"The Heathen Chinee", originally published as "Plain Language from Truthful James", is a narrative poem by American writer Bret Harte. It was published for the first time in September 1870 in the Overland Monthly.[1][2] It was written as a parody of Algernon Charles Swinburne's Atalanta in Calydon (1865),[1] and satirized anti-Chinese sentiment in northern California.
The poem became popular and was frequently republished. To Harte's dismay, however, the poem reinforced racism among his readers instead of challenging it as he intended. Nevertheless, he returned to the character years later. The poem also inspired or influenced several adaptations.
- ^ a b Railton, Stephen. Harte: "The Heathen Chinee". West Meets East: Depicting the Chinese, 1860–1873. University of Virginia. URL accessed 2006-12-12.
- ^ Henderson, Victoria. Mark Canada, editor. "Bret Harte, 1836–1902 Archived 2006-12-14 at the Wayback Machine". All American: Literature, History, and Culture. University of North Carolina at Pembroke. URL accessed 2006-12-12.