Qian Julie Wang

Qian Julie Wang (Chinese: 王乾) is a Chinese-American writer and civil rights lawyer.

Early life

Wang was born in Shijiazhuang, China to academic parents.[1] Wang's mother was a professor of mathematics, while Wang's father was a professor of English and critic of the government, which led to the family being persecuted.[2][3] Wang's father fled China to the US when she was five, and her and her Mum followed two years later in 1994.[2][4] After their visas expired Wang and her family became illegal, undocumented immigrants in Brooklyn.[5] Despite living in Chinatown few other people spoke Mandarin Chinese, isolating her even among a seemingly appropriate community.[6] Unable to speak English or Cantonese, her teacher dismissively sent her to a class for the disabled.[6] As a young girl Wang worked with her mother in a clothing sweatshop alongside attending school.[2] Wang's early talents for writing were mistaken as plagiarism by an elementary school teacher.[3] After several years in the US, Wang and her mother immigrated to Canada in anticipation of better prospects.[7] Eventually they returned to America to reunite their family.[7]

Her upbringing in poverty in America (in contrast to her relatively privileged life in China) is the subject of Wang's breakout memoir Beautiful Country.[3][4]

Career

Wang studied at Swarthmore College, and then pursued her Juris Doctor at Yale University in 2012.[1][3] Wang is managing director/partner of Gottlieb & Wang LLP, a law firm focussing on litigation for the disadvantaged.[4] She decided to start writing her memoir Beautiful Country in the wake of the 2016 US election of Donald Trump as president.[4] She had been a naturalised American citizen for six months by this time.[4] Wang wrote the book on her phone during her commute to her law offices, finishing a first draft in 2019 and publishing in 2021.[4][1] She is working on a second book inspired by her experiences as an Asian-American working in law.[1][4]

Personal life

Wang chose the Anglicised name "Julie" because of Asian-American puppet "Julie Woo" on The Puzzle Place.[1] Wang is Jewish, founding and leading a Jews of Color group at Manhattan Central Synagogue, as well as speaking there when her debut memoir was released on Rosh Hashanah.[8][9] Wang is married.[10]

References
  1. "Interview: Chinese Immigrants Struggle to Belong in "Beautiful Country" | Authorlink". Retrieved 2021-12-12.
  2. Wang, Qian Julie (2021-10-01). "The Thread That Led Me Back: Author Qian Julie Wang On Defining Her Own Fashion". ELLE. Retrieved 2021-12-12.
  3. "Reviews: November/December 2021". yalealumnimagazine.com. Retrieved 2021-12-12.
  4. Proudfoot, Jenny (2021-10-07). "Qian Julie Wang on her undocumented childhood, the salvation of reading and her powerful new memoir". Marie Claire. Retrieved 2021-12-12.
  5. Egan, Elisabeth (2021-09-07). "New to the American Melting Pot, and Finding Its Taste Bittersweet". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2021-12-12.
  6. "Qian Julie Wang Details A Life In 'Hei' In Memoir 'Beautiful Country'". NPR.org. Retrieved 2021-12-12.
  7. Foroohar, Rana (2021-09-16). "Beautiful Country by Qian Julie Wang — fear and prejudice in Chinatown". Financial Times. Retrieved 2021-12-12.
  8. "Memoirist Qian Julie Wang Finally Found a Home With Her Fellow Jews of Color". Haaretz. Retrieved 2021-12-12.
  9. WashingtonOctober 6, Robin; 2021. "An immigrant child's trauma in a 'Beautiful Country'". The Forward. Retrieved 2021-12-12.CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  10. Reyes, Nina (2019-08-31). "She Said Yes Every Time He Asked". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2021-12-12.
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