Lately, I’ve been considering learning Mandarin. With the
hyper-speed at which China’s economy is now expanding, and that
nation’s growing weight as a super power, I suspect it will soon be
valuable to be fluent in this Asian language.
Lately, I’ve been considering learning Mandarin. With the hyper-speed at which China’s economy is now expanding, and that nation’s growing weight as a super power, I suspect it will soon be valuable to be fluent in this Asian language.
Ironically, long before the Chinese started developing their own nation as a global economic powerhouse, they were busy working on building the economy of California. It’s debatable, but our state might never have reached its current No. 8 spot in the world in growth domestic product if Chinese immigrants never came here early in our state’s history.
Unfortunately, chop suey and fortune cookies served at restaurants are as far as most Americans go in their awareness of the Chinese impact on California culture. Until recently, that pretty much summed up my own education. But after researching a column on Gilroy’s 19th century tobacco industry, I started studying the Chinese in the Golden State. The more I learned, the more amazed I felt at how significantly the people of this Asian culture have impacted our state – including our own South Valley.
The Chinese started journeying to California in significant numbers after gold was discovered in 1848 in the American River. The people of the Kwangtung Province were among the first in China to hear about the “Gum Shan” – or Gold Mountains – on the far side of the Pacific Ocean. Many of the people in this province suffered poverty as the Ch’ing Dynasty suffered decline, and floods and famine ransacked the Chinese economy. Thousands of Chinese Argonauts braved the long Pacific voyage so that in 1852, California counted 25,000 Chinese individuals.
Sadly, the Chinese in California were not treated as honored guests. Because of cultural and language differences, as well as physical disparity such as garments and the traditional queue (or long pony-tail), the Chinese often suffered actions of Caucasian prejudice. Laws were created by legislators to put Chinese at a disadvantage. An 1852 law, for example, prohibited Chinese witnesses from testifying in cases against a white person on trial. Laws were also passed that prohibited Asian people from marrying Caucasians.
To protect themselves through the benefits of large numbers, the Chinese set up small “Chinatown” settlements. San Francisco’s Chinatown was the first on the West Coast. The Chinese in San Jose and Gilroy also developed their own smaller settlements, playing an important role in providing a workforce of laborers for the farms of our region.
The Chinese played a crucial role in connecting the frontier of California with the rest of the nation. The building of the Central Pacific Railroad from Sacramento across the Sierra Nevada range demanded back-breaking, life-threatening labor. White people scoffed at the job. So in desperation, the railroad managers shipped thousands of Chinese to California to build the western section of the Transcontinental Railroad.
The railroad administrators originally thought these Chinese workers would return to their homeland when work on the line was done. The vast majority of them, however, realized they would go back to an Asian land suffering dire economic poverty. So they stayed here in California. Because of their reputation as hard workers, most quickly found employment. Many of them worked in the Central Valley and made that fertile land one of the prime agricultural regions of America. They also helped on farms and orchards in Santa Clara Valley.
They laid train tracks throughout the state – including the construction of narrow gauge train tracks in the Santa Cruz Mountains that carried lumber to the rest of the state. Locally, the Loma Prieta Lumber Company’s railroad was built by Chinese workers.
The oppression that Chinese people faced in California continued well into the 20th century. One of the worst examples happened in Los Angeles on Oct. 24, 1871 when 500 rioting Caucasians, angered by the accidental shooting of a white rancher, entered that city’s Chinatown and massacred 23 Chinese residents. Despite the social prejudice, many Chinese in California proved a remarkable ability to succeed in building prosperous businesses. They became merchants, artisans, cooks and farmers. Their descendents continue to live throughout California – including many Chinese-Americans in the South Valley. Many descendents in the Silicon Valley run high-tech business enterprises and provide engineering talent for computer-based companies.
This weekend marks the Chinese Lantern Festival, a special occasion for friends and families in Asian communities to celebrate one of the most beloved holidays of their heritage. I suspect, however, the lantern festival will fail to shine a light on a rarely recognized aspect of California history. For much of their history in the Golden State, the Chinese have endured the ugly obstacles of racial prejudice. Through hard work and the spirit of endurance, they overcame these injustices to help build the state of California into one of the great economic powers of the world.
