Chang Apana
Encyclopedia
Chang Apana 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
.
, Hawaii. (Apana is the Hawaiianize
d version of the Chinese name Ah Ping). His family moved back to China when he was three, but Chang returned at the age of ten to live with his uncle in Waipio. As an adult, Chang was fluent in Hawaiian
, and knew Hawaiian Pidgin
(Creole
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 (Hawaiian cowboy), 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 Kinau Wilder, the owner of the horses that Chang had handled as a paniolo. Wilder was daughter of shipping magnate Samuel Garner Wilder
.
. In a force of more than two hundred men, the officers mainly Hawaiian and the chiefs mostly white, Chang was the only Chinese member of the force and was assigned to patrol such Chinatown areas called "Blood Town" and "Hell's Half Acre". 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. Many stories about Chang's career have arisen. Chang helped round up people infected with leprosy
and send them to a leper colony
on the island of Molokai
. While performing this duty, Chang was attacked by a Japanese leper with a sickle
, leaving him with a distinctive scar over his right eye. Another time Chang was thrown out a second story window by drug addicts only to land on his feet. There is an account that he raised the alarm on a shipment of contraband
after being run over by a horse and buggy
. One night in Honolulu, with no backup and armed only with his bullwhip, Apana arrested 40 gamblers, whom he then lined up and marched back to the police station
.
vacationed in Hawaii in 1919 where he was inspired to begin to write the novel House Without a Key. While reading Honolulu newspapers in the New York library in 1924, he read about the exploits of Chang Apana; Derr Biggers then created a new character based on Chang for his novel, inserting him a quarter of the way through the book. The character became popular and Derr Biggers expanded his presence in his novels.
Chang met actor Warner Oland
, who portrayed Charlie Chan, when The Black Camel
was filmed in Hawaii. 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.
1996 novel, Damned in Paradise, fictionalizes the famous Massie case
. Collins included fictionalized depictions of several historical figures, including Chang Apana, who was an active-duty detective at the time of the Massie case (though there's no official record of Chang as one of the investigating officers).
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 .
In a 2011 comic
story written by Mike Curtis
and illustrated by Joe Staton
for the Dick Tracy
newspaper
strip
, Tracy's friend and colleague, HPD officer Haku Kou, is depicted as being the technical advisor
on a movie being filmed in Tracy's city because of the title character's facility with a blacksnake whip
. Kou explains that he became proficient with that weapon (leading to his being hired as the film's technical advisor) in emulation of Chang Apana.
Honolulu Police Department
The Honolulu Police Department is the principal law enforcement agency of the City and County of Honolulu, Hawai'i, headquartered in the Alapa'i Police Headquarters in Honolulu CDP....
, first as an officer, then as a detective. He is the officially acknowledged inspiration for the fictional Asian detective character, Charlie Chan
Charlie Chan
Charlie Chan is a fictional Chinese-American detective created by Earl Derr Biggers in 1919. Loosely based on Honolulu detective Chang Apana, Biggers conceived of the benevolent and heroic Chan as an alternative to Yellow Peril stereotypes, such as villains like Fu Manchu...
.
Early life
Ah Ping Chang (鄭阿平) was born December 26, 1871 in Waipio, OahuOahu
Oahu or Oahu , known as "The Gathering Place", is the third largest of the Hawaiian Islands and most populous of the islands in the U.S. state of Hawaii. The state capital Honolulu is located on the southeast coast...
, Hawaii. (Apana is the Hawaiianize
Hawaiianize
The transitive verb to Hawaiianize means to take a physical product, word, or concept hitherto unrelated to Hawaiian culture, and confer a Hawaiian form, quality, and character upon it through various means. The word is an increasingly popular neologism, in the manner of Anglicise, Africanise, and...
d version of the Chinese name Ah Ping). His family moved back to China when he was three, but Chang returned at the age of ten to live with his uncle in Waipio. As an adult, Chang was fluent in Hawaiian
Hawaiian language
The Hawaiian language is a Polynesian language that takes its name from Hawaii, the largest island in the tropical North Pacific archipelago where it developed. Hawaiian, along with English, is an official language of the state of Hawaii...
, and knew Hawaiian Pidgin
Hawaiian Pidgin
Hawaii Pidgin English, Hawaii Creole English, HCE, or simply Pidgin, is a creole language based in part on English used by many "local" residents of Hawaii. Although English and Hawaiian are the co-official languages of the state of Hawaii, Pidgin is used by many Hawaii residents in everyday...
(Creole
Creole language
A creole language, or simply a creole, is a stable natural language developed from the mixing of parent languages; creoles differ from pidgins in that they have been nativized by children as their primary language, making them have features of natural languages that are normally missing from...
English) and Chinese
Chinese language
The Chinese language is a language or language family consisting of varieties which are mutually intelligible to varying degrees. Originally the indigenous languages spoken by the Han Chinese in China, it forms one of the branches of Sino-Tibetan family of languages...
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 (Hawaiian cowboy), starting in 1891, and it was as part of this job that he first began carrying a bullwhip
Bullwhip
A bullwhip is a single-tailed whip, usually made of braided leather, which was originally used as a tool for working with livestock.Bullwhips are pastoral tools, traditionally used to control livestock in open country...
on a regular basis. Three years later, Chang started working for the Hawaii Humane Society
Hawaii Humane Society
-History:In 1883 King Kalākaua established the first Humane Society at [[ʻIolani Palace]].However, if became inactive over the years.-History:In 1883 King Kalākaua established the first Humane Society at [[ʻIolani Palace]]....
, which at the time was part of the Police department on the island. The Humane Society was founded by Helen Kinau Wilder, the owner of the horses that Chang had handled as a paniolo. Wilder was daughter of shipping magnate Samuel Garner Wilder
Samuel Garner Wilder
Samuel Gardner Wilder was an American shipping magnate and politician who developed a major transportation company in the Kingdom of Hawaii.-Life:Samuel Gardner Wilder was born June 20, 1831 in Leominster, Massachusetts....
.
Police career
In 1898, Chang joined the Honolulu Police DepartmentHonolulu Police Department
The Honolulu Police Department is the principal law enforcement agency of the City and County of Honolulu, Hawai'i, headquartered in the Alapa'i Police Headquarters in Honolulu CDP....
. In a force of more than two hundred men, the officers mainly Hawaiian and the chiefs mostly white, Chang was the only Chinese member of the force and was assigned to patrol such Chinatown areas called "Blood Town" and "Hell's Half Acre". In his early years as a detective, beginning in 1916, Chang worked on opium
Opium
Opium is the dried latex obtained from the opium poppy . Opium contains up to 12% morphine, an alkaloid, which is frequently processed chemically to produce heroin for the illegal drug trade. The latex also includes codeine and non-narcotic alkaloids such as papaverine, thebaine and noscapine...
-smuggling
Smuggling
Smuggling is the clandestine transportation of goods or persons, such as out of a building, into a prison, or across an international border, in violation of applicable laws or other regulations.There are various motivations to smuggle...
and illegal gambling
Gambling
Gambling is the wagering of money or something of material value on an event with an uncertain outcome with the primary intent of winning additional money and/or material goods...
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. Many stories about Chang's career have arisen. Chang helped round up people infected with leprosy
Leprosy
Leprosy or Hansen's disease is a chronic disease caused by the bacteria Mycobacterium leprae and Mycobacterium lepromatosis. Named after physician Gerhard Armauer Hansen, leprosy is primarily a granulomatous disease of the peripheral nerves and mucosa of the upper respiratory tract; skin lesions...
and send them to a leper colony
Leper colony
A leper colony, leprosarium, or lazar house is a place to quarantine leprous people.-History:Leper colonies or houses became widespread in the Middle Ages, particularly in Europe and India, and often run by monastic orders...
on the island of Molokai
Molokai
Molokai or Molokai is an island in the Hawaiian archipelago. It is 38 by 10 miles in size with a land area of , making it the fifth largest of the main Hawaiian Islands and the 27th largest island in the United States. It lies east of Oahu across the 25-mile wide Kaiwi Channel and north of...
. While performing this duty, Chang was attacked by a Japanese leper with a sickle
Sickle
A sickle is a hand-held agricultural tool with a variously curved blade typically used for harvesting grain crops or cutting succulent forage chiefly for feeding livestock . Sickles have also been used as weapons, either in their original form or in various derivations.The diversity of sickles that...
, leaving him with a distinctive scar over his right eye. Another time Chang was thrown out a second story window by drug addicts only to land on his feet. There is an account that he raised the alarm on a shipment of contraband
Contraband
The word contraband, reported in English since 1529, from Medieval French contrebande "a smuggling," denotes any item which, relating to its nature, is illegal to be possessed or sold....
after being run over by a horse and buggy
Horse and buggy
A horse and buggy or horse and carriage refers to a light, simple, two-person carriage of the late 18th, 19th and early 20th centuries, drawn usually by one or sometimes by two horses...
. One night in Honolulu, with no backup and armed only with his bullwhip, Apana arrested 40 gamblers, whom he then lined up and marched back to the police station
Police station
A police station or station house is a building which serves to accommodate police officers and other members of staff. These buildings often contain offices and accommodation for personnel and vehicles, along with locker rooms, temporary holding cells and interview/interrogation rooms.- Facilities...
.
Inspiration for Charlie Chan
Earl Derr BiggersEarl Derr Biggers
Earl Derr Biggers was an American novelist and playwright. He is remembered primarily for adaptations of his novels, especially those featuring the Chinese-American detective Charlie Chan.-Biography:...
vacationed in Hawaii in 1919 where he was inspired to begin to write the novel House Without a Key. While reading Honolulu newspapers in the New York library in 1924, he read about the exploits of Chang Apana; Derr Biggers then created a new character based on Chang for his novel, inserting him a quarter of the way through the book. The character became popular and Derr Biggers expanded his presence in his novels.
Chang met actor Warner Oland
Warner Oland
Warner Oland was a Swedish American actor most remembered for his screen role as the detective Charlie Chan.-Biography:He was born Johan Verner Ölund in the village of Nyby, Bjurholm Municipality,...
, who portrayed Charlie Chan, when The Black Camel
The Black Camel (film)
The Black Camel is a 1931 mystery film, the second starring Warner Oland as the detective Charlie Chan and the sole survivor of the first five Oland/Chan films. It was based on the novel of the same name by Earl Derr Biggers...
was filmed in Hawaii. After five more novels, Derr Biggers publicly acknowledged Chang as the inspiration for his character in a letter to the Honolulu Advertiser
Honolulu Advertiser
The Honolulu Advertiser was a daily newspaper published in Honolulu, Hawaii. At the time publication ceased on June 6, 2010, it was the largest daily newspaper in the American state of Hawaii. It published daily with special Sunday and Internet editions...
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's retirement and death
After 34 years of service, Chang retired 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, Chang was admitted into Queen's Hospital after a month-long period of serious illness. 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.Other portrayals in popular culture
Max Allan Collins'sMax Allan Collins
Max Allan Collins is an American mystery writer. He has written novels, screenplays, comic books, comic strips, trading cards, short stories, movie novelizations and historical fiction. He wrote the graphic novel Road to Perdition , created the comic book private eye Ms...
1996 novel, Damned in Paradise, fictionalizes the famous Massie case
Massie Trial
The Massie Trial for what was known as the Massie Affair, was a 1932 criminal trial that took place in Honolulu, Hawaii. Grace Hubbard Fortescue, along with several accomplices, was charged with murder in the death of well known local prizefighter Joseph Kahahawai...
. Collins included fictionalized depictions of several historical figures, including Chang Apana, who was an active-duty detective at the time of the Massie case (though there's no official record of Chang as one of the investigating officers).
Usagi Yojimbo
Usagi Yojimbo
is a comic book series created by Stan Sakai in 1987. In 2011 IGN ranked Miyamoto Usagi 92nd in the top 100 comic books heroes.-Concept:Set primarily at the beginning of Edo period of Japan , with anthropomorphic animals replacing humans, the series features a rabbit ronin, Miyamoto Usagi, whom...
, a comic book series by Stan Sakai
Stan Sakai
is a third-generation Japanese American Cartoonist comic book creator. He is best known as the creator of the comic series Usagi Yojimbo. -Biography:...
that is set in 17th century Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
and features a cast of anthropomorphic
Anthropomorphism
Anthropomorphism is any attribution of human characteristics to animals, non-living things, phenomena, material states, objects or abstract concepts, such as organizations, governments, spirits or deities. The term was coined in the mid 1700s...
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 .
In a 2011 comic
Comics
Comics denotes a hybrid medium having verbal side of its vocabulary tightly tied to its visual side in order to convey narrative or information only, the latter in case of non-fiction comics, seeking synergy by using both visual and verbal side in...
story written by Mike Curtis
Mike Curtis
Michael Curtis may refer to:*Mike Curtis , State Representative*Mike Curtis , former American football linebacker for the Baltimore Colts*Michael Curtis , television producer and writer...
and illustrated by Joe Staton
Joe Staton
Joe Staton is an American illustrator and writer of comic books.-Career:Staton started his work with Charlton Comics in 1971 and gained notability as the artist of the super-hero book E-Man...
for the Dick Tracy
Dick Tracy
Dick Tracy is a comic strip featuring Dick Tracy, a hard-hitting, fast-shooting and intelligent police detective. Created by Chester Gould, the strip made its debut on October 4, 1931, in the Detroit Mirror. It was distributed by the Chicago Tribune New York News Syndicate...
newspaper
Newspaper
A newspaper is a scheduled publication containing news of current events, informative articles, diverse features and advertising. It usually is printed on relatively inexpensive, low-grade paper such as newsprint. By 2007, there were 6580 daily newspapers in the world selling 395 million copies a...
strip
Comic strip
A comic strip is a sequence of drawings arranged in interrelated panels to display brief humor or form a narrative, often serialized, with text in balloons and captions....
, Tracy's friend and colleague, HPD officer Haku Kou, is depicted as being the technical advisor
Technical advisor
A technical advisor is an individual who is expert in a particular field of knowledge, hired to provide detailed information and advice to people working in that field...
on a movie being filmed in Tracy's city because of the title character's facility with a blacksnake whip
Whip
A whip is a tool traditionally used by humans to exert control over animals or other people, through pain compliance or fear of pain, although in some activities whips can be used without use of pain, such as an additional pressure aid in dressage...
. Kou explains that he became proficient with that weapon (leading to his being hired as the film's technical advisor) in emulation of Chang Apana.
Further reading
- Doherty, Jim, "Will the Real Charlie Chan Please Stand Up," Just the Facts - True Tales of Cops & Criminals (Deadly Serious Press, 2004)
- (December 9, 1933 & December 10, 1933), "Black Camel Kneels at Home of Chang Apana", Honolulu Star Bulletin, front page.
- Huang, Yunte. Charlie Chan: The Untold Story of the Honorable Detective and His Rendezvous with American History. New York : Norton, 2010. ISBN 978-0-393-06962-4