Another. Yeah. Yeah next american History Tv visits San Franciscos chinatown to learn the history of the chinese in america. Good afternoon. Good afternoon. Good afternoon. Welcome to the chinese historical society of america. My name is charlie chin. Im officially listed here as artist and residents, but i do double duty as a historian for a very simple reason as most of you know artists dont make any money whatsoever. But historians are underpaid so its actually a step up. Well we are going to do today is were going to take an overview of chinese american history. And for that well be doing two different sections one will be an inhouse docent tour. And the other will be a street tour. We will actually look at chinatown today. For your sake of general education i should point out that we are in a building. That was the old chinatown ywca. It was built in designed in 1932 by julia morgan. Very famous female architect who amongst other things was of course endorsed by the ywca for various and obvious reasons. The organization is the chinas historical society of america. Which was founded in 1963 . Its purpose was to deal with the problem which basically still exists which is the study of in this case asian american history and specifically chinas american history is small much of the information that has been researched his not available to the general public usually sits on a dusty shelf in a major institution of learning and his access only by those people who feel the study it is so the organization amongst other Things Purpose was to ensure that average people would be able to get information about the chinese american experience for reasons, which will become abundantly clear as we continue. Now at any given point during our time together, if something occurs to you, please raise your hand. It doesnt really have to do with anything that im discussing at the moment. Just some question that comes up and the reason why is while for you are time together may seem intimidable for me. Its very very brief. And i really want to make sure that you get whatever information you need. In order to complete the pictures that you have in your mind of what asian america is what chinese american history is to begin with we have to take a look at the situation as it exists today. There are certain questions that arise because we have the benefit of a group of people who are adults we often deal with children here. I can go into this a little bit more in Depth Number one. Here is a cartoon from last year. 2012 and its a cartoon. That shows an asian american couple in imitation, of course is a great painting american gothic and a comments that asians are the fastest growing minority in the United States while thats true why i propose as a question is its very unlikely. They will ever become a majority here. We have from local newspaper the chronicle last year. So a Pew Report notices that asian americans as a group has the largest incomes the best educated and considered generally the happiest yet. For some reason we know that 54 of the people who live in chinatown live at or below the poverty level. How is that possible at the same time asians seem to be represented on all different levels of society here for instance is the recent gala for the opening of the San Francisco ballet. Im not in the picture. Last year the house and the senate apologized to chinese americans two years before that in 2009 the state of california apologized to chinese americans. What did they apologize for . And why by and large to about 90 of the chinas americans who live in the United States dont know. I dont really care. That this congress apologized to chinas americans. Now i dont i dont expect you all to agree with everything that i propose, but i ask you the indulgence to at least relax for a little while and look through things through the lens with which i am looking through. All right, lets begin over here. Please join me here. As we look around we have to ask ourselves the first in primary question. How long have there been chinese in the United States with somebody like to venture a guess . Nobody would like to venture a guess as to how long there have been chinese in the United States. 1700 the 1700s 1700 thats a relatively good guess. No one else. That shaking sounds you hear is me trembling about the future. Yeah, its a trick question. You see there were chinese in what would become the United States long before there was a United States, of course most of you know from your elementary School Education that somebody sailed the ocean blue in 1492. Who was that . Hello, columbus who italian americans are always very proud of the fact that hes italian or whats the time . But the reality is of course, he was sailing under a spanish flag. And so it was spain that did a lot of the early exploration on behalf of europeans in the new world. How much how often i understand that in 1513 . When Ponce De Leon landed in florida some of the indigenous people greeted him in spanish. They had already met several other spanish explorers. Spain had vast holdings in the long run a whole other discussion how they arrived at that and what was to happen, but for all purposes it didnt end there. Spain expanded her territories and possessions or trade interests all the way to asia across the pacific to the islands of the philippines. Which are named after the king of spain at that time King Philip . The second so by the 1500s there are galleons sailing all around the world to asia and then back across the pacific past south america cross the atlantic to spain and with this trade are various groups of asians, including filipinos chinese various indonesians etc others, but for all purposes, of course, everything begins in 1776. 13 colonies proposed to be their own country. They have a war. The war lasts until 1783. It was a long war a war of independence. Of course not as long as the wars we have now, but right after the war was completed in 1783 the following year. It was important. So important that was one of the first things they did this little country sent forth a ship out of new york harbor. The name of the ship was the empress of china it was outfitted to do trade with china now. Why was it so important for them immediately . Upon surviving the war of independence. Why was it immediately important for them to go to china . What was it in china that everybody needed wanted and had actually been part of the reason why they had separated. Okay t. T everybody drank it even working class people thought they had a right to tea so well. It was an upscale item if you drank tea, of course, you would be drinking it from a Porcelain Cup and teapot still referred to as china wearing english. You might have been drinking it from a teakwood table, which you got in china. You might have been sitting there in a Silk Shirt before World War ii. There was no substitute for silk. You might be having a baked scone with it that was scented with cinnamon. Cinnamon didnt grow in china, but thats where you went to trade for it. Thats easy enough to figure out. A question arises what did this little fledgling country with this emerging little country have that china was willing to trade for . Dont forget china at this point. Considered itself the center of the world it was ruled by the Qing Dynasty which had conquered china in 1644 a foreign group of people and basically froze in all directions, but still considered itself to be the center of the world. What did the americans have . The chinese were willing to trade for anyone look for first the americans were famous for first. The earliest fortunes made were made in furs see mr. Astor beaver fox mink. Various Others Ermine were captured trapped here in the americas canada in the United States and shipped to china the americans arrived and they were very aggressive in this trade. They learned very quickly. There were several different things they could trade that included mexican and Spanish De bloons in pesos. Dont forget spain had a huge empire was gigantic sandalwood, which was picked up in hawaii, which is one of the reasons why its very hard to find sandalwood in hawaii today. A sea Cucumbers Sea cucumbers. I dont know how has everybody know. What a Sea Cucumber is. Most people seem to know its an invertebrate to see animal. Which was dried and then reconstituted with water it has an interesting texture but not particularly a great taste. Perhaps one of the most important things that was an early Trade Item from the country was american ginseng. Now ginseng had been a trade on him for a while french missionaries who had arrived in. What is today, michigan and wisconsin had discovered an american version of ginseng growing here. They knew of it having worked in china. They knew that it was an important Trade Item ginseng was important Trade Item, then its an important Trade Item now. Its grown commercially in wisconsin. When people visit us from the Peoples Republic of china frequently, they ask where they can get american ginseng to bring back his gifts for coworkers and for relatives. This is an example if youre not familiar with what it looks like. This is the root when its fresh. Theres a dried root in there. In places like tennessee, kentucky near the appalachian mountains people still hunt for it during the summers. They call it sang hunting and its not just an amusement you can get up to 1,000 for a decent sized route. So its its worth the look. Its grown commercially here in the United States. One of the most famous brands is this prince of peace the group that grows that are christians obviously and as it shows you down here. Its verified by the Wisconsin Board of ginseng. So the americans jump in with both feet into this China Trade. They develop a special ship called the China Clipper it sacrifices space in the hole for sleek speed. Its very long and narrow. It has huge amounts of sale the americans fly the american flag, which onshore chinese take to mean red and white stripes and what appear to be white flowers on a blue background. And so the first name for the United States is the Flower Flag country. Its very important. Flowerflade Country And Flower flag products this name is to be the name that america was known under for quite a while until something else was to happen. But lets take a look over here and see whats happening in general. America enters the China Trade relatively late, others have been dealing with it for a long long time. France Britain Spain Portugal the dutch several other countries have been dealing with China And Trading there for many many years. Most of the trading is done in the far south of china the Qing Dynasty which is in control has relegated all trade essentially by foreigners to the far south the purpose being to prevent as they saw it the taint of foreign influence. So if the capital is up here Quantum Province and the ports of trade are all the way down here as far south as you can imagine and still be in china. Now this was a wild and woolly. Free for all economically fortunes were made fortunes were lost. Young men at that time. It was men primarily went there to seek their fortune. This led to several things amongst them, of course a mild disregard for anything that was supposed to be legal. Thats not how one makes a fortune usually one makes a fortune by doing something illegal or unethical. And thats pretty much true to this day. But what was to happen was the Opium Trade stood first and foremost now opium was illegal in china. It was illegal to bring it into china. It wouldnt be had been known in china and used in china for thousands of years, but it was illegal to import it much the same Way Cocaine is known in the United States, but its illegal to bring it in. Then as now what people did was they walked around the law. So british french american ships delivered their cargoes outside of the major ports or arrived late at night under cover of darkness or bribed and or bribed every official they could see inside there were fortunes to be made. So of course, it was quite quite an efficient way to do it. When i say fortunes were made, you might suspect that. This is distant and foreign history, which is unoperable to you as an american citizen. But ill present you with this one interesting case in. 1833 a young man named warren delano. It was only 24 years old. Arrived in Quantum Province, and he became involved in the Opium Trade. He made a fortune. He made so much money. He was able to return to the United States and as it happens to be marry into a very wealthy and old family. What happens of course . Is that once you become wealthy nobody ever wonders how you made your money. They only know that you are wealthy. He had a daughter. His daughter married into another important family old dutch family and they produced the son. The Sons Name was franklin delano roosevelt. Went on to become president of the United States. So when we talk about this China Trade, it actually has a direct relationship to us as american citizens. But as things are going on one of the things that happens, is that china keeps complaining that this Opium Trait is illegal and sends a special commissioner commissioner lin. Down to the south to confiscate all the opium. He confined and incarcerate all the mal factors. Well the amount of opium thats taken is huge. 55,000 chests of opium or taken now a chest of opium is roughly the size of a microwave. So were talking about a lot of opium. And of course everybody who was involved directly is incarcerated he reads aloud. Once again, it is illegal to bring opium into China And Britain takes an interesting position. Britain says you have just taken british property and you havent paid for it this leads to an argument which becomes the first and second of the socalled opium wars where britain sends gunboats to force payment involves itself in a Shooting War with china and in both Cases China loses for a very simple Reason China was old china was vast but china had fallen behind technologically. Her ships were not as maneuverable as the british ships. They would have stayed at the art. Her cannons were woefully behind the chinese cannons were cast of bronze and made it in portugal in the 1600s. The british cannons were again the very finest there could be had in the most accurate. So britain handily won the first and second of these so called open wars and used that opportunity to demand the china open up several other ports, including ning paul. Parts of Shanghai Chiensen etc. Once this news became known this is what happened if we take a look at this political cartoon, you can step around. If you take a look at this political cartoon you get an idea of what was to happen. Here we see china shown as a sleeping dragon, of course a reference to a napoleons comment that china was a Sleeping Giant and fighting over the carcass. We see the british lion the russian bear the american eagle the french rooster etc. Theyre all farting over the carcass to be more exact. It was quite common for people to march in and just take over a whole section of China And Rule as if it were their own country. Though most of you dont look old enough to drink. I must suspect that some of you are old enough to drink and therefore if you have been in a chinese restaurant, you know, there is a chinese beer. Called singtow. Beer comes to the green bottle. You may have seen it. Have you ever wondered why beer is made in china . Because in 1885 Germany came in and took over the entire problems of shantong and ruled it as if it were at all. Most of you are not old enough to remember that what we refer to today is southeast asia had been referred to formally as french, indochina. Because indeed france had come in and taken over the vassal states that had formally been part of Chinas Empire and made them their own. This is why when you go to have written foe but actually pronounced for Youll Notice that the menu thats written in vietnamese is written in an alphabet a phonetic alphabet. Why because the french Couldnt Deal with character so they introduced the phonetic alphabet. Now while all of this is going on we have an interesting situation percolating in the far south. China in terms of its government is crumbling. What is happening . The Qing Dynasty came in in 1644 froze everything and attempted to just basically run chinas that had been run for the previous dynasty or two. But things were corroding collapsing from within impoding. The war was britain was disastrous because amongst other things there had been peasant uprisings, but now china had to pay the cost of the opium and the cost of the expeditions in silver two britain. And the only way she could do that was by taxing the peasants in advance, which means if you are paying this years taxes, you must also pay next years taxes and taxes for the year after that most of you know, theres a little thing called foreclosure when you cannot pay your taxes your land is taken from you and this was the situation now in this one particular area in the far south of china one province. We have a very interesting situation. Quantum province was chosen as a major Trade Area for a number of reasons and one of them was it had been a traditional Trade Area since the Tong Dynasty roughly since around the 700s western calendar. Now what happened normally was you ward your ships offshore on these islands. Macau is a Port Hong Kong is a port etc. You went up through the delta with a special Trading Handler Compreador to the Trading Compound in the city of canton fabled and famous the city of canton was synonymous with trade was synonymous with riches so much. So in the United States in the 18 early part of the 1800s and later the name canton was used again and again as cities incorporated his towns incorporated in hopes, they would become as famous as the city in china. He is an example this is a brochure from canton, michigan. When i began several years ago, i used to comment that there was a canton ohio, which is very famous, but then as groups came through they would say oh well, were from mississippi. We have a canto mississippi. Oh, were from new hampshire. We have a canton new hampshire, so i went to the trustee internet. And looked it up and discovered approximately 41 to 42 of the 50 states have a City Or Town named canton and they are named in honor. Of the fabled Trade City of Canton Guangzhou in chinese in canada. So there are foreigners coming through constantly. Now this has an effect. Because the topography here is a little unusual. The delta is very rich. Its famous actually for fruits and vegetables. The city is very rich lots of trade. But the surrounding land is very poor. If you enter the area that you see marked here in beige and brown you come to an area which at that time was vastly overpopulated. And a special situation had developed since the land could only support the local people six months out of the year it became customary for men to leave the land yearly to look for work on the Sea Coast now the reason why this is unusual is because throughout much of chinas confucian directed culture. It was a matter, of course that adult male stayed close to their parents to support them in their own age, but here was a situation where the only way to support the family was to leave periodically and so it began a process which we see it even to this Day Part of that process was the men would work seasonally on the Sea Coast. Thats laborers steve adores. What have you take the money they made and buy merchandise. Return to the village and sell it therefore doubling their profits for having gone to the Sea Coast by selling things that they bought at the seacoast back in the village. It was to begin the cantonese. Of small businessmen which still exists in this day most people notice kennedy is a very good at small business. They tend to be a little leery of corporations, but theyre excellent at small business. Now way of after wave do this every year and things become very very bad. There is amongst other things the socalled opium wars by the middle of the 1800s a chinese mystic who spent several weeks at a christian missionary falls into a coma. And when he comes out of the coma he realizes he is the younger brother of jesus christ. His last name was hong and he began a great uprising called the great heavenly Peace Uprising the taiping uprising and it was to free the land and make everybody equal but what it did eventually was last for 14 years and cost the lives of over 20 million people. This devastated large portions of china the south notwithstanding this whole areas that are devastated is a huge social unrest now as men begin to come to the Sea Coast they begin to fork in two different directions. One is they start to walk south if you walk south out of southern china you end up in . Oh my youll end up in vietnam. If you continue further south you end up in the peninsula you end up in indonesia, malaysia etc. If you go to the seacoast there are foreign ships waiting and is it just so happened during this time period it happened to be during a period of expansion for many western nations now. Heres a Push Factor this area between 1850 and 1900 the areas that you see marked in beijing brown. Saw 14 floods seven typhoons of a Katrina Sandy nature of course with so much Death And Destruction five years of epidemics. Four earthquakes and two years of complete drought. Meaning that every Year Something happened which was to drive these men off the land drive them off the land. They stepped the board ships. In the early and middle 1800s because of something very basic that had happened in another part of the World Spain and england had ended slavery. As a matter of Fact America had ended the Slave Trade as well didnt mean they had ended slavery, but they had stopped the Slave Trade which meant they couldnt go raiding in Africa Or Deal with africans who traded in slaves anymore. They needed cheap labor the british found that source of cheap labor in two places. The punjabi of india where they found indian farmers who are willing to leave and of course Quantum Province with thousands and thousands of men were being driven to the seacoast almost every year to look for work. If they were lucky they ended up someplace that wasnt too bad if they were unlucky they were set up in lots of 20 or 30 numbers were painted on their chest. Nobody registered their names and they might be sent to the guano mines of peru. I dont know if youre familiar with the guano mines of peru. People know what guano is. Yes, its the droppings dry droppings of bats in some of the caves of peru it had been going on for millions of years. So its several feet thick. It happens. Also be a very important component in fertilizer and explosives. So these men would cut it with various tools and bring it out in chunks the Life Expectancy of a Guano Minor was a roughly a year and a half terrible trade but in the middle of all of this something was to happen in california that drew thousands of these men here right here. What happened in california in 1848 . More professional wrong 1848 really gold is discovered. The Gold Rush doesnt happen until 1849. Please. Join me over here. Just making sure youre still awake. There was a sleepy place called yoruba buena. It was first in a spanish and then later mexican territory. In the early 1840s. Heres a little Pencil Sketch made by a visitor. Of of the little town of Yerba Buena Dana in his book two years before the mass visits this little port and points out there really isnt much here. Theres about a handful of buildings the population estimates go from 400 to 800. Not much is going on one ship a month passes through but something is to happen. And Thats Something is caused by theres a picture of him. He came back several years later to have his photograph taken next to the lumber mill. This is mr. Marshall. Now he was working for. Mr. Sutter Johann Seater he just he hated it when people called him sutter. But his name was because he was swiss but his name was often just broke down at this sutter. We have a Sutter Street here, of course. Now he had a Land Grant from mexico. That was so big. He was planning to make his own country. Seriously new helveta whos going to be a new switzerland here in the california hills but to do this he had to have lumber so houses could be billed and people could come and live here. So he he basically hired mr. Marshall to set up the lumber mill. Mr. Marshall while checking the runoff one day finds a shiny object thinks its Gold Wasnt sure. Tested it and realizes ultimately after about three or four days. It is gold. Now whats really interesting here is gold have been discovered several times before in california, but if you think about it people usually kept it quiet. Why would you tell everybody that theres gold where you are . The difference was this man . This man is mr. Samuel brennan. We have a Brannon Street here too, mr. Brannon was very important in the early days of the founding of San Francisco as a city. He had a store in sacramento originally as a mormon. He had come to your Bro Buena with 200 mormons under good ship, brooklyn. To meet bring them young who was supposed to arrive generally in this area, but bring them young had discovered that utah was the promised land. And so what was to happen was he stopped there . Mr. Brandon met him there. They had a falling out brandon came back and opened up a store in sacramento. Sacramento. The store is still there. The brick outside of the store still there. Strangely. Its now a restaurant called fat city thats owned by chinese people. What was to happen was mr. Brown and heard that gold have been discovered and reasoned very simply if there was a Gold Rush to the hills of the sierras people would have to pass through sacramento if they passed through sacramento, they would have to walk past his store. So he immediately went out once he discovered these rumors were true. And bought up everything you could possibly need in order to look for gold pans picks shovels etc once he had completed that task he came down here. He had a little newspaper. Not too far from what were standing right now. And he ran around portsmouth square with a small vial of Gold Dust screaming gold has been discovered on the american river. People heard and dropped what they were doing and ran to the hills now. You know the Push Factor out of southern china and now you know the pull factor. This is the first of a Threepart Series on the chinese in america with Historian And Storyteller charlie chin. You can view this and other american artifacts at our Website Cspan Dot org slash history. Next we continue our look at the chinese in america with a visit to San Franciscos chinatown. This is the second of a Threepart Series and we pick up the story with the discovery of gold in, california in 1848. We have an unusual and remarkable situation here. Gold is discovered in 1848. And the reason why cantonese was amongst the first to hear about it, is that there already were some chinese here. News spread back to southern china and in a flash thousands of men began to board ships to head forun