Thanks to Cam Hui who gave a financial potential overview of what Asian in North America means. I’ve had people ask for more and Cam will be back next week with another great insight.
Today, I’m going to personalize the history of one of Chinese Canadiana’s darkest eras.
Live History
I was in Toronto last week where I was chairing the meetings for the Chinese Canadian Advisory Committee to the Community Historical Recognition Program, which looks at proposals relating to the preservation of knowledge relating to Chinese Immigration Restrictions, more commonly known as the Head Tax. As I did so, I couldn’t help but think of my maternal great grandfather and paternal grandfather, both who paid the Head Tax so I, and all Canadians with a Chinese heritage, can be doing what we do today. This is part of my family story.
When my great-grandfather on my mom’s side came to Canada, he was a dirt poor peasant in rural China and North America was considered the “Golden Mountain” where everyone had a chance to “make it big.” Lots of his fellow peasants felt that way and they came to America with dreams in their hearts. Life was pretty damn tough here but despite incredible racism, this generation survived. They survived persecution, they survived lower wages but one thing they almost didn’t survive was the implementation of the “Head Tax” and subsequent “Chinese Immigration Act.”
It's still not an advantage to be Asian but "we've come a long way baby."
Today, I’m going to personalize the history of one of Chinese Canadiana’s darkest eras.
Live History
I was in Toronto last week where I was chairing the meetings for the Chinese Canadian Advisory Committee to the Community Historical Recognition Program, which looks at proposals relating to the preservation of knowledge relating to Chinese Immigration Restrictions, more commonly known as the Head Tax. As I did so, I couldn’t help but think of my maternal great grandfather and paternal grandfather, both who paid the Head Tax so I, and all Canadians with a Chinese heritage, can be doing what we do today. This is part of my family story.
When my great-grandfather on my mom’s side came to Canada, he was a dirt poor peasant in rural China and North America was considered the “Golden Mountain” where everyone had a chance to “make it big.” Lots of his fellow peasants felt that way and they came to America with dreams in their hearts. Life was pretty damn tough here but despite incredible racism, this generation survived. They survived persecution, they survived lower wages but one thing they almost didn’t survive was the implementation of the “Head Tax” and subsequent “Chinese Immigration Act.”
Why did Canada put this in?
After the railway was built in the 1880’s, Chinese kept coming even though they weren’t needed so much so Canada instituted a “Head Tax” to all new Chinese immigrants, hoping to discourage them from coming. It started as $50, but the Chinese kept coming so they raised it to $100. Chinese still kept coming so they raised it to $500 but Chinese still kept coming. Only with the passing of the “Chinese Immigration Act” in 1923 (more commonly known as “The Exclusion Act) which forbade the immigration of any Chinese, including immediate family members, was immigration to Canada finally stopped. The Chinese are the only group that Canada inflicted this upon.
My great-grandfather managed to do quite well in Victoria, had land and children born here. However, the Exclusion Act caused problems for his kids. My grandfather was born in Canada but because there were so few women around, he had to go to China to get married. Because of the Exclusion Act, he couldn’t bring any of his family to Canada. He returned to Canada to work, returning to China every couple of years, long enough to sire another child. What this meant, is that my mother, who was the child of a man born in Canada, was not allowed to join her father until she was nineteen, after the Chinese Immigration Act was repealed in 1947. Had it not been for some 800 Chinese young men and women in WWII, who participated in Canada’s WWII efforts without rights of citizenship or franchise, she might never have been able to come.
Fast forward almost a hundred years. Well, the dirt poor peasants aren’t around any more and by and large, never achieved too much… but their children and their children’s children have. In fact, not only are we not worried about getting our daily bread, we are providing the jam and butter that that make a country important, worthwhile… we have gone past worrying about making a living. We have gone Beyond Golden Mountain.
In this new century, there has been a paradigm shift in how Chinese are viewed, not only by Canada, but the world. No longer will you find a sign on a restaurant door in Shanghai saying “No dogs or Chinese allowed,” but the doors to the world are open to all of us who are descendants of the Han.
My great-grandfather managed to do quite well in Victoria, had land and children born here. However, the Exclusion Act caused problems for his kids. My grandfather was born in Canada but because there were so few women around, he had to go to China to get married. Because of the Exclusion Act, he couldn’t bring any of his family to Canada. He returned to Canada to work, returning to China every couple of years, long enough to sire another child. What this meant, is that my mother, who was the child of a man born in Canada, was not allowed to join her father until she was nineteen, after the Chinese Immigration Act was repealed in 1947. Had it not been for some 800 Chinese young men and women in WWII, who participated in Canada’s WWII efforts without rights of citizenship or franchise, she might never have been able to come.
Fast forward almost a hundred years. Well, the dirt poor peasants aren’t around any more and by and large, never achieved too much… but their children and their children’s children have. In fact, not only are we not worried about getting our daily bread, we are providing the jam and butter that that make a country important, worthwhile… we have gone past worrying about making a living. We have gone Beyond Golden Mountain.
In this new century, there has been a paradigm shift in how Chinese are viewed, not only by Canada, but the world. No longer will you find a sign on a restaurant door in Shanghai saying “No dogs or Chinese allowed,” but the doors to the world are open to all of us who are descendants of the Han.
It's still not an advantage to be Asian but "we've come a long way baby."
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