7/31/2019 AASpaper2

1/3

1

David Tran

AAS 33B

5/08/12

Immigration policy has been very influential in the arrival of immigrants from the

continent of Asia ever since the first Chinese laborers emigrated to work in the sugar fields of

Hawaii. These Chinese workers were seen to be more efficient and productive than the native

Hawaiians and were greatly desired. The Chinese in Hawaii were welcomed as settlers

compared to the temporary Chinese workers in the mainland. As a result, the Chinese were

considered as two different types of people in Hawaii and the mainland and this can be noted

in their different immigration policies. The Hawaiian board of immigration in 1865 allowed five

hundred Chinese laborers from Hong Kong with a quota for 25 percent of them to be laborers

wives (Takaki 39). In 1882, the Chinese Exclusion Act prevented further migration of Chinese

laborers (Jones 395). In 1870, 60 percent of Chinese women in California were prostitute

workers who were brought in to satisfy Chinese laborers (Takaki 41). At that time, the luxury of

a spouse was not available to Chinese men who were considered migrant workers.

The Chinese plantation workers in Hawaii received a different welcoming than the

Chinese based in the mainland. An editorial in the Pacific Commercial Advertiserstated No

Chinamen should be allowed to come here unless they are accompanied by their women

(Takaki 38). Missionaries in Hawaii suggested that a womans touch would greatly influence

the lifestyle of these Chinese laborers and reduce the risk of labor riots (Takaki 38). In 1865, the

Hawaiian Board of Immigration allowed the Chinese to bring their wives to Hawaii for work

which would be paid fully by planters (Takaki 39). In part to missionary concern, Hawaii did not

7/31/2019 AASpaper2

2/3

2

have Chinese prostitutes. Also, the family dynamic of the Chinese was left intact so that they

may nurture and grow to assimilate in American society properly.

The Japanese laborers arrived a bit later than the Chinese in the 1880s. Having seen the initial

Chinese immigration lead to the Chinese exclusion act in 1882, the Japanese government wanted to

avoid this catastrophe. To drift away from a bachelor population, the government encouraged the

emigration of Japanese woman. In the 1900s, Japanese women made up 22 percent of the Japanese in

Hawaii and 7 percent in the mainland (Takaki 46). Even when the Japan government stalled labor

emigration in the Gentlemans agreement of 1908, a section of its contract allowed the entry of wives,

parents, and children of workers (Takaki 46). The Japanese sought to influence immigration policy so

that they would be differentiated from the Chinese.

For the first wave of immigration of Asiatic people, these immigration policies greatly affected

family dynamics for the Chinese in the mainland by breaking it apart. Family and home go hand to hand

and are revered in Chinese culture (Takaki 37). Their identity is based on lineage and family welfare

(Takaki 37). The man in traditional Chinese society is presumed to be a husband and father, especially if

the man is the first-born son. This is according to the philosophy of Confucianism. It is assumed that he

is the man of the household and his wife abides by him. When a woman is married in China, she

becomes a part of her husbands family and must live with him or his family. Now the Chinese man has

to live in a faraway country, leaving his wife behind or work as a bachelor.

One reason the wives did not follow their husband to America was the high cost. It was also

thought that these Chinamen would only be gone for a limited time. This was very worrisome for the

wife of the Chinese man, who did not know when her husband would return. One way to deter Chinese

men for leaving their wives was the hostage theory in which women were placed at home so that

Chinese men would not leave their familial obligations (Takaki 47) Under Chinese culture, the adult sons

7/31/2019 AASpaper2

3/3

3

must take care of their elders until they pass away. With their wives at home, Chinese men would send

money home to support the family.

Living abroad, Chinese men had to find other means for bonding and enjoyment. The Chinese

men would linger and loiter inside the store which was the social place for the Chinese community. In

the store, access to Chinese foods, books in Chinese, incense, and Chinese herbs were available (Takaki

127). The Chinese immigrants would drink tea and gossip reminiscent of the old days in Chinese village

inns (Takaki 127). They would also play mah-jongg, fan-tan, or baakgapbiu in the back rooms of stores

(Takaki 127). Some Chinese men in the U.S. found pleasure in brothels, drinking, or smoking in opium

shops. (Takaki 127) With no family dynamics, it was understandable that these men resorted to these

methods of enjoyment.

Immigration polices had a large impact on Chinese and Asian society for the first wave of

Asian immigrants. The Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882 barred laborers from migrating to the U.S

and their wives were considered laborers so they could not migrate. Therefore, husbands had

only a small hope of reuniting with their wives. Life for the Chinese man in the mainland was

lonely so some would resort to brothels and opium parlors. Others formed a community in the

store where Chinese people would gather socially. The life of a Hawaiian Chinese laborer had

family dynamics intact so it was quite better with family. In conclusion, immigration policies

had a major impact on the life and family structure of Asian immigrants in the United States in

that period.

Sources

Strangers from a different Shore, Takaki