Zhang Wei remembers the day he landed in America very clearly, it was a chilly winter day and everything including time seems to have frozen. He was anxious to see his father, Zhang Xiuxing who had traveled by sea a year earlier. He was only 16 when his father left and old enough to step into his father’s shoes. One year had flown by, and today, he would be leading his mother and his sister to the Promised Land that their father had prepared for them. He was sure that his father would be proud of how he had protected the family in his absence. He could not wait to show him the kind of man he had become.
The winter did not dampen Zhang Wei’s anticipation; he bore a broad grin on his face. As soon as the big mail ship docked at the port of San Francisco, he knew that his life would never be the same again. His sickly mother did not seem to share the same excitement. She resented the fact that she had left the comfort of her humble home in North Eastern China for America. She was glad about the prospect of seeing her husband but she was not one to share her emotions with her children. Zhang Wei’s 12 year old sister, Jiao, was in constant pain, her freshly re-bound feet made the voyage excruciating for her. Mother had hoped to make her daughter daintier in order to attract a wealth suitor in America. Ironically, Jiao did not look dainty or lovely as her Chinese name suggested. If anything, she looked like a sad, sick young woman with clubbed feet. This fat was lost on her mother who was keen to prepare her daughter for a wealthy suitor the best way she knew how.
The voyage from China had been largely uneventful. Zhang Xiuxing has sent word to his family to collect tickets on credit from an employment bureau in the city. The family had boarded a postal ship which doubled up as the main transportation for immigrants from china. The boarding conditions were deplorable. Several people died of diarrhea and dehydration. The stench of poverty and despair was thick in the air, but nobody seemed to notice. The determination to stomach the filth in the ship came from the promise of wealth in America. The promise of self-determination, though a strange term for the Chinese, was reason enough for many to leave their homeland for the unknown.
As soon as the ship docked, Zhang Wei scanned the port for his father. When he saw him, he could not believe what he saw. The father he knew was only but a shadow of what he used to be. For some reason, he thought his father looked lost in the thick crowd of sojourners at the port. When he waved, he could tell from the reply that his father did not share his excitement. At that moment, Wei realized that it would not matter to his father how well he had taken care of the family in his absence. It took a while for the exhausted group of three to reach where their breadwinner was because Jiao physically weak and could not walk properly. This was the first sign that all was not well in America. Wei missed it because the novelty of his new experience blinded him.
The three had arrived in America just before Christmas. The streets were lined with decorated trees and strange lights. Wei was no stranger to lights because he had witnessed many New Year celebrations in China. The Festival of Lights was more pompous and organized than what he saw. He could sense the celebratory mood in the air but he could not understand what the occasion was because according to the Chinese calendar, New Year was several months ahead.
Wei did not have much time to take in the scenery because soon enough, they arrived in a part of town that was full of people and Chinese signs. Wei was surprised at how familiar the place felt to him. The architecture of the buildings was strange but the people and the signs were all familiar. For the first time since the beginning of the journey to America, Wei doubted that the originality of his new experience. Chinatown, as he would later learn, was home away from homei. Chinese Immigrants lived in these towns where they maintained their culture and lived by its tenets as fiercely as they could (Takaki 12).
Zhang Xiuxing had immigrated to America to work in the Californian gold mines. He travelled in 1960 just before the beginning of the civil war. What he did not know was that the gold rush had ended decades earlier. On arrival, Xiuxing struggled to cope with dashed golden dreams together with the cultural shock. He did not understand the clamor for the end of slavery. As far as he was concerned, it was an honor to be of service to your master. He was further puzzled by the calls for secession by the confederate states and their incessant disobedience of the president. This was unheard of in his country; the word of the emperor was final. No sane man would dare stand up to him, let alone question his directives.
Fortunately for Xiuxing, he secured another job as a cook at a wealthy Chinese immigrant’s restaurant. He worked there for 8 months before he settled down. He avoided going into San Francisco because he found the city streets to be very confusing. In the 9th month of his stay, he was luck to be drafted as one of the men who would be working on the railway line. He expected to make up to $ 35 per month from his new job. Since he would be travelling with the railway works, he needed his family to come and take care of the little he had amassed in his humble home in Chinatown. Unknown to his family, Mr. Zhang Xiuxing had decided that he would stay in America and pursue the American dream as far as it would take him.
The construction of the Central Pacific Railroad meant that Wei’s father was never home. He was among the estimated 10,000 Chinese men who took part in the construction of the railroad (Henderson, and Olasiji 22). The men who were left in china town were stable immigrants who owed shops, restaurants and laundry shopsii. There were very few women in the community; those that could be seen on the streets were the wives of the wealthy merchants. Wei’s mother got a job as the cook and personal minder of one of the wealthy shop -owner’s wives. She was not happy because she felt lost in a strange country. Wei realized this from the way she reprimanded him whenever she caught him with English publications. Wei’s mother was also frustrated by the fact that none of the wealthy men in the town had shown any interest in Jiao who she had meticulously prepared for marriage by a wealthy man. According to the American dream, men were expected to work harder to fend for their families while the women conducted household chores and bring up the children. From a social perspective, it represented a period of loneliness to many housewives because their men were constantly absent from their homes in pursuit of the means to take them closer to the American dream. The women were left with the responsibility of raising the kids on their own.
Jiao had the most difficult experience during the beginning of their stay in America. She was only 12, and therefore unaware of the disadvantage that her bound feet subjected her to. Her mother could not continue with the binding process because she could not get the correct materials in the Chinese shops. The shape of her feet was already deformed but not quite to the acceptable standard of feet binding. She could not leave the house because her mother told her that she was not yet ready for her suitor. This was a blatant lie because there was no suitor. The immigrant business men had families back in china and were not keen to re-marry in America. Besides, foot binding was considered a strange practice in America where the value of an immigrant woman was in her ability to contribute to the family income; in the very least she was expected to perform all household chores which Jiao could not do in her current physical state.
Life in china town was deplorable but familiar. Poverty levels were high, the houses were barely habitable and crime was rampant. Chinese immigrants were happy in these secluded settlements. They could not afford to complain because they were free to work their way out of poverty. In China, the communist regime did not allow individual prosperity. All means of production were owed by the state, worked for the state in return for only what they need for sustenance. The capitalist system practiced in America allowed everybody to work hard and amass as much wealth as they could. The allure of the American dream engrossed many of the immigrants. They worked long and hard and lived frugally. So despite the poor conditions of china town, many Chinese immigrants only saw as the preparation ground for a more prosperous future.
Zhang Xiuxing had a grand plan for the achievement of his version of the American dream. He determined that by saving $20 every month from his railway salary, he would be able to return to Chinatown with a substantial capital to start his own shop. He had already decided that his son would work as an apprentice in one of the many shops in china town. He expected his son to learn the secrets of the trade and share them with his father when he returned from his work. Before Mr. Xiuxing left for the railroads in 1863, he had committed his son to Mr. John Li’s shop. Wei was to work for $18 a month for 2 years. He would be under the command of his new master until his father returned from work. Wei was not consulted despite being 18 years at the time. According to Confucian teachings, children should not upset their parents by disobeying them. Wei had no choice but to shelve his dreams of learning English.
In 1863, President Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation for all slaves. The civil war was already underway and the confederates were struggling to defend their right to continue using slave labor. As the war raged in the east, Wei’s father and other rail workers broke their backs building the Central Pacific Railroad. The railway would snake its way from California to Utah. The government would use the railway system to transport ammunition and troops to the wariii.
Far from the war fields, in an overcrowded china town in San Francisco, Wei was fighting his own battles. As a young adult, he could see the ravages of poverty among fellow immigrants. He experienced firsthand the depths immigrants went into to make ends meet. China town was teeming with ruthless drug lords and criminals. His employer, John Li was prosperous because he used his shop as a front for all manner of illegal business. One day, Wei discovered a cache of weapons in the store room while he was stock taking. Li threatened Wei by telling him that he would murder his mother and sister. He also told Wei that honest work would not get him far. Wei contemplated on this statement long after he had left Li’s shop. He wondered whether Li would be willing to reveal the secrets of his illegal trade to him. Wei still wanted to make his father proud by showing him the best way to make the most money in the shortest time possible. He wanted to help his father achieve his dream before he could take time to achieve his own. One day, Wei wanted to become a real, English speaking American. He believed that an English speaking American had better odds of securing employment opportunities as compared to Chinese immigrants within China Town.
Just like the genocide of many Native Americans and the slavery of Africans, events Wei saw in America remains an unfamiliar subject to him and his family. Racism, discrimination, and mass expulsions were perpetrated against the Chinese people (Aarim 283). Despite efforts aimed at providing equal treatment to the Chinese as provided in the Burlingame Treaty, many labor and political organizations still rallied against immigration and the influx of what their termed as “cheap labor” (Henderson, and Olasiji 25). The revocation of the Pagnuson Act in 1865iv made the Chinese and other Asian Americans to be barred from immigration, legally disfranchised and subjected to high punitive taxes and rents. To Wei, these events were the least he expected. Back at Mr. John Li’s shop, Wei did the best he could to learn trade secrets from his Master. With his family suffering from the jaws of poverty coupled with high-ended rules against Chinese immigrants, Wei had to use every bit of energy to ensure that he and his family remain on the right track towards the realization of the American dream. He soon found himself doing menial jobs that included selling food, an activity that was traditionally undertaken by women. Using the few savings he had accumulated from Li’s Shop, he developed a makeshift restaurant to sell Chinese food and at times, American food to the local community.
In 1867, the country was getting ready for the presidential election scheduled for 1868. This marked the first time the nation was preparing for presidential election since the cessation of the Civil War. The events surrounding the electioneering process presented a culture shock to Wei. Having come from communist state, where political and social order was decided by the government, the levels of political freedom in the US offered a new political dimension. Wei was perplexed by the level of the citizen’s participation on issues relating to governance. Equally, Wei was quick to identify another significant difference in form of political organizations. China is a single party state while in the United States, multiple parties enter into competition in order to share the power.
On the Election Day in 1868, Ulysses Grant was nominated on the Republican ticket while Seymour Horatio was nominated on the Democratic Party. For Wei, the voting process was an unheard event in China. As earlier mentioned, rebellions or campaigns against the government were unheard of in his China because the Emperor’s word was final. No Chinese, in his right mind, would dare stand up to challenge any move taken by the government in addition to questioning the Emperor’s directives. The whole idea of going to the voting ballot was an insult to the government, which was according to Wei’s views. Banner’s and political messages directed to the ruling authorities left Wei in utter amusement. On November 3, Zhang Wei took the opportunity to walk around the neighborhood to catch a glimpse of the election process. To his amazement, the Election Day was set by the Law and all legally registered voters were expected to participate in the voting process. Masses of people lined up at polling stations to cast their secret ballots. On the contrary, folks in China were not given the chance to choose leaders of their choice. Wei followed all the election events as they unfolded.
At the end of the day, the results were announced and the fate was decided. Ulysses Grant was the new president of the United States. Zhang Wei realized that the voting process represented a way in which the Americans chose leaders who convinced them of taking them closer towards the realization of the American dream.
At the beginning of 1869, Mr. Zhang Xiuxing returned home after his participation in the construction of the Central Pacific Railroad. From the look of his father, Zhang Wei could tell that the events of constructing the railroad left the health of his father dilapidated. Luckily, his father managed to save enough money to see the family for a few years. However, the pursuit of the American Dream was far from over. Since Mr. Zhang Xiuxing intended to settle in America for the rest of his life, he shared in the American Dream aimed at invoking a sense of prosperity and independence towards to homemade happiness. With the health of three of his family members at risk, Zhang Wei had to fit in the shoes of his father and deliver the family towards the realization of the American, thereby enabling them to live a life of success and prosperity. With the trade secrets learnt from his experience at Mr. Li’s shop and the savings from his father, Zhang Wei invested in merchandise shop selling different goods. Even if it meant the worst, Zhang Wei had to redefine the American dream in order to create hopes for achieving success and prosperity for his family.
I See Aarim, Najia where it the Famous Chinatown is mentioned coupled with the
excesses and challenges experienced by Chinese Immigrants in the US.
ii See Henderson, George and Olasiji, Thompson. Migrants, Immigrants, and Slaves:
Racial and Ethnic in America. The plight of slaves and the sufferings and
discriminations are mentioned.
iii Takaki, Ronald. In the Strangers from a Different Shore: A History of Asian
Americans, the story of the government using the slaves to execute menial works
is heavily mentioned. Slave ownership was a legal trade and Asian Americans
provided the required labor.
iv a Fictitious Act modelled to fit the story. The Act does not exist but the real Act was
set in 1965. This Act was developed in references to the Magnuson Act of 1965
which led Asian Americans to be barred from immigration, legally disfranchised
and subjected to high punitive taxes and rents.
Work Cited
Aarim, Najia. Chinese Immigrants, African Americans, and Racial Anxiety in the United
States, 1848-82. University of Illinois Press, 2003. Print
Henderson, George and Olasiji, Thompson. Migrants, Immigrants, and Slaves: Racial
and Ethnic Groups in America. University Press of America, 1995. Print
Takaki, Ronald. Strangers from a Different Shore: A History of Asian Americans. New
York: Back Bay Books. 1998. Print
