Dec 1, 2010
Immigration Debates and its role in family dynamic
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/11/30/AR2010113006703.html
A giant snake rattles above
...Spewing black clouds into your kitchen"
Shes talking about railway cars and trams.
A little history on railways in Chinatown
The Central Pacific Railroad Company was established, and construction of the route East from Sacramento began in 1863. Although the beginning of the effort took place on relatively flat land, labor and financial problems were persistent, resulting in only 50 miles of track being laid in the first two years. Although the company needed over 5,000 workers, it only had 600 on the payroll by 1864.
Chinese labor was suggested, as they had already helped build the California Central Railroad, the railroad from Sacramento to Marysville and the San Jose Railway. Originally thought to be too small to complete such a momentous task, Charles Crocker of Central Pacific pointed out, "the Chinese made the Great Wall, didn't they?"
The first Chinese were hired in 1865 [sic] at approximately $28 per month to do the very dangerous work of blasting and laying ties over the treacherous terrain of the high Sierras. They lived in simply dwellings and cooked their own meals, often consisting of fish, dried oysters and fruit, mushrooms and seaweed.
The meager provisions and sentiments of once belong -
"...Fermented roots, Mah-Jong Tiles and firecrackers..."
In order to speak on the displacement that the Chinese immigrants must have felt in an isolated and ordained living area, instead of exploring the language and transportation barriers, I find displacement in the commercialization of the culture.'
Here is an official quote from "sanfranciscochinatown.com" the hub of all things Chinese in terms of culture and history.
"Ross Alley is the oldest alley in San Francisco. It was known for brothels and gambling. Today, it is home to the Golden Gate Fortune Cookie Factory and murals depicting the everyday life of the Chinese American community"
This is what it has become. Fortune cookies and brothels. I sure, Ross Alley being the oldest alley and San Francisco, that there should be some history of settlement, laying tracks, displacement during camps. Instead, San Francisco chooses to comodify a culture.
Mah Jong:
Mahjong (Chinese: 麻將; pinyin: má jiàng) is a game that originated in China, commonly played by four players (with some three-player variations found in Korea and Japan). Mahjong is a game of skill, strategy and calculation and involves a certain degree of chance
One of the myths of the origin of mahjong suggests that Confucius,[1] the Chinese philosopher, developed the game in about 500 BC. This assertion is likely to be apocryphal. According to this myth, the appearance of the game in the various Chinese states coincided with Confucius' travels at the time he was teaching his new doctrines. The three dragon (cardinal) tiles also agree with the three cardinal virtues bequeathed by Confucius. Hóng Zhōng (紅中 , red middle), Fā Cái (發財 , prosperity), and Bái Ban (白板 , white board) represent benevolence, sincerity, and filial piety, respectively.
Fireworks: Bamboo stems filled with gunpowder that were burnt to create small explosions were once used in ancient China to drive away evil spirits. In modern times, this method has eventually evolved into the use of firecrackers during the festive season. Firecrackers are usually strung on a long fused string so it can be hung down. Each firecracker is rolled up in red papers, as red is auspicious, with gunpowder in its core. Once ignited, the firecracker lets out a loud popping noise and, as they are usually strung together by the hundreds, the firecrackers are known for their deafening explosions that are thought to scare away evil spirits. The burning of firecrackers also signifies a joyful time of year and has become an integral aspect of Chinese New Year celebrations.
...Swarmed with others to inundate the shore.
From the "Alta California" (San Francisco Newspaper in the 1850s)
"Rising with a tide of locusts,
She swarmed with others
to inundate another shore.
In America..."
The California Gold Rush began in January 1848 when carpenter James Marshall discovered gold at John Sutter’s lumber mill on the American River at Coloma. As news spread of the discovery, the ensuing gold rush led to an influx of hundreds of thousands of immigrants from every corner of the world.
The Naturalization Act of 1870 restricted all immigration into the U.S. to only "white persons and persons of African descent," meaning that all Chinese were placed in a different category, a category that placed them as ineligible for citizenship from that time till 1943. Also, this law was the first significant bar on free immigration in American history, making the Chinese the only culture to be prohibited to freely migrate to the United States for a time. Even before the act of 1870, Congress had passed a law forbidding American vessels to transport Chinese immigrants to the U.S. The reason behind the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882 was to prevent an excess of cheap labor.
Foot Binding: The Arc Of their Movements as Dormant as a willow
"....they Gathered Patience;
learning to walk in shoes
the size of teacups,
without breaking..."
Millions of Chinese women before 1912 (and privately after the banning) found suffering the path towards beauty in feet-binding practices. Binding their feet to turn them into prized "Three-inch golden Lotuses"
Bound fee was a status symbol, and the only way for women to marry into money. But this process is not as beautiful as tradition may suggest.
Foot binding woman, Zhou Guizhen (86 yo) says "I regret binding my feet. I can't dance. I cant move properly. I regret it a lot."
So exactly what is foot binding? In a nutshell it was an attempt to stop the growth of the feet. It usually began somewhere between the ages of four and seven.
A bandage, ten feet long and two inches wide was wrapped tightly around thc foot, forcing the four small toes under the sole of the foot. This made the feet narrower but at the same time it made the feet shorter because it also forced the big toe and the heel closer together by bowing the arch of the foot. The bandage was tightened each day and the girl was put into progressively smaller and smaller sized shoes. The entire process usually took about two years at the end of which the feet were essentially dead, useless.
The feet had to be washed and manicured on a daily basis. If they weren't manicured properly the toe nails could cut into the instep and infection could set in. If the bindings were too tight they could cut off circulation which could lead to gangrene and blood poisoning. The feet had to be massaged and given hot and cold compresses to help relieve the pain and help improve circulation. corns would develop on the toes that were bent under and would have to be cut off with a knife.
With the lack of circulation flesh would rot and fall off and sometimes the toes would ooze pus. The pain was said to have been excruciating especially if this process was begun at a later age. The ideal foot would fit into a shoe only three to four inches long. A Chinese saying says, "Every pair of small feet costs a bath (kang) of tears". It is difficult to imagine the suffering that these women had to endure.
And still today Foot binding, though taboo, is a part of fashion, and subsequently still an emblem of art and Beauty. In London Fashion Week Aminaka Witmore designs foot-binding reminiscent designs.
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