Opernwelt's 2007 "World Premiere of the Year"). Hwang penned the feature films M. Butterfly, Golden Gate, and Possession (co-writer), and also co-wrote the song "Solo" with Prince. A native of Los Angeles, Hwang serves on the Council of the Dramatists Guild. He attended Stanford University and Yale Drama School, and was appointed by President Clinton to the President's Committee on the Arts and the Humanities.
He was born in Los Angeles, California and was educated at the Yale School of Drama and Stanford University. His first play was produced at the Okada House dormitory at Stanford and he briefly studied playwriting with Sam Shepard and María Irene Fornés.
He is the author of M. Butterfly (1988 Tony, Drama Desk, Outer Critics Awards, Pulitzer finalist), Golden Child (1998 Tony nomination, 1997 OBIE Award), FOB (1981 OBIE Award), The Dance and the Railroad (Drama Desk nomination), Family Devotions (Drama Desk Nomination), Sound and Beauty, and Bondage. His newest play, Yellow Face, which premiered at Los Angeles' Mark Taper Forum and New York's Public Theatre, won a 2008 OBIE Award and was a Finalist for the 2008 Pulitzer Prize. He wrote the scripts for the Broadway musicals Elton John & Tim Rice's Aida (co-author), Rodgers & Hammerstein's Flower Drum Song (2002 revival, 2003 Tony nomination), and Disney's Tarzan. His opera libretti include three works for composer Philip Glass, 1000 Airplanes on the Roof, The Voyage (Metropolitan Opera), and The Sound of a Voice; as well as Bright Sheng's The Silver River, Osvaldo Golijov's Ainadamar (two 2007 Grammy Awards) and Unsuk Chin's Alice In Wonderland (Opernwelt's 2007 "World Premiere of the Year"). Hwang penned the feature films M. Butterfly, Golden Gate, and Possession (co-writer), and also co-wrote the song "Solo" with Prince. A native of Los Angeles, Hwang serves on the Council of the Dramatists Guild. He attended Stanford University and Yale Drama School, and was appointed by President Clinton to the President's Committee on the Arts and the Humanities.
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Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews
May 10, 2018
POTENTIAL TRIGGER WARNING: This play includes a scene describing a suicide being carried out.
Playwright David Henry Hwang grew up hearing amazing, almost mythical stories of his great grandfather's life, a life crafted by the choice to swap Confucianism for Christianity, boldly breaking with Chinese tradition when he decided to let his daughter grow up with unbound feet. Such decisions would impact future generations and came to inspire Hwang to write the play Golden Child.
The timeline of the story alternates between a small village in Southeast China during the Winter 1918 - Spring 1919 and Manhattan in the late 1990s. The opening scene combines the two when Andrew Kwong in Manhattan, awakens with a start one night, puts on a robe and begins to take on the personality of his grandfather, Tieng-Bin. Andrew converses with Ahn, his grandmother. She appears to him as a young girl of ten but her voice is that of an elderly woman. This conversation between them eases the audience into the transition to early 20th century China, where we are soon fully immersed.
In the village of Amoy, we meet the three wives of Tieng-Bin, a prosperous land owner: first wife Siu-Yong, second wife Luan, and third wife Eling. Tieng-Bin has recently returned home after a three year absence. He'd been living in the Phillipines for business and now that he is back, man and wives settle into a nice dinner where everyone gets reacquainted. The conversation starts to shift into Tieng-Bin telling of his observations in the Phillipines, mainly the growing influence of Christianity and western culture throughout the area and how that got him thinking about his own upbringing. At first he claims that he merely finds western ideas interesting, the inventions amusing --- some of these inventions he presents to his wives as gifts. First wife Siu-Yong's response to her gift, a cuckoo clock, was the best: "I'm sure it will do wonders for my insomnia." 😄
His traditional wives are suspicious, especially 2nd wife Luan, who fears that their polygamous lifestyle will soon be threatened by Tieng-Bin's experiences. Though the play does incorporate serious cultural themes, the bickering and shade-throwing between the wives ends up offering comic relief. Though Siu-Yong is one of the most entertaining of the bunch at the start of the play, later on I was disturbed by the manipulative nature of some of her conversations with her daughter, Ahn (Andrew's grandmother from the opening scene).
In the later portions of this story, Tieng-Bin introduces his wives to Reverend Baines, a minister from England Tieng-Bin became acquainted with during his travels. The wives come to know Baines as "white devil". At first I was confused as to why Baines' lines were presented in broken English, as this play is printed in English (my reasoning being "wouldn't the characters understand each other just fine?"). There aren't really too many clues within the text regarding language barrier. Then it dawned on me that what was likely going on was that Baines was probably actually speaking in poor Chinese, so, when translated, his words would come out as oddly constructed. But I do love Baines line that says "You must not fear to speak the truth you know in your soul."
While the story comes off somewhat light-hearted in the early scenes (but mildly snarky, hinting at underlying feelings of discontent to surface later), closer to the end there is a noticeable shift toward the more serious, as discussions between the characters growing increasingly tense as they all finally address the strains they feel as, culturally, the old ways clash against the new.
An interesting story, but one that didn't REALLY grab me til just before the climactic end. This script may fall under the type of plays where the words alone just aren't enough and perhaps infinitely more is gained by seeing it on stage.
Playwright David Henry Hwang grew up hearing amazing, almost mythical stories of his great grandfather's life, a life crafted by the choice to swap Confucianism for Christianity, boldly breaking with Chinese tradition when he decided to let his daughter grow up with unbound feet. Such decisions would impact future generations and came to inspire Hwang to write the play Golden Child.
The timeline of the story alternates between a small village in Southeast China during the Winter 1918 - Spring 1919 and Manhattan in the late 1990s. The opening scene combines the two when Andrew Kwong in Manhattan, awakens with a start one night, puts on a robe and begins to take on the personality of his grandfather, Tieng-Bin. Andrew converses with Ahn, his grandmother. She appears to him as a young girl of ten but her voice is that of an elderly woman. This conversation between them eases the audience into the transition to early 20th century China, where we are soon fully immersed.
In the village of Amoy, we meet the three wives of Tieng-Bin, a prosperous land owner: first wife Siu-Yong, second wife Luan, and third wife Eling. Tieng-Bin has recently returned home after a three year absence. He'd been living in the Phillipines for business and now that he is back, man and wives settle into a nice dinner where everyone gets reacquainted. The conversation starts to shift into Tieng-Bin telling of his observations in the Phillipines, mainly the growing influence of Christianity and western culture throughout the area and how that got him thinking about his own upbringing. At first he claims that he merely finds western ideas interesting, the inventions amusing --- some of these inventions he presents to his wives as gifts. First wife Siu-Yong's response to her gift, a cuckoo clock, was the best: "I'm sure it will do wonders for my insomnia." 😄
His traditional wives are suspicious, especially 2nd wife Luan, who fears that their polygamous lifestyle will soon be threatened by Tieng-Bin's experiences. Though the play does incorporate serious cultural themes, the bickering and shade-throwing between the wives ends up offering comic relief. Though Siu-Yong is one of the most entertaining of the bunch at the start of the play, later on I was disturbed by the manipulative nature of some of her conversations with her daughter, Ahn (Andrew's grandmother from the opening scene).
In the later portions of this story, Tieng-Bin introduces his wives to Reverend Baines, a minister from England Tieng-Bin became acquainted with during his travels. The wives come to know Baines as "white devil". At first I was confused as to why Baines' lines were presented in broken English, as this play is printed in English (my reasoning being "wouldn't the characters understand each other just fine?"). There aren't really too many clues within the text regarding language barrier. Then it dawned on me that what was likely going on was that Baines was probably actually speaking in poor Chinese, so, when translated, his words would come out as oddly constructed. But I do love Baines line that says "You must not fear to speak the truth you know in your soul."
While the story comes off somewhat light-hearted in the early scenes (but mildly snarky, hinting at underlying feelings of discontent to surface later), closer to the end there is a noticeable shift toward the more serious, as discussions between the characters growing increasingly tense as they all finally address the strains they feel as, culturally, the old ways clash against the new.
"It's not that I want to forget my family, quite the opposite. But to be Chinese -- means to feel a whole web of obligation -- obligation? --- dating back 5,000 years. I am afraid of dishonoring my ancestors, even the ones dead for centuries. All the time, I feel ghosts -- sitting on my back, whispering in my ear -- keeping me from living life as I see fit."
>> Tieng-Bin
An interesting story, but one that didn't REALLY grab me til just before the climactic end. This script may fall under the type of plays where the words alone just aren't enough and perhaps infinitely more is gained by seeing it on stage.
February 22, 2012
Entertaining, witty, & sharp-tongued, but under the joking Golden Child manages to wrap some extremely complex themes inside itself. Having the same actors play Andrew/Tieng-Bin and Elizabeth/Eling in both timelines is a magical effect, capturing the idea of rebirth perfectly.
August 2, 2011
Short. And the beginning is a bit of a crash landing. But it's definitely good.
July 25, 2012
Reminded me of when I heard Hwang speak back in college...
August 13, 2012
Incredible.
January 30, 2016
Best play I've read this year.
October 23, 2022
Golden Child is about the collision of cultures and faiths, the replacement of one set of beliefs and rituals with another, how the ghosts of our ancestors and the specters of our descendants somehow meld together to shape our lives. A good deal of this is accomplished by considering and contrasting the strictures of traditional Chinese theater with the conventions of the contemporary American idea of a well-made play. Hwang toys with our expectations of how traditional Chinese and contemporary American theatre are supposed to work throughout Golden Child, to grand, eminently thoughtful, effect.
The play begins with Andrew Kwong in bed with his wife, fretting about the baby they are expecting. He is remembering his mother, and the stories she used to tell him about her father and her childhood in China. He conjures her in his mind's eye (for she is dead); she hovers over his bed, nagging, counseling, reminiscing. She takes off her kerchief and in a sudden, swift moment this stooped old woman becomes a wide-eyed young girl, herself at about the age of 10.
The story that Andrew's mother Eng Ahn tells him begins in the winter of 1918, when her father returned home after several years away during which he was managing his substantial business interests in the Philippines. While abroad, Tieng-Bin has been exposed to many aspects of Western culture, and he has brought a good deal of it back to China with him. For example, he has brought each of his three wives a gift: for his dour, traditional first wife (Ahn's mother) he has brought a cuckoo clock ("I'm sure this will help my insomnia"); for his scheming, industrious second wife he has brought a waffle iron; and for his third wife, who is the one he most loves, he has brought a gramophone and some recordings of Italian opera.
More important, he has also brought back a missionary, Reverend Baines, who will teach him and his family about Christianity. It is this last gift, of course, that ultimately changes everything for Ahn, her mother, and the rest of Tieng-Bin's family.
The play begins with Andrew Kwong in bed with his wife, fretting about the baby they are expecting. He is remembering his mother, and the stories she used to tell him about her father and her childhood in China. He conjures her in his mind's eye (for she is dead); she hovers over his bed, nagging, counseling, reminiscing. She takes off her kerchief and in a sudden, swift moment this stooped old woman becomes a wide-eyed young girl, herself at about the age of 10.
The story that Andrew's mother Eng Ahn tells him begins in the winter of 1918, when her father returned home after several years away during which he was managing his substantial business interests in the Philippines. While abroad, Tieng-Bin has been exposed to many aspects of Western culture, and he has brought a good deal of it back to China with him. For example, he has brought each of his three wives a gift: for his dour, traditional first wife (Ahn's mother) he has brought a cuckoo clock ("I'm sure this will help my insomnia"); for his scheming, industrious second wife he has brought a waffle iron; and for his third wife, who is the one he most loves, he has brought a gramophone and some recordings of Italian opera.
More important, he has also brought back a missionary, Reverend Baines, who will teach him and his family about Christianity. It is this last gift, of course, that ultimately changes everything for Ahn, her mother, and the rest of Tieng-Bin's family.
July 11, 2020
Loved this play! Loved that Hwang based it on interviews with his Chinese grandmother when he was 10. Funny, thoughtful, magical, universal in the theme of honoring the past or allowing change.
October 31, 2022
Very confusing
October 6, 2024
a really interesting story about preparing for fatherhood, preserving traditions, and forging a new future for your descendants.
December 29, 2024
I definitely liked this premise more than his other works but I still stand by my belief that he doesn’t really understand women
June 3, 2025
Will always be obsessed with any play Henry hwang writes
October 10, 2025
what even is this book about
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews