History of Chinese Americans in Seattle

Last updated
The Wing Luke Museum of the Asian Pacific American Experience, housed in the restored 1910 East Kong Yick Building Seattle - East Kong Yick Building 01.jpg
The Wing Luke Museum of the Asian Pacific American Experience, housed in the restored 1910 East Kong Yick Building

Greater Seattle has had a Chinese American community almost since its founding in 1851. Chinese workers arriving in the 1860s were welcomed, because the Seattle area was sparsely settled and workers were needed; within a few decades, however, newly arrived white settlers resented the Chinese workers, and there were several anti-Chinese riots as the whites attempted to expel the Chinese from the area. [1] Chinese settlement persisted, with the immigrants settling in a well-defined Chinatown where they maintained their culture through family groups, associations, and churches. In the mid-20th century Chinese Americans joined with other immigrant groups to oppose racial discrimination. In 1962 a Chinese American became the first person of Asian ancestry to hold elective office in the state of Washington.

Contents

History

Chinese people were the first Asians to settle in Seattle, arriving directly from China or via San Francisco in the 1860s. The majority of these immigrants came from the area around Guangzhou (Canton). [2] They worked as fishermen, cannery and mill workers, miners, loggers, or domestic help. Later they worked on railroad construction and building projects. [3] Initially welcomed because of the region's labor shortage, [1] : 85  the Chinese later became resented as more white settlers arrived. This resentment was felt in other states as well, notably California, and in 1882 it led to the passage of the federal Chinese Exclusion Act.

Racial tension in the Washington Territory came to a head in the 1880s during an economic recession. [2] White workers, particularly mine workers, believed the Chinese workers were taking their jobs, and resorted to rioting and force to make the Chinese leave. [1] The Seattle riot of 1886 led to the forced expulsion of some 350 Chinese men; [1] : 104–105  many others left voluntarily. [1] : 107  Other anti-Chinese riots in the area included the Tacoma riot of 1885 and the Attack on Squak Valley Chinese laborers, 1885 in what is now Issaquah. President Grover Cleveland ordered federal military forces into Seattle and other parts of the Washington Territory to restore order. [1] In 1886, Washington Territory added a constitutional provision barring aliens ineligible for citizenship from owning property, which effectively prohibited Chinese immigrants from land ownership. [4]

The "Historic Chinatown Gate" in Chinatown, completed in 2008 Seattle - Chinatown gate 04.jpg
The "Historic Chinatown Gate" in Chinatown, completed in 2008

At first the Chinese workers settled along the eastern edge of Pioneer Square, in the area now occupied by the 2nd Avenue Extension. A new Chinatown grew up in the early 1900s on fill land south of Pioneer Square. Its Wa Chong Co. was the first Asian-owned manufacturing business in America. [5] Japanese and Filipino residents also settled there. By the 1930s Chinatown and "Japantown" were distinct neighborhoods. Elementary schooling for children from both Seattle's Chinatown and Japantown primarily took place at Seattle's Main Street School [6] and, later, Bailey Gatzert. [7]

The Internment of Japanese Americans during World War II led to the abandonment of Japan Town and its takeover by other ethnic groups from Asia and the Pacific Islands. In 1951 the area was renamed the Seattle Chinatown-International District to reflect its growing diversity. [8]

In the 1930s, the Chinese American community united with the Japanese American and Filipino American communities to fight a proposed ban on interracial marriage. Later the same communities rallied against other discriminatory practices such as restrictive housing and racial preference in hiring. In the late 1960s, inspired by the Civil Rights Movement and student opposition to the Vietnam War, these traditional coalitions were formalized as the Asian Coalition for Equality, the Oriental Student Movement, and the Asian American Student Coalition. [9]

In 1962 Wing Luke became the first Asian American to hold elected office (Seattle City Council) in Washington state. [10]

The Wah Mee massacre, in which 13 people were killed during a robbery, took place in Seattle's Chinatown–International District in 1983.

In 1997 Gary Locke was elected governor of the state of Washington, becoming the first, and as of 2014 the only, Chinese American to serve as governor of a state; in 2009 he became the first Chinese American ambassador to China. [11]

Demographics

As of the 2010 United States Census, there were 45,018 Chinese Americans living in King County, including 3,088 who identified themselves as Taiwanese. [12] Members of the Chinese American community run the gamut from those whose families have lived in the United States for generations to recent immigrants. [12]

Culture

Chinese settlers in the Seattle area maintained their identity through tongs and family associations such as Gee How Oak Tin. The Chong Wa Benevolent Association, a coalition of Chinese American groups and businesses, was chartered in 1910. Churches such as the Chinese Baptist Church also served to unite the community. [2]

The Wing Luke Museum of the Asian Pacific American Experience (nicknamed "The Wing") is located in the Chinatown-International District and is housed in the East Kong Yick Building, a restored 1910 building. It is an affiliate of the Smithsonian Institution. [13]

Media

The Seattle Chinese Times is published in Seattle. [14]

Chinese Radio Seattle (simplified Chinese :西雅图中文电台; traditional Chinese :西雅圖中文電臺; pinyin :Xīyǎtú Zhōngwén Diàntái) operates on 1150 AM. [15]

Seattle Chinese Portal (simplified Chinese: 西雅图中文网; traditional Chinese: 西雅圖中文網;

Education

The Northwest Chinese School (simplified Chinese:西北中文学校; traditional Chinese:西北中文學校; pinyin:Xīběi Zhōngwén Xuéxiào), which teaches Chinese, mathematics, and other classes to students aged 4–18, is held at Newport High School in Bellevue. It is the largest weekend Chinese school in the United States. As of 2013 95% of the students are of Asian ancestry while 5% are not. [16]

The Seattle Chinese School (simplified Chinese:西雅图华文学校; traditional Chinese:西雅圖華文學校; pinyin:Xīyǎtú Huáwén Xuéxiào) holds its classes at Interlake High School in Bellevue. [17]

Notable residents

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chinatown–International District, Seattle</span> Historic district in Washington, United States

The Chinatown–International District of Seattle, Washington is the center of the city's Asian American community. Within the district are the three neighborhoods known as Chinatown, Japantown and Little Saigon, named for the concentration of businesses owned by people of Chinese, Japanese and Vietnamese descent, respectively. The geographic area also once included Manilatown.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Santo António, Macau</span> Freguesia in China

Santo António is a civil parish in the western portion of the Macau Peninsula of Macau. It has the highest population density in Macau.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wing Luke</span> American lawyer

Wing Chong Luke was a Chinese-American lawyer and politician from Seattle.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wing Luke Museum</span> Ethnic history museum in Washington, U.S.

The Wing Luke Museum is a museum in Seattle, Washington, United States, which focuses on the culture, art and history of Asian Pacific Americans. It is located in the city's Chinatown-International District. Established in 1967, the museum is a Smithsonian Institution affiliate and the only pan-Asian Pacific American community-based museum in the country. It has relocated twice since its founding, most recently to the East Kong Yick Building in 2008. In February 2013 it was recognized as one of two dozen affiliated areas of the U.S. National Park Service.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chinatown, Philadelphia</span> Neighborhood of Philadelphia in Pennsylvania, United States

Philadelphia Chinatown is a predominantly Asian American neighborhood in Center City, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. The Philadelphia Chinatown Development Corporation supports the area. The neighborhood stretches from Vine Street on the north; Arch Street on the south; North Franklin Street and North 7th Street on the east; to North Broad Street on the west.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tsinghua University High School</span> Public school in Beijing, China

Tsinghua University High School, or Tsinghua High School for short, is a high school in China, located in Beijing. Based on its current status, a more precise translation should be 'The secondary school affiliated to Tsinghua University'. In a 2016 ranking of Chinese high schools that send students to study in American universities, Tsinghua University High School ranked number 10 in mainland China in terms of the number of students entering top American universities.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Newport High School (Bellevue, Washington)</span> Public, coeducational school in Bellevue, Washington, United States

Newport High School (NHS) is a public high school in Bellevue, Washington. It serves students in grades 9–12 in the southern part of the Bellevue School District, including the neighborhoods of Eastgate, Factoria, Newport Hills, Newport Shores, Somerset, The Summit, and Sunset. As of the 2022–23 school year, the principal is Dion Yahoudy. The mascot is the Knight, and the school colors are scarlet and gold.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">St. Louis Modern Chinese School</span> School in Missouri, United States

The St. Louis Modern Chinese School is an American school that teaches Chinese as a second language and Chinese culture. The school is located in the Esquire Building at 6710 Clayton Road in Richmond Heights, Missouri, a suburb of St. Louis.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Seattle riot of 1886</span>

The Seattle riot of 1886 occurred on February 6–9, 1886, in Seattle, Washington, amidst rising anti-Chinese sentiment caused by intense labor competition and in the context of an ongoing struggle between labor and capital in the Western United States. The dispute arose when a mob affiliated with a local Knights of Labor chapter formed small committees to carry out a forcible expulsion of all Chinese from the city. Violence erupted between the Knights of Labor rioters and federal troops ordered in by President Grover Cleveland. The incident resulted in the removal of over 200 Chinese civilians from Seattle and left two militia men and three rioters seriously injured.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">East Kong Yick Building</span>

The East Kong Yick Building is one of two buildings erected in Seattle, Washington's Chinatown-International District (ID) by the Kong Yick Investment Company. A four-story hotel in the core of the ID, with retail stores at ground level, the East Kong Yick was created by the pooled resources of 170 Chinese American pioneers. In, 2008, the building reopened as the home of the expanded Wing Luke Asian Museum.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Guangdong Guangya High School</span> School in Guangzhou, Guangdong, China

Guangdong Guangya High School is a reputed senior high school in Guangzhou, Guangdong, People's Republic of China which was founded by Zhang Zhidong, Viceroy of Liangguang on July 16, 1888 Its earliest predecessor Guangya Academy was one of the Four Academies of China in the late Qing dynasty. The name "Guangya" was chosen by Zhang Zhidong, meaning knowledgeability and integrity.

Ruby Chow was a Chinese American restaurateur and politician in Seattle, Washington.

The Seattle Chinese Times is a United States-based free bilingual weekly newspaper which was launched its first edition in May 2004 by Deng Rihua (邓日华).

Xi'an International School is a private, international day school in Xi'an, China. It was the city's first licensed international school, established to provide a schooling option for the children of expatriate businesspeople and diplomats, and NGO workers. It provides kindergarten through 12th-grade classes that follow the American education system.

<i>Finding Mr. Right</i> 2013 film

Finding Mr. Right is a 2013 romantic comedy film written and directed by Xue Xiaolu. The film was a box-office hit, grossed nearly US$85 million in China. The title translates literally as "Beijing Meets Seattle". A sequel was released in 2016, Finding Mr. Right 2.

As of 2002, ethnic Chinese and Chinese American people comprise the second-largest Asian-origin ethnic group in the Wayne–Macomb–Oakland tri-county area in Metro Detroit. As of that year there were 16,829 ethnic Chinese, concentrated mainly in Troy, Rochester Hills, and Canton Township. As of 2012, Madison Heights also hosts a significant Chinese community.

Greater St. Louis has a Chinese community.

I Lo-fen is a Taiwanese scholar and writer. She received her Chinese Literature Ph.D. from National Taiwan University. She has been an associate professor in the Division of Chinese in Nanyang Technological University’s School of Humanities and Social Sciences since July 2006, and was the Head of the Division (2014-2016). She had formerly committed in institutes like the National Taiwan University, Tamkang University, Fu Jen Catholic University, and the Institute of Chinese Literature and Philosophy at Academia Sinica. In addition, she was also a visiting professor at Stanford University in the United States and East Asian Institute at Sungkyunkwan University, South Korea. Her research expertise lies in Text and Image Studies, Su Shi studies, East Asian literature and intercultural exchanges in Classical Chinese, and Singapore literature, history, and arts studies. She is also a board member of the China Su Shi Studies Society, and an international board member of the Korea Society of East Asian Comparative Literature. She is the Founder and Honorary President of the "Text and Image Studies Society"(文图学会) that was official registered in Singapore on 18 December 2017. By integrating the history of Chinese literature and arts, she has accomplished a series of researches on poems in paintings and poetic imagery. She then proposed the idea of the “Text and Image Studies”(文图学) and focused on the relations, comparison and intertextuality between poems and paintings. From there, she has established her literary theory in arts creation and culture of aesthetics. She is also a column writer of Singapore Lianhe Zaobao (2007-), and she hosts podcast "Lofen says".

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Laurie, Clayton D.; Cole, Ronald H. (1997). "Chapter 4: Anti-Chinese Rioting in Washington Territory, 1885-1886". The role of federal military forces in domestic disorders, 1877-1945. Government Printing Office. pp. 95–109. ISBN   0-16-048983-0.
  2. 1 2 3 Klingle, Matthew W. "A History Bursting With Telling: Asian Americans in Washington State". Center for the Study of the Pacific Northwest. University of Washington. Retrieved 20 December 2014.
  3. ↑ Eskenazi, Stuart (November 4, 2001). "Familiar landscape lured Scandinavians". Seattle Times. Retrieved 15 December 2014.
  4. ↑ Grant, Nicole. "White Supremacy and the Alien Land Laws of Washington State." University of Washington (2008). Retrieved 15 July 2014.
  5. ↑ "Is Seattle a Haven for Asian Americans?". Goldsea. April 1, 2008. Retrieved 20 December 2014.
  6. ↑ "One Main Street School Annex" . Retrieved 2022-03-12.
  7. ↑ Miyamoto, Shotaro Frank (1984). Social Solidarity Among the Japanese in Seattle. University of Washington Press. pp. xv. ISBN   978-0295961514.
  8. ↑ "Seattle Historic Tours - International District". City of Seattle. Retrieved 15 December 2014.
  9. ↑ "Seattle's Asian American Movement". Seattle Civil Rights and Labor History Project. University of Washington. Retrieved 20 December 2014.
  10. ↑ Stripling, Sherry (February 25, 2005). "Wing Luke: the man behind the museum". Seattle Times. Retrieved 20 December 2014.
  11. ↑ Gilbert Cruz (February 25, 2009). "Commerce Secretary: Gary Locke". Time. Archived from the original on February 28, 2009. Retrieved December 20, 2014.
  12. 1 2 "Chinese Americans in King County and Washington State" (PDF). NorthwestHeritageResources.com. Retrieved 20 December 2014.
  13. ↑ "Wing Luke Museum of the Asian Pacific American Experience". Smithsonian Affiliations. Archived from the original on 8 December 2014. Retrieved 20 December 2014.
  14. ↑ "2012-2013 Seattle Business Directory Advertising Rate Archived 2014-10-13 at the Wayback Machine " (Archive). Seattle Chinese Times . Retrieved on June 15, 2014. "A: 316 Maynard Ave S #101-105 Seattle WA 98104"
  15. ↑ "首页." Chinese Radio Seattle. Retrieved on June 15, 2014.
  16. ↑ Wing, Jennifer. "Saturday language schools growing in popularity" (Archive). KPLU . May 10, 2013. Retrieved on March 8, 2015.
  17. ↑ "School Address." Seattle Chinese School. Retrieved on June 15, 2014.
  18. ↑ Hartnett, Kimberly Marlowe (July 17, 2014). "'A Chinaman's Chance': what makes a Chinese American". Seattle Times. Retrieved 20 December 2014.
  19. ↑ "Center for the Study of the Pacific Northwest". UW Homepage. Retrieved 2020-08-30.

Further reading

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.