Originally published in 1975, Dragonwings is a children’s historical novel by Chinese American author Laurence Yep. The story was inspired by the life of Fung Joe Guey (Feng Ru), a Chinese immigrant who came to the United States in the early 1900s and earned acclaim for his work as a pioneer airplane designer and aviator. The book is part of Yep’s Golden Mountain Chronicles, a series of 10 novels that explore the long history of Chinese immigration to America. Dragonwings is the fifth book in the chronicle sequence and was a runner-up for the Newbery Medal in 1976, in addition to winning the International Reading Association Children’s Book Award. Dragonwings also received the Phoenix Award from the Children’s Literature Association in 1995. Yep also adapted the novel into a play in 1991 for the Berkeley Repertory Theatre.

Born in San Francisco, Yep is an acclaimed and prolific author of fiction for young people. He received the Laura Ingalls Wilder Medal (now Children’s Literature Legacy Award) for his contribution to American children’s literature. His stories explore the Chinese American experience and include elements of traditional Chinese mythology.

This study guide refers to the 1975 edition of the book by HarperCollins Publishers.

Content Warning: The source material includes multiple depictions of racism and violence motivated by racism. This study guide refrains from reproducing the original novel’s use of ethnic slurs.

Plot Summary

The story is narrated in the first person by the protagonist, Moon Shadow Lee: a seven-year-old boy who lives with his mother and grandmother on their family farm in China. He has never met his father, Windrider Lee, who left for America before he was born in the hopes of building a better life for his family. Moon Shadow enjoys listening to his mother’s stories about his father, who is an expert in making kites. He constantly asks her questions about life in America. When Hand Clap, a distant cousin who works with Moon Shadow’s father, returns home to visit the family, he announces that Windrider wants Mood Shadow to go to America and live with him. Eventually, Moon Shadow starts the hard journey to the United States. Once there, he meets the Company, the men who run the laundromat where his father works in the Tang people’s town in San Francisco. The head of the Company, Uncle Bright Star, works with the poet Lefty, the cook White Deer, and Hand Clap, and together they all function as a community and a family. On Moon Shadow’s first night in San Francisco, a mob of white Americans attacks the business, throwing a brick through the window and yelling slurs against Chinese people. Despite the frightening nature of the event, Moon Shadow focuses on learning from his father.

Moon Shadow observes several machines in his father’s room: strange devices that Windrider himself constructed. Windrider shares his dream of flying and building an airplane. He explains the story of his name to Moon Shadow and narrates his encounter with the Dragon King. In this story, Windrider heals the Dragon King’s wings and learns that he himself used to be a dragon in his former life, as well as a talented flyer. The Dragon King tells Windrider that he must pass the trials of mortal life in order to become a dragon once again in the afterlife. Hearing this story, Moon Shadow marvels at his father’s dream, and father and son start to bond.

Moon Shadow starts going to school and helps his father with the work in the laundromat. When Windrider helps a white man named Mr. Alger by repairing his carriage, he wins the man’s respect, and Mr. Alger gives him a card and says that he could use workers like Moon Shadow. Moon Shadow comes to know Black Dog, Uncle Bright Star’s outlaw son who works with the criminal brotherhoods that operate in Chinatown. One day, Black Dog gets into a fight outside the opium dens, and Windrider saves his life. Later, Black Dog attacks Moon Shadow and steals the money that he collects from the laundromat customers. Windrider vows to retaliate against Black Dog for this abuse and approaches the Sleepers, an outlaw brotherhood to which Black Dog belongs, demanding to fight with him. With Moon Shadow running to his aid, Windrider beats Black Dog, but he also kills another man in self-defense. After this event, the Tang people banish both father and son from their town to avoid a counterattack from the brotherhood.

Windrider approaches Mr. Alger and secures a job in his real estate. He rents a stable from Miss Whitlaw, a white woman who rents rooms in her house. There, Moon Shadow and Windrider gradually develop a friendship with Miss Whitlaw and her niece, Robin. Moon Shadow starts spending time at their home, sometimes with his father. He observes that Miss Whitlaw is interested in learning about others. Eventually, he and Robin become good friends and often share stories, but the white boys of the neighborhood bully Moon Shadow. Miss Whitlaw and Robin help Moon Shadow to improve his English, and he shares stories of Chinese mythology with them. Miss Whitlaw also helps Moon Shadow to compose a letter for the Wright brothers, the American aviation pioneers, in which he asks them for advice in airplane construction to help his father. Eventually, father and son start modeling their own gliders. When a prototype glider is ready, they, Miss Whitlaw, and Robin test it in the sand dunes. Eventually, Moon Shadow confronts the bullies and earns their acceptance.

The devastating earthquake that hits San Francisco destroys most of the city and claims many people’s lives. As fires start burning around the city, survivors gather at Golden Gate Park. Moon Shadow and Windrider return to the Tang town to help the Company and convince Uncle Bright Star to leave the building. Back at the park, the Company men spend an evening dining with the Whitlaws. Eventually, the army rounds up the Chinese people and moves them away, refusing to let them return to Chinatown. The soldiers march them into camps, until Uncle Bright Star and other community leaders achieve a deal with the local authorities. Finally, the Chinese community returns to rebuild their town.

Resolved to pursue his dream of flying, Windrider leaves Chinatown despite Uncle Bright Star’s objections. Moon Shadow follows his father to Oakland, where they live in a barn while Moon Shadow works delivering groceries. In a letter, his mother asks him to remain on his father’s side, while his grandmother, like Uncle Bright Star, thinks that Windrider is ill-advised. Despite their skepticism, Windrider finally constructs an airplane and names it Dragonwings. Father and son are preparing for the flight when Black Dog appears and threatens to kill Moon Shadow and steal their savings. As Windrider’s dream falls apart, the Company appears to help him by lending him money. The group drives Dragonwings up the hill as the Whitlaws also arrive. Windrider finally flies the airplane, but when a frame snaps, the resulting crash almost kills him. After the mishap, Windrider finally realizes that his family is more important to him than flying, and he is satisfied with his single flight on Dragonwings. Finally, he joins the laundromat as a partner. The story ends as Windrider goes to China to bring Moon Shadow’s mother to America. Moon Shadow sits with Robin, feeling lucky in life.