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The Hawai‘i Chinese: Their Experience and Identity Over Two Centuries 2 0 1 0 CHINESE AMERICA History&Perspectives thej O u r n a l O f T HE C H I n E s E H I s T O r I C a l s OCIET y O f a m E r I C a Chinese America History and PersPectives the Journal of the chinese Historical society of america 2010 Special issUe The hawai‘i Chinese Chinese Historical society of america with UCLA asian american studies center Chinese America: History & Perspectives – The Journal of the Chinese Historical Society of America The Hawai‘i Chinese chinese Historical society of america museum & learning center 965 clay street san francisco, california 94108 chsa.org copyright © 2010 chinese Historical society of america. all rights reserved. copyright of individual articles remains with the author(s). design by side By side studios, san francisco. Permission is granted for reproducing up to fifty copies of any one article for educa- tional Use as defined by thed igital millennium copyright act. to order additional copies or inquire about large-order discounts, see order form at back or email [email protected]. articles appearing in this journal are indexed in Historical Abstracts and America: History and Life. about the cover image: Hawai‘i chinese student alliance. courtesy of douglas d. l. chong. Contents Preface v Franklin Ng introdUction 1 the Hawai‘i chinese: their experience and identity over two centuries David Y. H. Wu and Harry J. Lamley Hawai‘i’s nam long 13 their Background and identity as a Zhongshan subgroup Douglas D. L. Chong mercHant Prince 23 chun afong in Hawai‘i, 1849–90 Robert Paul Dye Changing roles and statUs among Prominent Chinese in Hawai‘i 37 Clarence E. Glick and Doris L. Glick tHe cHinese in Hawai‘i 51 early photographs Douglas D. L. Chong OpiUm and tHe law 61 Hawai‘i, 1856–1900 Lily Lim-Chong and Harry V. Ball Christianity and dr. Sun yat-sen’s scHooling in Hawai‘i, 1879–83 75 Irma Tam Soong a centUry of Chinese Christians 87 a case study on cultural integration in Hawai‘i Carol C. Fan The Chinese commUnity Press in Hawai‘i 95 Him Mark Lai etHnicity and elections in Hawai‘i 105 the case of James K. Kealoha Michaelyn P. Chou iii iv Contents food and CultUre 113 chinese restaurants in Hawai‘i Franklin Ng eating History 123 chinese american gastronomy in Hawai‘i Judith M. Kirkendall contemPorary overseas Chinese etHnicity in tHe Pacific region 133 Edgar Wickberg about the contributors 143 about the editorial committee 145 guidelines for manuscript submission 147 chinese Historical society of america membership form 149 Preface n thinking about the chinese in the United states, many okamura, Asian Settler Colonialism: From Local Governance to people traditionally have focused on those in san fran- the Habits of Everyday Life in Hawai‘i (Honolulu: University icisco, los angeles, chicago, and new york, but not of Hawai‘i Press, 2008), which takes a more critical view of Hawai‘i. Hawai‘i, after all, occupies an unusual place in the asian migration to the Hawaiian islands. history of the United states. it was a Polynesian kingdom this list of publications is hardly exhaustive, but for Him until 1893, when it was overthrown by a small group of mark lai, some other essays were worthy of wider dissemi- americans. as President grover cleveland was not willing nation. a committed scholar of chinese american history to annex the islands, Hawai‘i was not to become part of the with an extraordinary breadth of interests and vision, he had United states until after the spanish-american war in 1898; attended a scholarly conference on the chinese in Hawai‘i it became an american territory in 1900. in 1988 at the east-west center in Honolulu. Having par- But the chinese arrived in Hawai‘i before they ever set foot ticipated in the panels and proceedings, he believed that the in california. the first chinese arrived on board the Felice presentations deserved greater currency and distribution. it and the Iphigenia in 1789, and the first shipload of contract is due to his tireless efforts that this issue of Chinese Amer- laborers came in 1852 on the Thetis. the chinese thus have ica: History & Perspectives, with its focus on the chinese of a long history of living and working in the Hawaiian islands. Hawai‘i, has taken form. the introduction to the original con- in fact, they celebrated their two hundredth anniversary there ference proceedings, written by david y. H. wu and Harry in 1989. J. lamley, refers to a number of papers presented at the con- the rich history of the chinese in Hawai‘i has generated ference. some of these essays are not included in this com- many books and articles, but a few are worth special note. pilation because copyright permission could not be secured the classic study on the chinese experience of migration and for them. However, two essays by Judith m. Kirkendall and adaptation down to world war II is clarence elmer glick, carol c. fan, presented at the conference but not included in Sojourners and Settlers: Chinese Migrants in Hawaii (Honolulu: the original conference volume, are included here. University Press of Hawai‘i, 1980). it was nicely comple- the preparation of these papers for publication received mented by tin-yuke char’s edited compilation, The Sandal- support from many dedicated individuals. wing tek lum wood Mountains: Readings and Stories of the Early Chinese in and douglas chong labored diligently to assist with contacts Hawaii (Honolulu: University Press of Hawai‘i, 1975). in Hawai‘i, laurene mcclain offered timely expert advice, and the bicentennial celebration in 1989 led to the publi- laura lai answered key questions. crucial support in getting cation of a commemorative volume, Sailing for the Sun: The the essays into the proper format, under the able direction of Chinese in Hawaii, 1789–1989, edited by arlene lum (Hono- michelle louie, was provided by sarah choy, theresa coo- lulu: three Heroes, 1988). since that occasion, numerous per, amy Hamamoto, Janice Hom, Helen Huang, nobukai new books and articles have come forth, of which several momoi, dian Qu, claudia Quan, melody takata, richard are noteworthy. one is yansheng ma lum and raymond tom, imelda ved, carmen wong, and Johnson Zheng. mun Kong lum, Sun Yat-sen in Hawai‘i: Activities and Sup- we apologize for any typing and spelling errors, especially porters (Honolulu: Hawai‘i chinese History center, 1999), of chinese and Hawaiian names, that were made in the pro- which looks into Hawai‘i’s prominent role in the education cess of retyping the original documents. the authors’ own use and development of this founder of the chinese republic in of the various romanizations of chinese characters was main- 1911. another is adam mcKeown, Chinese Migrant Networks tained. throughout the process, the editorial board of the chi- and Cultural Change: Peru, Chicago, and Hawaii, 1900–1936 nese Historical society of america gave much-needed encour- (chicago: University of chicago Press, 2001), which offers a agement and guidance. to all the above, aloha and mahalo! comparative perspective on the role of networks in the migra- tion process and the shaping of communities. still another franklin ng is the volume edited by candace fujikane and Jonathan y. Honolulu, July 8, 2010 v Introduction The Hawai‘i Chinese: Their Experience and Identity over Two Centuries David Y. H. Wu and Harry J. Lamley David Y. H. Wu and Harry J. Lamley, “Introduction – The The themes of experience and identity have led us to Hawai‘i Chinese: Their Experience and Identity over Two Cen visualize the Chinese in Hawai‘i from broader perspectives turies,” Chinese America: History & Perspectives – The Jour- as well. The island Chinese have been affected by affairs in nal of the Chinese Historical Society of America (San Fran China and North America and by transpacific contacts. They cisco: Chinese Historical Society of America with UCLA Asian have also been influenced at times by regional and national American Studies Center, 2010), pages 1–11. issues. Concerns relating to the Chinese in Southeast Asia in recent decades, for example, have had a bearing on the ow have people of Chinese descent fared in the island Chinese, particularly those island Chinese who immi- Hawaiian Islands over the past two hundred years? grated from Vietnam, Laos, or Cambodia. Moreover, the cur- HWhat has become of them? And who exactly are rent issue of what “being Chinese” basically means, both in the Hawai‘i Chinese today? Questions of this sort were China and elsewhere, involves global matters of significance raised at our 1988 conference on the Chinese in Hawai‘i and has renewed scholarly interest in the present state of the and voiced on occasion during the Chinese Bicentennial Chinese diaspora around the world. We also attempt briefly celebrated throughout the state in 1989. Such basic ques- to relate the recent experience and changing identity of the tions are appropriate at this juncture. The Chinese were the Hawai‘i Chinese to this far-ranging issue. first Asians to reach Hawai‘i, and interest in their long and In this short introduction we are not able to develop continuous presence in the Islands has invariably resulted these dual themes fully in their many dimensions. Our dis- in inquiries about the background and makeup of their cussion of the Hawai‘i Chinese experience over such a long group. In recent years, however, these matters have taken time span is necessarily limited to historical or diachronic on greater relevance for the Hawai‘i Chinese as they have summaries, along with references to specific episodes and become more keenly aware of their roots.