In the 1800s, Chinese immigrants in the United States were unwittingly making themselves known by looking for a better life while supporting their families at home. Yet, despite these individuals’ mission to remain closer to their origins than their adopted home, cultural and economic tensions grew between Chinese and Non-Chinese Americans.
Chinese labourers who came to the United States were precluded from chasing the American Dream, and were mostly using their earnings to support their relatives in China and paying off loans to individuals who secured their passage to the United States.
In addition, non-Chinese labourers based in North America needed higher wages to support their local families, leading to resentment amongst US based, non-Chinese labourers towards Chinese labourers. They also had to contend with the ever increasing possibility of being replaced by workers who accepted lower wages. Furthermore, as many immigrant populations tended to do (especially from more collective societies), Chinese labourers settled into tight knit communities (referred to as Chinatowns) which soon inspired rumours of these neighbourhoods being havens of vice. These rumours led to anti-Chinese legislation and gave rise to unequal racial treatment but also to the theory that Chinese labourers lowered the cultural standards of the United States.
To address growing tensions, 1850 through 1870 saw the California state government pass measures against Chinese American residents that ranged from requiring specific licenses for Chinese-run businesses to preventing naturalisation of Chinese labourers. Many of these measures violated the 1868 Burlingame-Seward Treaty with China which established formal friendly relations between the two nations. In 1879, anti-immigration advocates successfully introduced legislation into congress limiting the number of Chinese immigrants on vessels heading to the United States. Despite growing support of outright exclusion, especially from Democrats in the American West, Republican President Rutherford B. Hayes vetoed the bill to prevent violations of treaty agreements with China and stayed in line with the then Republican platform of free immigration. President Hayes was not oblivious to the concerns of Western Democrats and as a consolation revised the Burlingame Seward Treaty in a way that China also agreed to limit immigration to the United States.
The Chinese Exclusion Acts were finally repealed in 1943 to raise the morale of China, the U.S.’s wartime ally, during World War II. Today, our relations with China are still very much driven by trade and economic growth, yet socially Chinese culture and societies have flourished to become a huge part of the American landscape. From Trendy Boba Shops (Zhen Zhu Nai Cha/勵瀧켈꿱) to Chinese language programs and immersion schools, The United States has increasingly embraced the growth of China as a world power and as a cultural force. San Francisco Chinatown thrives and continues to be a Cantonese dominated neighbourhood, while in the East Bay, by the University of California (UC) Berkeley, authentic and modern takes on Chinese favourites abound in tiny markets and fancy new restaurants. San Francisco and Los Angeles’ Chinatowns are now popular tourist destinations that harbour traditional sights, sounds and smells, while new generations are breaking out with modern interpretations and reintroductions of classic favourites such as Sichuan dishes covered in chilies and oil and various flavours of milk tea (yes, this is a Taiwanese creation, but it was very much a part of my student life in China; I had at least one a day). While there have been some difficult times between China and the US throughout history, that relationship is ever changing and there is much progress as regards aspects of Chinese American culture to highlight.
The U.S. has seen a boom in the Asian American population born within the country and new immigrants from the Asian continent. Few places showcase this boom in diversity like the San Francisco and Los Angeles areas. Despite being some distance apart, these urban hubs have produced some of the strongest Chinese communities that are introducing their non-Chinese American counterparts to both the traditions and new trends that are quickly becoming an integral part of the whole state. In Daly City alone, a suburb of San Francisco, the hilly residence is home to an Asian population that comprises over 50 percent of the city’s residents. This is the highest concentration of Asian individuals in a U.S. city outside of Hawaii, an American state that boasts a high level of diversity within the Asian population.
“The joke around here for a long time has been that the fog in Daly City is really from rice cookers”, states Michael Guingona, Daly City Councilmen and a Filipino-American.
Chinese are the largest ethnic group in the United States at 4 million people and growing. With the U.S.’ growing need for skilled labour, especially in pharmaceuticals, biotech, and health, Asian people, especially those of Chinese decent, are finding a welcoming home that is catering more and more to their desire to combine their home culture with their new residence. Furthermore, with the growing emphasis on STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) and other technology related programs at some of the world’s leading universities, such as UC Berkeley and the University of Southern California, there is a growing market for both Chinese students and professionals.
Los Angeles and San Francisco have traditionally been the largest hubs with the longest history of Chinese immigration. However, suburbs and smaller cities in the areas of San Gabriel Valley (half jokingly referred to as Southern California’s real Chinatown), Orange County in Southern California and Silicon Valley in the north have become incredibly attractive to immigrants coming from China, as well as their American born offspring. These areas offer a blend of the traditional comforts of China, Taiwan, and Hong Kong with the modern luxuries that the U.S. has to offer. Once home to a primarily Hispanic population, the majority of immigrants coming from China and Taiwan to these enclaves in the past few decades is part of a highly educated and affluent elite. Many couples and individuals are coming to these Chinese American diasporas to pursue happiness and excellence in their professional and personal lives. Professionally, the U.S. has an ever growing demand for skilled labour in the sciences as well as in education.
As China continues to grow as an economic power, so does Americans’ desire to learn of Chinese language and culture. The academic exchange between American born and Chinese born students continues to grow in a bilateral fashion. Chinese youth and young adults are flooding American private schools to receive a better education than they could at home, while American parents and students are eager to get a head start on language by learning from a young age in immersion programs.
Areas such as Arcadia and San Marino, where homes cost in the millions and the median income is almost double that of Beverly Hills, are now home to China’s first and second generations of home-owners and some of the highest performing schools.
Mandarin language and culture have become such an intrinsic part of these areas that even the local library in San Marino features Mandarin language story time for children. As the influx from abroad continues in a steady stream, the first and second generation children of immigrants are growing into an influential force and are becoming these area’s strongest supporters and most successful developers by running for political office and opening businesses that cater to American born counterparts, Chinese and non-Chinese alike.
Calvin Lew, Chinese American Historian and avid recorder of Chinatown peculiarities across the U.S., has not only documented Chinese American history in California, but has actually lived it himself. Speaking with The Nanjinger, he said, “I was a kid in the 70s and 80s, which was one generation before the FOB (Fresh Off the Boat) population. My generation was the last generation to have it tough”. According to Lew, in the past you were Chinese if you grew up eating authentic Chinese food. Panda Express (a popular Chinese-American chain) was unheard of and other types of Chinese American food were considered strange to this first wave of the American born generations. This generation were the sons and daughters of Cantonese restaurant workers and laundromat owners, labourers in the very modern sense. While these businesses became a very integral part of the United States economy, wages were predictably low and unreliable. Children of this generation were expected to work in the family business to assist with the family’s income and living expenses. While supporting the family was important, good grades and academic achievement were equally essential to achieving success as the first American of the family. Dreams of high salaries and oppression free lives were ingrained into this generation by parents who had suffered socially, economically and politically to achieve the American Dream. Even distant family had input in what achievement meant in the U.S., as Lew recalls, “I was 12 or 13 when I got my report card and found out that I got a 3.9 out of a possible 4.0 for my GPA (grade point average). It was around Thanksgiving and I was excited to brag to my cousins about it. My cousins responded with a dismal, ‘It’s OK, not that good.’ I thought I was a crappy student for not getting a perfect 4.0!”. In addition to Cantonese immigrants, PhD holders from Taiwan were coming in waves to the U.S. to start families and provide their children with some of the best education the western world had to offer. “There were several stories of Taiwanese parents who really pushed for their children to be academically successful, stories of families where all the kids attend and graduate from Harvard University”, commented Lew.
During this time, Chinatowns continued to thrive and be a strong part of the Chinese immigrant and Chinese-American identity. Yet, according to Lew, the birth of the iconic American Chinatowns was not just due to a collectivist mindset; “These were the ‘ghettos’ where Chinese immigrants were allowed to live according to the laws of the times. The San Francisco and New York City Chinatowns weren’t allowed to grow as developers couldn’t get the necessary building permits. Thus these areas are the same as they were 100 years ago which is great for historical preservation but bad for Chinese immigrants at the time.”
While the pressure for students of Chinese descent to succeed is still strong, the stress is not quite as intense as it used to be. There is more freedom of choice and opportunity for exploration as many of the second and third generations of Chinese Americans enter the world and come of age to attend school. While their American-born parents may have undergone the fierce pressure of achieving individual excellence as well as lifting the family out of the hardships of being new in the country, these new generations in California have the benefit of experiencing the best of each culture while being less likely to suffer the pressures their first generation parents endured in terms of social acceptance and professional success. Young children from China who come the the U.S. for primary and secondary education no longer face the financial pressures that their parents did growing up during the 70s and 80s in Mainland China. Many of these families shed the stereotype of coming from humble backgrounds and became so independently wealthy that their children have all material needs and desires, in addition to a world class education. But with opportunity came new obstacles, as Chinese children coming from the mainland now navigate a culturally diverse and ever more complex social, political and economic America.
As Chinese American communities continued to grow and diversify, so did outlets for exhibiting and observing the Chinese American experience. Note, the current popularity of shows such as “Fresh Off the Boat”, a sit-com loosely based on the life of popular chef and writer Eddie Huang. The show portrays an Asian American family facing the everyday struggles of immigrants in a new area; American born and eager to explore the cultures music, movies and more. Besides being featured on screen, others, such as Justin Lin, a Taiwanese American film director, are creating films that show a completely different side of the Asian American experience. “Better Luck Tomorrow”, for example, released in 2002 depicts high-achieving Asian American teenagers who become bored and take up the glamorous past times of participating in petty crime. Lew recalls the movie as one of the few and first to challenge American minority stereotypes; “The stereotype is that African and Hispanic-Americans are the ones doing drugs and stealing while Asian Americans were stealing computer chips. The movie also portrayed the teens as being able to run free so long as they were getting straight A’s”
In terms of food and media, California has also been home to some of the pioneers in creating new ways to share their experiences with others. Jonny Hwang, the son of Taiwanese immigrants, is the creator of the 626 Night Market (626 being a play on the postcode of the San Gabriel Valley), an annual event that takes place in both Los Angeles and Orange Counties where dozens of food vendors, local businesses and crafters come to sell their wares and celebrate the uniqueness of Chinese, Cantonese, and Taiwanese culture. This night market attracts people from all over Southern California and provides a unique glimpse into the flavours and sights familiar to Asian immigrants and Asian Americans alike. As Jonny Hwang told the New York Times; “It wasn’t cool to be Chinese or cool to be Asian… The idea that the San Gabriel Valley could be the locus of some kind of cultural movement or identity is fascinating. They are asserting cultural capital to create Asian-American identity that wasn’t there before, and one that is homegrown, not imported from Taiwan or Hong Kong.”
Growing recognition of Chinese cultural and gastronomic staples can also be attributed to brothers Andrew and David Fung. Attempting to break into the entertainment industry, the Fung Brothers produced cheeky hip hop videos about milk tea/boba and Chinese food in Southern California; “People here think it’s normal, hanging out to drink boba all day long, but this culture doesn’t exist everywhere, and we’re trying to tell them to embrace it, to own it”, said David Fung, 26. “We’ve got to teach ourselves to be proud of who we are and tell others about it.”
While more and more Chinese-Americans are breaking the bamboo ceiling and creating space for additional voices in American society and culture, there is still room for improvement. “We’ve come a long way, but we’re not quite there yet”, Lew states, “In American society, for example, when you watch a Hollywood movie, half of the credits include Asian names, but rarely are there ever any Asians in the starring rolls or directors. There are so few names, I can only name two; Ang Li and Justin Li. ER, one of the most successful American TV shows didn’t have one Asian doctor despite Asians being an overwhelming part of the medical profession in the United States. There are also few Chinese-Americans in CEO positions and politics, while martial arts, Chinese food, and technology have taken off in America. Unfortunately, while Hollywood doesn’t represent America, it does narrowly represent the culture.”
This article was first published in The Nanjinger Magazine, September 2016 issue. If you would like to read the whole magazine, please follow this link.
