Opportunity in America: the Chinese-American experience - Essay Example

?Opportunity in America: the Chinese-American experience. A popular saying, ‘all that glitters is not gold’ at times may be taken for granted by manypeople. This however is true to some extend depending on the situation that one faces in this lifetime. According to history, many people have passed through difficult time in trying to have a better life. In this context I mainly dwell on the Chinese people who have found themselves in America either by chance, through slavery or even by birth. Some travel miles illegally into America in search of a ‘good life’ they dream of. As an overview, I will first start by explaining the means the Chinese people ended up staying or working in America. There are many people who have narrated their ordeals which are mostly shocking and unbelievable. According to the Chinese believes, all people of their origin are destined to remain as one forever, they should follow the paths of their ancestors. (Nelson, p. 70) During, growth, the young generation (the children), follow their parents steps and examples, the parents also comply by following the rules set by the fore fathers. All these are customs that are very well respected in this culture. Avery good example is the wish of being buried beside your parent’s grave or even forefathers’ grave. To illustrate this, a precedent is set by Hoy Chon Gar who was a famous Chinese doctor and a resident in America. He was a much respected man amongst the Chinese immigrants and the American citizens. During his lifetime, he wished to be buried back home after death. This was going to be the first attempt ever because for several years no body remains had been taken back to the ancestral home. Even after burial, most wishes of the deceased are usually not met. This only prompts for fresh burial ceremonies to be conducted at the ancestral homeland- china. (Nelson, p. 73) The journey to America is in different ways. In the Chinese culture, the girls have a low value of importance in the community compared to boys. As a result, most of them are sold off at a very young age to merchants. This was mainly witnessed in the poor families whereby the only means of getting money was by selling off the girls to merchants. Fate was to take its course because some were ‘lucky’ to find themselves working in wealthy families. While here, they attended to the daughters of the rich families. Some of the chores included washing their feet, fanning them and even singing for them. Being taken to a mid-level family was nightmare because there were many things being subjected to them. These included heavy work like doing laundry, feeding the children , cleaning the house, cooking and others to mention just but a few. Age was also a factor in determining the type of work the slave girls would do. On reaching puberty, some of the girls were made prostitutes, concubines or even wives to the male children of wealthy families. Under this stage, we see a change in the lifestyle of the grown up girls. They were no longer subjected to slave work but also taken into the community. In so doing, their lives improved. Employment in America was one of the aims for the Chinese population. Most of them opted for odd jobs such as laundry, farming, peddling rail construction, gardening and domestic service. In most of their minds, “the gold mountain” was the place to be in search of a good life. This referred to America. The 1800’s lead to a massive movement of the Chinese into America in search for the good life they dreamt of. That is why in the start of this work, I quoted the saying ‘all that glitters is not gold’. This is to be discovered in the subsequent paragraphs. As the population of the Chinese increased, it was apparent that there were many towns springing up and in them was embedded the die-hard culture of the Chinese which is cultivated from a tender age. It is true to say that culture erosion is very hard. That is why amongst many visions, the Chinese believed in returning home even after their death. Much of the work done by the Chinese prospered. This is so because most of the work mainly domestic was done by them. The whites mainly avoided these domestic chores maybe because they paid less or were meant for the poor people and even in some cases the slaves. As a result, much of the gardening laundry work and even peddling done by the Chinese were prosperous. To begin with, the Chinese were viewed as dependant, unscrupulous, honest and very reliable. These abilities made them therefore accepted in the community. There innovativeness in their works even made the white people want their farms and businesses to be “like those of the Chinese”. As time went by, competition amongst the two groups intensified. This was because the whites were losing clients greatly. To resolve this, the Americans opted for a centralized market system because the competition did not favor them (Jewell, p.83). The Chinese used many ways in trying to get customers. Some of these ways included moving from door to door in search of customers, acting in a friendly way with the populace by greeting them and even providing discounts. This even made them to be liked more by the people around them. Success at all times come with a cost. As the Chinese community was thriving, jealousy was brewing in the rival American side. The laundry business was the most affected. An example is that of Lee Mun Gun who was a laundry man in Walla Walla. He became very wealthy to a point that in 1895 he went back to china and came back with his family. In the book ‘Building A State’, the writer wrote that the business was in the hands of the Chinese people. To this fact it was known that there were nine laundry companies in a place called Walla Walla. It is noted that the prosperity of the Chinese laundry business lead to resentment amongst the white people. The fact being that the white people could not compete with them. In trying to change this, a newspaper agency, A Colfax paper reported some of the efforts that were being made to construct laundry industries in the surrounding regions to curb the competition. As seen in many societies, success is inevitable when one enjoys every second of his or her lifetime by working hard. No matter how hated, difficult or dirty the job may be, doing it with focus and valuing it leads to success. Women’s work on the other hand was done to perfection. Although most of the Chinese women were not more visible like their fellow men, in the laundry business, they did their domestic work to the point of admiration. Their efficiency leads to good integration into the white families. An example is that of Lee Bow Won who worked in a single home for over twenty six years. She was appreciated and termed as being exceptional, devoted and loyal to her masters. In spite of the good domestic works dome by the Chinese women, resentment was also seen from their white counterparts most families preferd maids of Chinese origin to the white maids. These claims were however brushed away by the mere fact that the Chinese ladies were doing good work and very diligently hence the favor of choosing them. (Korus, p. 39) Co-existence in a community is paramount and unavoidable. In some stages in life, we seek assistance and help from our neighbors. Truly speaking, ‘no man is an island’. This idea also applied to the Chinese and the white people who lived in one community. There is exchange of culture through learning. Education therefore was evidenced. To this date Chinese doctors are very well known for their good medicine. Despite the fact that they were undermined by the whites, they never failed in giving help in some cases. An example is scenario where a father was seeking help for the treatment of his son suffering from blood poisoning on his upper arm. (Bruce, p. 63) Medical help from a doctor was futile. The only means was to seek help from a Chinese doctor who was well known for his medicine. In this case, any prejudice held against the Chinese doctor was set aside so as to save his son. Doctor Hay examined the wound and gave an answer that it was to be successfully treated. Herbal medication was used in this situation and it was successful. Gaining trust was paramount so as to create coexistence in the society. As discussed and shown above, there are many barriers to success. The Chinese society has been seen to triumph in critical situations no matter how small the salary or benefit may be. It is the fighting spirit that motivates many. We have seen examples of people taken involuntarily for the benefit of others, odd jobs such as gardening laundry, rail construction and mining. Triumph is seen to come up from unimaginable situations (Thornton) In conclusion, living a happy and successful life is everyone’s dream and there are many souls that wish to narrate how they achieved what they have. Just like the Chinese community, appreciating what our ancestors went through is what we should all do. The belief of going back to our ancestral homes is such example. Works Cited: Bruce, Hallmark. Chinese Health Hazards and Traditional Chinese Medicine in the Frontier Northwest. Pacific Northwest Forum, 2nd ser, no.1 (1993) pp. 60-69 Judy, Nelson. The Final Journey Home: Chinese Burial Practices in Spokane. Pacific Northwest Forum, 2nd ser, no.1 (1993) pp. 70-76 Jewell. James, Robin. Straw Hat Work Force The Chinese Role in Small Town Economies. University of Washington press. (1996) pp. 82-93 Korus, Paula. Mui Tsai: Chinese Slave Girls in the Inland Northwest. Whitman publishing Co. (1912) pp. 38-43 Thornton, Brian. Exceptions to the Rule: Chinese Merchants and the Exclusion Laws, 1890-1894. Pacific Northwest Forum 6, no. 1 (1992). Read More