WATER MIRROR ECHO: Bruce Lee and the Making of Asian America — A Conversation with Author Jeff Chang
“Water Mirror Echo is a remarkable story of a man, the traditions and communities that created him, and the new worlds he made possible. Like Bruce Lee himself, Jeff Chang is blessed with the vision to see things we do not yet see, thinking and writing with a restless, chasm-crossing, almost prophetic ambition.” — Hua Hsu, Stay True: A Memoir
As the best-known martial artist and one of the most celebrated action stars ever, Bruce Lee is a global icon. He symbolizes swagger, strength, and the unbeatable spirit of the underdog. But in more than fifty years since his untimely death at age thirty-two, the legend has eclipsed the real man.
During his lifetime, Bruce fought to be seen—from Hong Kong to Hollywood, Asian tenements to American ghettos, the lonely garret to the international screen. He emerged as a star in an era when Asian Americans were fighting against exclusion and invisibility.
Now, drawing on private letters, rare documents and photos, and interviews with his closest confidants, Water Mirror Echo reveals the Bruce many never saw and places his complicated life within a revolution from which it cannot be separated: the emergence of Asian America. An unflinching, page-turning biography, here is the story of how Bruce became a hero not just for Asian Americans, but also for anyone who has ever felt invisible.
About Jeff Chang:
Jeff Chang is a writer, host, and cultural organizer known for his work in culture, politics, the arts, and music. His first book, “Can’t Stop Won’t Stop: A History of the Hip-Hop Generation”, was named by Slate as one of the best nonfiction books of the last quarter century. His cultural biography of Bruce Lee called “Water Mirror Echo: Bruce Lee and the Making of Asian America” will be published on September 23, 2025. He is the host of the Signal Award-winning podcast on artists and ideas, Edge of Reason, produced by Atlantic: Rethink and Hauser & Wirth, and of Notes From the Edge, produced by KALW Public Media. Born of Chinese and Kanaka Maoli descent, Jeff is a graduate of ‘Iolani School, the University of California at Berkeley and the University of California at Los Angeles.
Moderated by: Konrad Ng
Konrad Ng is a curator and scholar of Asian Pacific American history, art, culture and creative media and chair of the State Foundation on Culture and the Arts Commission. Previously, Ng was executive director of Shangri La Museum of Islamic Art, Culture & Design, the director of the Smithsonian Institution’s Asian Pacific American Center, a professor of critical studies in the University of Hawai’i at Manoa’s School for Cinematic Arts (formerly the Academy for Creative Media), a curator of film and video at the Honolulu Museum of Art and a film programmer for the Hawai’i International Film Festival. Ng has a PhD from the University of Hawai’i, his MA from the University of Victoria and his BA from McGill University. Currently, he is pursuing his JD from the University of Hawai‘i’s William S. Richardson School of Law.