Charlie Chan is a fictional character based on an
actual Honolulu Police Department detective. Chang Apana, known by this
localized version of his Chinese name Chang Ah Ping, was born on the Island of O’ahu
in 1871. He spoke fluent Hawaiian but never learned to read. As a paniolo,
Hawaiian cowboy, he regularly carried a bullwhip. Later he joined the police
force as its only Chinese member.
Detective Chang patrolled areas of Chinatown, working
on opium-smuggling and gambling cases. He also helped find people with leprosy
who were then transported to the colony on Molokai. One story has the detective
rounding up forty gamblers and marching them to the police station, with only
his bullwhip for backup.
The author of the Charlie Chan detective novels, Earl
Derr Biggers, changed the racial stereotype of Chinese characters to less
resemble villains like Fu Manchu. His first novel, The House Without A Key, is
set in Honolulu. The restaurant of the same name, in the Halekulani Hotel on
Waikiki Beach, faces the Pacific Ocean with a beautiful view of the volcanic
landmark, Diamond Head.
Don’t you find it interesting that Mr. Biggers based
his rotund, mild-mannered sleuth on the bullwhip-wielding, sinewy HPD
detective?
Detective Chang patrolled areas of Chinatown, working
on opium-smuggling and gambling cases. He also helped find people with leprosy
who were then transported to the colony on Molokai. One story has the detective
rounding up forty gamblers and marching them to the police station, with only
his bullwhip for backup. 
