Sagwa, the Chinese Siamese Cat

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Sagwa the name of a cat in the children's book Sagwa, the Chinese Siamese Cat by author Amy Tan. Sagwa's popularity with children prompted an educational animated series of the same name on PBS Kids. In the series, which is set circa 1900 during the Qing Dynasty, Sagwa has fun but teaches valuable life lessons.

Plot

Sagwa resides in the palace of a Magistrate in China, part of a royal family of cats. She and her siblings, along with various other cats (Alley cats) and Fu-Fu the Bat partake in adventures that result in moral lessons, as is typical with most children's shows. However, Sagwa introduces various Chinese cultural aspects into the show for educational purposes promoting the understanding of other ethnicities.

Characters

• Sagwa (the main character)born on the year of the dog
• Dongwa - Sagwa's older brother born on the year of the monkey
• Sheegwa - Sagwa's younger sister born on the year of the rat
• Baba and Mama Miao (cat) - Sagwa's father and mother
• Fu-Fu, Sagwa's best bat friend
• The Cook
• The Reader
• The Foolish Magistrate (King)
• Tai-Tai (Queen)
• Bo-Do - King's daughter
• Luk-Do - King's daughter
• Haung-Do - King's daughter
• Nai-Nai and Yeh-Yeh - Sagwa's grandparents.

Voice cast

• Sagwa - Holly Gauthier-Frankel
• Sheegwa - Jesse Vinet
• Dongwa - Oliver Grainger
• Baba Miao - Arthur Holden
• Mama Miao - Ellen David
• Fu-Fu - Rick Jones
• Yeh-Yeh - Neil Shee
• Nai-Nai - Sonja Ball
• The Foolish Magistrate - Hiro Kanagawa
• Tai-Tai - Khaira Ledeyo
• Ba-Do - Kathy Tsoi
• Luk-Do - Leanne Adachi
• Huang-Do - Rosa Yee
• The Reader - Russell Yuen
• The Cook - Raugi Yu

The names of the characters are derived from Chinese. Although spellings are more phonetic to allow kids to pronounce them correctly.

• Sagwa - 傻瓜 Shǎ Guā Translated literally it means dumb melon. In China it's used to call someone foolish or naive, especially young children. No bad connotations
• Sheegwa - 西瓜 Xī Guā Watermelon
• Dongwa - 冬瓜 Dōng Gūa Chinese Gourd/Chinese Watermelon
• Baba Miao - 爸爸猫 Bà Bà Māo Father Cat
• Mama Miao - 妈妈猫 Mā Mā Māo Mother Cat
• Fu Fu - 蝠蝠 Fú Fú (lucky) From 蝙蝠 Bīan Fú Bat
• Yeh Yeh - 爷爷 Yé Yé Grandfather Fathers side
• Nai Nai - 奶奶 Nǎi Nǎi Grandmother Fathers side
• Tai Tai - 太太 Tài Tài Wife

External links

• [Official site @ PBS Kids]
• [Sagwa's author Amy Tam's Homepage]

 

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