Episode 1: Larissa Lai interviews Arlene Chan
May 14, 2026
Introduction:
In this first episode of the Interdisciplinary Space Asiancy podcast series, Larissa Lai sits down with librarian, archivist, historian and writer Arlene Chan to discuss the history of Toronto’s Chinatown, the necessity for Asian Canadian Studies, and the legacy of Jean Lumb (Arlene's mother). Lumb was a major Chinese Canadian activist, and the first Chinese Canadian woman to receive the Order of Canada for her role in changing the Canadian immigration law that prevented Chinese family reunification. Arlene also talks about her writing, her Dragonboat racing, her Chinatown walking tours, and her work as President of the Jean Lumb Foundation. This podcast was recorded during the symposium "What on Earth Is Asian Canadian?" which took place at University College from February 28-29. 2025.
Host Bio:
Larissa Lai is the author The Lost Century, The Tiger Flu, Salt Fish Girl, and Slanting I, Imagining We. She has received the Duggins Prize, the Lambda Literary Award, and the Otherwise Honor Book. She has been a finalist for the Books in Canada First Novel Award, the Grand Prix de l'Imaginaire, and the ACQL Gabrielle Roy Prize for Literary Criticism. She is currently the Richard Charles Lee Chair of Chinese Canadian Studies at the University of Toronto.
Guest Bio:
Arlene Chan is an award-winning author and Chinatown historian. A retired librarian, she devotes her time to researching, writing, and blending her first-hand experiences and family stories as a speaker about the history, culture, and traditions of the Chinese in Toronto and Canada.
Listen Now
Season: 1
Episode: 1
Show notes:
4 :05 – Introductions and Arlene’s backstory
5:13 – Growing up in Toronto’s Chinatown (the Kwong Chow Restaurant, Jean and Doyle Lumb)
7:30 – Figuring out one’s Chinese Canadian subjectivity, making sense of the key figures of Chinatown as an adult
8:46 – Uncle Harry is Harry Lem, Postmaster of Chinatown
10:15 – Arlene’s a-ha moments about her mother, Jean Lumb, and writing a book about her, The Spirit of the Dragon: The Story of Jean Lumb, A Proud Chinese-Canadian
13:01 – Continuing to write books and chapters about Chinese history and culture and researching Chinese texts for Canadian audiences
14:30 – The Dragonboat book and taking part in dragonboat racing
15:55 – From outside the circle, breaking in: Asian Canadian Studies as knowledge production
17:43 – Family Reunification (1945-1966) for Chinese Canadians as a women’s rights issue
20:16 – Reacquiring citizenship after the Marriage Citizenship Act (pre-1947) that stripped women of Canadian status
21:05 – Family values, and what Arlene learned from Jean Lumb
23:40 – On other writing projects (What We Talk about when We Talk about Dumplings, Chinese immigration stories based on Doyle Lumb’s life)
27:35 – How to decide what to write about: the Ward, Chinese laundries, the broken chopstick, Tom Lock (Toronto’s first Chinese Canadian pharmacist) who also learned Yiddish from the Ward’s Jewish community
32:30 – The proximity between research and lived experience: Arlene’s relationship to the community since she first moved to Spadina and Dundas, the original J-Town, and the solidarities between the Chinese and the Japanese Canadians.
34:55 – Chinatown Walking Tours
37:15 – Chinatown ghost story
41:25 – Arlene’s continued work with the Jean Lumb Foundation (scholarships, awards, prizes)
Acknowledgments:
The Interdisciplinary Space Asiancy recognizes the generous support of the Canadian Studies program at University College, and the Richard Charles Lee Chair in Chinese Canadian Studies at the University of Toronto. We wish to thank the administrative staff at University College and Canadian Studies for their help.
This podcast was produced, hosted and edited by Sophie Feng.
The Interdisciplinary Space Asiancy is run by Larissa Lai, Sophie Feng, Tisya Raina, Anna Butler-Koo, and Dora Lu.