After Cowboy Chicken Came to Town - Ha Jin

In class: Read and listen to and then discuss the audiobook of this short story.

(If you are not in class click on the above PDF of the story)

Vocabulary and helpful links for Ha Jin's "After Cowboy Chicken Came to Town"

· anemic- lacking force

· auspicious- attended by good signs

· bandora - a musical instrument, similar to the guitar, played in the Renaissance era

· the treatment of Chinese soldiers who were POW’s after the Korean War ended:

article on treatment of Chinese soldiers who were POW's during the Korean War

· compensation - Something, typically money, awarded to someone as a recompense for loss, injury, or suffering.

· Chinese Communist Party: The Communist Party of China is the founding and ruling political party of the People's Republic of China. The Communist Party of China is the sole governing party of China,

· Civil lawsuits in China: Can You Be Sued in China - Forbes

· countermeasure- an action taken to counteract a danger or threat

· eunuch: a man who has been castrated

· incessantly - continuing without interruption; ceaseless; unending

· Jewish immigrants to China during WWII: wave of 18,000 Jews from Germany, Austria, and Poland immigrated to Shanghai in the late 1930s and early 1940s. Shanghai was an important safe-haven for Jewish refugees during the Holocaust.

· lackey: a servant

· lustily - full of or characterized by healthy vigor

· “Party Secretary”: is the leader of the Communist Party of China (CPC) organization in a province, city, or other administrative region. In most cases, it is the de facto highest political office of its area of jurisdiction.

· Rubber rice bowl also iron rice bowl: a Chinese term used to refer to an occupation with guaranteed job security, as well as steady income and benefits.

· skinflint: a person who spends as little money as possible

· spendthrift: a person who spends money in an extravagant, irresponsible way.

· tour-billions- whirlwind (whirl of hair at the top of the head) cowlick

· urbane- suave, courteous, and refined in manner

· Victorian architecture: See image below

· will-o'-the-wisp: also known as Ghost lights, are believed to be a natural phenomenon, such as ignited pockets of swamp gas, that hover and rise over swamps, ignite by natural causes and glow blue or green.

· wrangling: having a dispute or argument