San Francisco Poets - Show Me the Money

Published: May 28, 2022, 4:18 a.m.

One San Francisco poet, writing in the early 20th century, wrote something that no other poet ever said in the history of Chinese literature (probably): having money is more important than having sons! This is a huge statement that runs against much of traditional Chinese thinking. But, this anonymous poet, though writing in a mixture of Cantonese and Classical Chinese, is an American, so it makes sense. Join Rob and Lee for their look at this poem published in either 1911 or 1915 in San Francisco's Chinatown.