Mister Sun

Mister Sun Summary ...

Britain's Colony of New South Wales in Australia saw constant anti-Chinese hostility at Lambing Flat goldfields (now Town of Young). Violent riots against Chinese erupted in December 1860. In June 1861, rioting White miners drove 2000 Chinese off their dig sites, many rumored to be maimed or killed, but no numbers were recorded. England had a treaty with China that accorded its people Premium Status in British colonies, but rioters from all over the world, did not accept Chinese sharing their 'God-given right' to get rich from another country's gold. The Colonial Government created a law to reduce Chinese immigration; from it grew Australia's now infamous White Australia Policy, which remained applicable until the 1960s.

"Mister Sun" tells of Chinese friends, Sun Lee and Yen Shang, in that goldrush. They witnessed, and were victims of the violence, but chose to fight for equal rights to dig for gold. The book draws on two incomplete memoirs, one by local District Magistrate Liam O'Toole, whom Sun Lee so impressed that he respectfully called him Mister Sun. The other is by Yen Shang, whom O'Toole befriended and taught to write in English. Blending the drafted memoir segments infuses this history with a pervasive sense of reality about human battles for dignified survival. People of 'despised races' ultimately unite under Mister Sun's leadership to challenge injustices. Their fight for the good of all is a parable lesson for our time that is not focused on the tragic goldfields' history, but on the interconnected lives of the courageous people there.