Who were the hardest workers on the Transcontinental Railroad? The Irish? The former slaves? No, it was the Chinese immigrants. Without Chinese Immigration, It would have taken many more years to complete. Although at first hated, Chinese immigrants grew to be respected by their many contributions to American society. The Chinese endured a hard voyage from China only to find backbreaking work. The immigrants started coming in the mid 1800's and were treated horribly until the 1940's. Even though they experienced anything from racist laws to anti-Chinese riots, the Chinese immigrants still managed to accomplish astonishing feats.
In China, There were two types of people: the very wealthy and the very poor. Rich people owned big houses. They had many servants, maids, and butlers. They practiced many beauty methods. The most painful was the binding of little girls' feet. Small feet, called “lily feet”, were considered a mark of feminine beauty. It literally turned the girls into cripples. The poor people had nothing close to the life of a rich person. Many were rice farmers. At least they had something to eat. Those even poorer went hungry for days and had to resort to stealing from the farmers. The poor made up the majority of the Chinese population. Those people brought their hopes and dreams to America.
Beliefs made up an enormous part of life in China. The three main religions were Buddhism, Taoism, and Confucianism. Buddhism originated in India. Many people didn't worship Confucianism, but still acknowledged it. The majority of the people worshiped Confucianism. These beliefs were started by Kong Fu Zi, who is better known by his Latin name, Confucius. Family honor also played an enormous role in China. Parents believed that children owed a debt to the parents for raising them. This “debt” could be repaid in many ways. One way would be to take care of their parents when they grew old. Another way was to send money to their parents, which many immigrants did. This was an essential part of Chinese lifestyle.
All men in China had to wear the same hairstyle. They shaved their forehead, and wore a long braid on the back of the head. The braids were called a queue. All men were required to wear them from the 1600's to 1911. In the 1600's, the Manchu Empire captured China. Queues symbolized loyalty to the Manchu rulers. Those who didn't comply were committing treason and either imprisoned or executed. Without their queues, Chinese immigrants could not return to China. If it was cut off, they would have to grow a new one, which could take many years. After the overthrow of the Manchu government, in 1911, many Chinese people, in both China and America, cut off their queues in celebration of freedom.
The Opium Wars were a crucial element in immigration from China. China wanted to stop importing opium to China. The opium was turning many people in to mindless wanderers. When the British refused, the Chinese attacked merchant ships. The British retaliated by sending an armada. China was defeated and opium trade continued. China was no longer a closed nation. People could immigrate to other countries. Chinese immigrants flooded into California and the West Coast.
The immigration station most Chinese immigrants went to was Angel Island. It was like Ellis Island for the West Coast. However, immigrants could be detained for years. To express their sadness, immigrants carved poetry onto the walls. In the 1800's and early 1900's, the poems were dismissed as graffiti. The conditions were much worse than Ellis Island. Angel Island is no longer an immigration station and is now a national monument.
There were not many jobs available to Chinese immigrants that came in the mid 1800's. The immigrants either became miners, laundrymen, or opened restaurants. Most of the miners came because the Gold Rush of 1949. They heard rumors of “Gold Mountain”, a land where gold could be picked up off the ground. Most of the miners lived in San Francisco. Unlike the white miners, the Chinese miners didn't argue and fight. They were cooperative and pooled their money together to buy new mines. Miners lived in conditions that were usually very dirty. Being a laundryman was worse than being a miner in some ways. Laundrymen worked over 14 hours a day. It was comparable to being a slave. Laundries popped up all over the west coast. Miners and laundrymen needed food, so immigrants opened restaurants. The Asian food is still eaten today.
In America, Chinese immigrants settled in areas that became known as Chinatowns. The biggest one was in San Francisco. It attracted every Chinese person in California. New immigrants could often meet relatives or friend in Chinatowns. People went there because it was like their old life. People spoke Chinese, wore Chinese clothes, kept Chinese customs, and ate the same food. The food was much healthier than the American food. It consisted of many fruits and vegetables. They boiled their tea (killing any germs in the water). Many parts of the Chinatown were filthy. People crammed in rooms to save money. The conditions were like this until the Earthquake of 1906. It destroyed the San Francisco Chinatown. This played a crucial role in Chinese immigration. Not only did the new Chinatown was much more hygienic, but also the immigration records were destroyed. Chinese immigrants claimed they were born here. This might not seem important, but it played a part in Chinese immigration.
