Los Angeles author Lisa See has revisited a dark chapter in the city's history with her latest novel, *Daughters of the Sun and Moon*, which explores the Chinese Massacre of 1871. The event, often referred to as the “Night of Horrors,” involved a mob of approximately 500 white and Latino residents attacking Chinese immigrants in Los Angeles, resulting in the largest mass lynching in California’s history. Official records list 18 victims, but See’s research suggests that the actual number may have been higher, as some deaths went unreported or were concealed.

See’s interest in this period stems from her own family history. Her great-grandparents, Fong See and Letticie Pruett, settled in Los Angeles in 1897, shortly after the massacre. Growing up around her grandparents’ antique shop, which was part of the remnants of China City—a now mostly vanished cultural enclave built initially as a Hollywood attraction—See developed a deep connection to the city’s Chinese-American heritage.

In her novel, See brings to life three women from distinct social backgrounds in early Chinatown: Dove, the bound-foot daughter of an imperial scholar; Petal, a peasant girl sold into sex slavery; and Moon, the wife of a traditional Chinese medicine doctor. Through their intertwined stories, she illustrates the complex realities faced by Chinese immigrant women during a turbulent era marked by violence, discrimination, and cultural upheaval.

The massacre began at the Wing Chung store, operated by Sam Yuen, a tong leader. Tongs were secret societies in the Chinese community sometimes associated with illicit activities. See’s examination of court records and archival documents uncovers not only the massacre’s brutal violence—including lynching and gunfights—but also the broader cultural atmosphere characterized by sex trafficking, kidnapping, and other crimes.

Beyond her literary work, See has been involved in efforts to commemorate this overlooked part of Los Angeles history. In the wake of rising anti-Asian sentiment and violence during the COVID-19 pandemic, city officials formed the 1871 Steering Committee to establish a memorial recognizing the massacre’s victims and the city’s broader Chinese-American heritage. See joined this initiative, which is working in conjunction with the Civic Memory Working Group and was impaneled by former Mayor Eric Garcetti.

The memorial is anticipated to be unveiled before the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics. See expressed hope that this acknowledgment will help the public appreciate the layered and diverse history of Los Angeles’s historic core, a small area significant not only to Chinese immigrants but also to Indigenous peoples, Spanish settlers, Mexican communities, Japanese Americans, and others.

Through *Daughters of the Sun and Moon* and her community work, See seeks to ensure that the stories of early Chinese immigrants and the events surrounding the massacre are not forgotten, shedding light on a violent episode that shaped the city’s evolution but remains little known to many Angelenos today.