The Transnational History of a Chinese Family Ii Acknowledgments Acknowledgments Iii the Transnational History of a Chinese Family
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
Acknowledgments i The Transnational History of a Chinese Family ii Acknowledgments Acknowledgments iii The Transnational History of a Chinese Family IMMIGRANT LETTERS, FAMILY BUSINESS, AND REVERSE MIGRATION h HAIMING LIU Rutgers University Press New Brunswick, New Jersey, and London iv Acknowledgments Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Liu, Haiming, 1953– The transnational history of a Chinese family : immigrant letters, family business, and reverse migration / Haiming Liu. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 0-8135-3596-4 (hardcover : alk. paper) — ISBN 0-8135-3597-2 (pbk. : alk. paper) 1. Chang family. 2. Chinese Americans—California—Biography. 3. California— Emigration and immigration—History. 4. China—Emigration and immigration—History. I. Title. F870.C5L58 2005 304.8'73051'0922—dc22 2004023483 A British Cataloging-in-Publication record for this book is available from the British Library. Copyright © 2005 by Haiming Liu All rights reserved No part of this book may be reproduced or utilized in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without written permission from the publisher. Please contact Rutgers University Press, 100 Joyce Kilmer Avenue, Piscataway, NJ 08854–8099. The only exception to this prohibition is “fair use” as defined by U.S. copyright law. Manufactured in the United States of America Acknowledgments v To my own family vi Acknowledgments Acknowledgments vii CONTENTS Acknowledgments ix Note on Romanization xiii Introduction 1 1 Origins of the Chang Family 13 2 Yitang as a Merchant Immigrant 29 3 Herbal Medicine as a Transplanted Culture 45 4 Between Troubled Home and Racist America 70 5 Asparagus Farming as a Family Business 100 6 Education as a Family Agenda 126 7 China as a Cultural Home 163 Genealogical Chart: The Chang Family Tree 211 Notes 213 Glossary 231 Selected Bibliography 237 Index 249 vii viii Acknowledgments Acknowledgments ix ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I am deeply grateful to many people and organizations that provided assis- tance, advice, and encouragement during this research project. Suellen Cheng introduced me to the collection of Sam Chang’s letters and other family pa- pers years ago, when I worked as a research assistant for the Chinese Ameri- can Museum in Los Angeles. I greatly appreciate her assistance and comments on my early research on Chinese family life; she is a true friend. The Chi- nese Historical Society of Southern California has always been kind and gen- erous in giving me access to the Chang family papers, and to copies of interviews of Sam Chang and his relatives available at the Historical Soci- ety. The Society is truly dedicated to procuring and preserving archival ma- terial that promotes greater understanding of the Chinese experience in the United States; the Sam Chang letters are just one part of its growing collec- tion of documents, artifacts, and information. Gilbert Hom of the Associa- tion helped me reproduce some photographs of the Chang family and scheduled my visit to Lillian and Marie, daughters of Yitang Chung. This book is partially based on my dissertation; as my dissertation ad- visor, John M. Liu of the University of California, Irvine, guided me through- out the writing process. His mentorship is instrumental to my development as an Asian American scholar; although we are unrelated, I always regard him as an elder brother. I am also indebted to my other U.C. Irvine faculty men- tors, including (though not limited to) Dickran Tashjian, Raul Fernandez, Ken- neth Chew, and Gordon Chang (currently at Stanford), who either served in my dissertation committee or read the entirety or a portion of my disserta- tion. Dickran hosted me in his house when I first arrived in America, with two suitcases, as a graduate student. My special thanks also go to the Asian American Studies Center of the University of California, Los Angeles, which offered me a prestigious ix x Acknowledgments Rockefeller Foundation Fellowship in 1990 to further my research on Sam Chang’s letters. Both Russell Leong and the late Yuji Ichioka of the Center shared their perceptive thoughts on my research and their interest in trans- Pacific Chinese family history, and assisted me in publishing an article on Chinese trans-Pacific family experience in the Amerasia Journal. I have fond memories also of life as a graduate fellow at the University of California Hu- manities Research Institute, which provided me with a precious Minority Dis- course Fellowship in 1991–92. This fellowship was crucial to my development as a research scholar and enabled me to seek advice and share and exchange thoughts with faculty fellows, including distinguished scholars from various U.C. campuses. Faculty fellows, especially Abdul JanMohamed, Clara Sue Kidwell, and Sterling Stuckey, kindly read and commented on my research on Chinese herbalists in America, research later sent to Journal of Asian American Studies (JAAS) for publication. John Liu, Gary Okihiro, and two anonymous JAAS readers offered insightful suggestions for revision. Paul Chase, a very knowledgeable scholar on Chinese Americans, also provided important comments. I am particularly grateful to these persons because herbal medicine is so important a topic in this book. I also wish to express deep gratitude to California State Polytechnic University, Pomona, my academic home, which provided one summer stipend, a two-quarter sabbatical leave, and one course release for this project. Dean Joan S. Bissell has offered me genuine encouragement. With such support, I was able to revise my manuscript substantially. I want to express sincere thanks to the relatives of Sam Chang, includ- ing (though not limited to) Lillian and David Wong, Marie Louie, the late Estelle Wang, Joyce Koe, and Karen Koe in America and Tang Wensheng in China, who shared generous time, valuable recollections, and family photos of their and Sam Chang’s life experience. Their transnational family life in many ways mirrors my own. It is their story that inspired me to write this book. I am fortunate to know Him Mark Lai, who generously shared infor- mation and thoughts about Sam Chang and his family. A selfless scholar, Lai has repeatedly provided comments and feedback on my research. Xiao-huang Yin, a genuine scholar and true friend, discussed transnationalism in Asian American studies with me at length, greatly impacting my writing. Two anony- mous readers have provided insightful comments, meaningful suggestions, and sincere criticism. I also thank Xiaojian Zhao, whose thoughtful and de- tailed comments on the manuscript have pushed me to expand the scope of my research focus and sharpened my thoughts on transnational Chinese family history; she is a true friend. Young Chen is also a great friend whose support Acknowledgments xi and encouragement are indispensable. Other friends who offered genuine en- couragement and inspired me in my writing on the transnational experience of the Chinese include Wei Li, Zong Li, Huping Ling, Jinqi Ling, Yuan Shu, Fenggang Yang, Philip Yang, Da Zheng, and Min Zhou. I also thank the Na- tional Archives and its staff specialists. Archivist Lisa B. Gezelter of the Na- tional Archives and Records Administration at Laguna Niguel, California, gave indispensable support and assistance when I researched immigration files of the Chang family. She helped me locate all the Chang family files there available. Other staff also helped me in my research, and reproduced photos of the Chang family immigration files. William Greene of the National Ar- chives and Records Administration at San Bruno, California, also selflessly researched immigration files of the Chang family; I have included several photos provided by him in the book. Selia Tan, a scholar researching the Guangdong watchtowers in China, kindly provided me a recent photo of the Chang family reading house in their home village. I express my deepest appreciation to the Rutgers University Press for its interest in this project. Melanie Halkias expressed her confidence in the manuscript when we began to communicate with each other on how to re- vise it. She was also professionally understanding to my responses to read- ers’ comments and suggestions, and remained supportive and patient when I was revising the manuscript while a scholar with a heavy teaching load. I am truly grateful to Paula Friedman for her meticulous copyediting and kind words on my writing. Assistance from Marilyn Campbell has been invaluable. Members of my family have long supported me in my academic pur- suit. My wife and son became transnational family members themselves when, years ago, I came to study in the United States. My parents took care of my son after my wife sacrificed her own promising career in China to join me in America. We did not see our son for a few years, until my parents brought him over. Although we missed him dearly, we knew we might not be able to come back to the United States on our student visas if we returned to visit him. Deep in our hearts, we still regret this separation. My family members have always understood and tolerated my interest in and sometimes frustra- tion over the messy, handwritten letters of Sam Chang. In the early period of my research, they even helped organize those letters. My wife helped me dis- cern many words and phrases that were difficult to recognize. My son also assisted me to design the Chang family lineage chart and the book cover. Sam Chang is a familiar name to my wife and son. Without their support and love, this book would not have been possible. xii Acknowledgments Acknowledgments xiii NOTE ON ROMANIZATION This book uses pinyin to Romanize Chinese names and terms from Chinese- language sources. The Wade-Gile spellings of Canton and Toisan, for example, are rendered as Guangzhou and Taishan in pinyin.