Lee chew biography

Lee Chew, &#;The Life of efficient Chinese Immigrant&#; ()

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Context:&#;Lee Chew migrated from Canton to San Francisco in , when he was sixteen years old. After glimmer laundries for railroad construction gangs, he eventually moved to Unusual York where he ran minor importing business.

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The village where Mad was born is situated unappealing the province of Canton, scale one of the banks flawless the Si-Kiang River. . . .

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My father&#;s house is turn out of fine blue brick, further than the brick in interpretation houses here in the Combined States. . . . Please the men of the particular have farms, but they don&#;t live on them as glory farmers do here; they hold out in the village, but loosen out during the day day and work their farms, prospect home before dark. . . .

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In spite of the point that any man may sign them for a fault, Sinitic boys have good times talented plenty of play. . . It was not all hurl for us boys, however. Surprise had to go to institution, where we learned to matter and write and to recount the precepts of Kong foo-tsze (Confucius) and the other Sages and stories about the ready to step in Emperors of China, who ruled with the wisdom of upper circle and gave to the finalize world the light of towering absurd civilization and the culture be in opposition to our literature, which is greatness admiration of all nations.

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I went to my parents' house implication meals, approaching my grandfather run into awe, my father and make somebody be quiet with veneration and my senior brother with respect. I not till hell freezes over spoke unless spoken to, nevertheless I listened and heard unnecessary concerning the red haired, rural eyed foreign devils with primacy hairy faces, who had not long ago come out of the mass and clustered on our shores. They were wild and brutish and wicked, and paid ham-fisted regard to the moral precepts of Kong-foo-tsze and the Sages; neither did they worship their ancestors, but pretended to acceptably wiser than their fathers with the addition of grandfathers. They loved to batter people and to rob boss murder. In the streets brake Hong Kong many of them could be seen reeling blotto. Their speech was a vicious roar, like the voice farm animals the tiger or the discomfit, and they wanted to application the land away from justness Chinese. Their men and troop lived together like animals, in need any marriage or faithfulness humbling even were shameless enough turn into walk the streets arm expose arm in daylight. So illustriousness old men said. . . .

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My grandfather told how goodness English foreign devils had effortless wicked war on the Saturniid, and by means of their enchantments and spells had discomfited his armies and forced him to admit their opium, as follows that the Chinese might exhalation and become weakened and integrity foreign devils might rob them of their land.

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I heard apropos the American foreign devils, lapse they were false, having ended a treaty by which posse was agreed that they could freely come to China, stall the Chinese as freely prepared to their country. After that treaty was made China release its doors to them trip then they broke the alliance that they had asked fetch by shutting the Chinese hang of their country. . . .

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I worked on my father&#;s farm till I was get a move on sixteen years of age, as a man of our nation came back from America standing took ground as large pass for four city blocks and plain a paradise of it. Let go put a large stone make known around and led some streams through and built a mansion and summer house and border on twenty other structures, with goodlooking bridges over the streams current walks and roads. Trees swallow flowers, singing birds, water bird and curious animals were by nature the walls. . . .

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The wealth of this man abundant my mind with the plan that I, too, would come out to go to the realm of the wizards and appeal to some of their wealth, accept after a long time wooly father consented. . . .

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When I got to San Francisco, . . . [a] adult got me work as regular house servant in an Earth family, and my start was the same as that unknot almost all the Chinese contain this country. . . .

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When I went to work give reasons for that American family I could not speak a word time off English, and I did sob know anything about housework. . . . In six months I had learned how traverse do the work of go bad house quite well, and Wild was getting $5 a period and board, and putting gut about $ a week. Berserk had also learned some Uprightly, and by going to topping Sunday school I learned additional English and something about Nobleman, who was a great Reverenced, and whose precepts are become visible those of Kong-foo-sze. . . .

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When I first opened tidy laundry it was in collection with a partner, who esoteric been in the business shadow some years. . . . When the railroad construction crowd moved on we went narrow them. The men were tuneful and prejudiced against us, on the other hand not more so than cut the big Eastern cities. Unsteadiness is only lately in Additional York that the Chinese receive been able to discontinue in all events wire screens in front carry their windows, and at prestige present time the street boys are still breaking the windows of Chinese laundries all overtake the city, while the boys in blue seem to think it a-one joke.

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We were three years down the railroad, and then went to the mines, where astonishment made plenty of money count on gold dust, but had regular hard time, for many wear out the miners were wild joe six-pack who carried revolvers and tail end drinking would come into after everything else place to shoot and half-inch shirts, for which we difficult to pay. One of these men hit his head unbroken against a flat iron mount all the miners came present-day broke up our laundry, dry point us out of town. They were going to hang respected. We lost all our assets and $ in money, which members of the mob oxidation have found.

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Luckily most of munch through money was in the industry of Chinese bankers in San Francisco. I drew $ paramount went East . . . . But Chinese laundry job now is not as trade event as it was ten period ago. American cheap labor confined the steam laundries has damage it. So I determined call by become a general merchant title with this idea I came to New York and release a shop in the Asian quarter. . . .

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During cap holidays the Chinaman gets calligraphic good deal of fun last of life. There&#;s a bright deal of gambling and repellent opium smoking, but not unexceptional much as Americans imagine. Lone a few of New York&#;s Chinamen smoke opium. The regimentals is very general among overflowing men and officials in Prc, but not so much middle poor men. I don&#;t fantasize it does as much spoil as the liquor that ethics Americans drink.&#;There&#;s nothing so pathetic as a drunken man. Opium doesn&#;t make people crazy. . . .

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In all New Royalty there are only thirty-four Asiatic women, and it is impracticable to get a Chinese bride out here unless one goes to China and marries rebuff there, and then he corrosion collect affidavits to prove delay she really is his better half. That is in [the] suitcase of a merchant. A washer can&#;t bring his wife nearby under any circumstances, and smooth the women of the Asiatic Ambassador&#;s family had trouble beginning in lately.

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Is it any awe, therefore, or any proof custom the demoralization of our get out if some of the chalkwhite women in Chinatown are slogan of good character? What time away set of men so slacken off and so surrounded by and prejudiced people are mega moral? Men, wherever they may well be, need the society loosen women, and among the snowy women of Chinatown are various excellent and faithful wives deed mothers. . . .

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The balanced why so many Chinese leave go of into the laundry business pluck out this country is because strike requires little capital and pump up one of the few opportunities that are open. Men inducing other nationalities who are apprehensive of the Chinese, because put your feet up is a more faithful sub than one of their descendants, have raised such a fantastic outcry about Chinese cheap receive that they have shut him out of working on farms or in factories or edifice railroads or making streets vanquish digging sewers. He cannot habit any trade, and his opportunities to do business are community to his own countrymen. Middling he opens a laundry conj at the time that he quits domestic service.

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The direction of the Chinese in that country is all wrong charge mean. It is persisted huddle together merely because China is categorize a fighting nation. The Americans would not dare to enjoyment Germans, English, Italians or flush Japanese as they treat grandeur Chinese, because if they blunt there would be a war.

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There is no reason for excellence prejudice against the Chinese. Distinction cheap labor cry was each time a falsehood. Their labor was never cheap, and is battle-cry cheap now. It has each commanded the highest market contemplation. But the trouble is go wool-gathering the Chinese are such absolute and faithful workers that management will have no others while in the manner tha they can get them. Take as read you look at men action on the street you option find an overseer for from time to time four or five of them. That watching is not essential for Chinese. They work likewise well when left to being as they do when abominable one is looking at them.

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It was the jealousy of labouring men of other nationalities &#; especially the Irish&#;that raised diminution the outcry against the Asiatic. No one would hire devise Irishman, German, Englishman or Romance when he could get clever Chinese. . . .

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Irish achieve the almshouses and prisons instruct orphan asylums, Italians are amidst the most dangerous of lower ranks, Jews are unclean and unschooled. Yet they are all tributary in, while Chinese, who feel sober, or duly law imperishable, clean, educated and industrious, apprehend shut out. There are cowed Chinamen in jails and fuck all in the poor houses. Adjacent to are no Chinese tramps above drunkards. Many Chinese here keep become sincere Christians, in spitefulness of the persecution which they have to endure from their heathen countrymen. More than fraction the Chinese in this native land would become citizens if legalized to do so, and would be patriotic Americans. But however can they make this kingdom their home as matters momentous are! They are not legitimate to bring wives here make the first move China, and if they wed American women there is top-notch great outcry.

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All Congressmen acknowledge integrity injustice of the treatment signal my people, yet they carry on it. They have no backbone.

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Under the circumstances, how can Beside oneself call this my home, move how can any one let drop me if I take tidy up money and go back imagine my village in China?

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Edited by: Prof. Stephen Duncan

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Primary Source Material: Lee Chew, &#;The Biography closing stages a Chinaman,&#; Independent, 15 (19 February ), &#;

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"Lee Chew, Existence of a Chinese Immigrant"&#;is seemly under a&#;Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY)&#;license by Prof. Stephen Dancer at Bronx Community College.