Chang Apana
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Chang Apana (December 26, 1871-December 8, 1933) was a Chinese-Hawaiian member of the Honolulu Police Department, first as an officer, then as a detective. He is the officially-acknowledged inspiration for the fictional Asian detective character, Charlie Chan.
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[edit] Early life
Ah Ping Chang (张阿斑) was born in Waipio, Oahu, Hawaii. His family moved back to China when he was only three, but Chang returned at the age of ten to live with his uncle in Waipio. As an adult, Chang was literate in Hawaiian, and knew pidgin English and Chinese as well. He never learned to read, relying on his family to read newspapers and documents for him. In his youth, he worked as a paniolo, starting in 1891, and it was as part of this job that he first began carrying a bullwhip on a regular basis. Three years later, Chang started working for the Hawaii Humane Society which at the time was part of the Police department on the island. The Humane Society was founded by Helen K. Wilder, the owner of the horses that Chang handled as a paniolo.
[edit] Police career
In 1898, Chang joined the Honolulu Police Department. Instead of a gun, Apana carried a bullwhip. In his early years as a detective, beginning in 1916, Chang worked on opium-smuggling and illegal gambling cases primarily. Due in part to his fluency in several languages, his wide network of informants and because of his shrewd and meticulous detective style, Chang was successful in solving many cases. He still holds the record for number of people arrested at one time by one officer for his arrest of 70 gamblers, who he lined up and marched back to the police station one night. Over the years, he received a number of scars to his face, fighting with criminals. He also became famous for his whip, Panama hat and cigars. He was married three times.
[edit] Inspiration for Charlie Chan
Earl Derr Biggers vacationed in Hawaii in 1919. It was at a hotel that literally had no locks on the doors where he conceived his novel House Without a Key. In 1924, while reading Honolulu newspapers in the New York library, he read about the exploits of 'Chang Apana' (Apana is the Hawaiianized version of the Chinese name Ah Ping). To his earlier-conceived mystery, he was able to add a new character, making his first appearance a quarter of the way through the book, though it was his fictional superior that actually summed up the case for the novel. In 1925, the first Charlie Chan mystery novel was published, House Without a Key. The character quickly became popular and Derr Biggers expanded his presence in his novels. After five more novels, Derr Biggers publicly acknowledged Chang as the inspiration for his character in a letter to the Honolulu Advertiser dated June 28, 1932. His widow states though that Chan was actually based on Derr Biggers himself, resembling him in physique and character, whereas Chang was slight in build, quick to anger, and involved in very few actual murder cases.
Chang and Chan had a few similarities:
- both had a daughter named 'Rose'
- both were about the same age
- they each had lived in the 'Punchbowl' (Punchbowl Crater) area of Honolulu
- both were of Chinese descent
[edit] Chang's retirement and death
After 34 years of service, Apana had to retire in May 1932 as a detective when he was injured in a car accident. He briefly worked as a watchman for the Hawaiian Trust building. On December 2, 1933, he was admitted into Queen's Hospital after a month long period of serious illness. Chang and his family had a history of diabetes. On December 7, 1933, his gangrenous leg was amputated and he died the following day. Chang Apana is buried at the Manoa Chinese cemetery in Honolulu.
[edit] Other Portrayals in Popular Culture
Usagi Yojimbo, a comic book series by Stan Sakai that is set in 17th century Japan and features a cast of anthropomorphic characters, includes occasional appearances of a character named Inspector Ishida who is partially based on Chang Apana. As Max Allan Collins points out in the introduction to Usagi Yojimbo Book 13: Grey Shadows, Inspector Ishida is, like the real Chang Apana, a more hardboiled character than the mild-mannered Charlie Chan from the novels by Earl Derr Biggers and the subsequent film adaptations.[1]
[edit] References
[edit] External links
- text of an article in The Honolulu Star-Bulletin: Hawaiian Life Weekend Magazine, Saturday, March 19, 1955
- another article in The Honolulu Star-Bulletin, Saturday, October 2, 1999
[edit] Further Resources
- Doherty, Jim, "Will the Real Charlie Chan Please Stand Up," Just the Facts - True Tales of Cops & Criminals (Deadly Serious Press, 2004)
- Hyung-chan Kim, Editor-in-Chief, Distinguished Asian Americans, A Biographical Dictionary, Greenwood Press (1999), pp. 18-19.
- (December 9, 1933 & December 10, 1933), "Black Camel Kneels at Home of Chang Apana", Honolulu Star Bulletin, front page.
