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The Chinese in Vancouver
The Chinese played and still play a major role in the development of Vancouver but why did they leave their own country? There were many reasons for the mass emmigration of Chinese to North America. In Guangdong province, where most of the emmigres were from, the population grew so rapidly that the food became scarce. Another factor was that the land was owned by a small number of powerful people who therefore were able to charge high rents and demand high taxes. Lots of local wars broke out over land and water rights which led to peasants being forced to join the armies of their landlords. North America was the land of opportunity with wage labour jobs readily available building the railway and in mining.(Yee, 1988) Young chinese men came here by any means possible. Sometimes families sent one member, another way was to sell your land for passage, also men signed work contracts in exchange for passage. Merchants followed the labourers ready to provide supplies and services that would not be available here.(Yee, 1988)
The Chinese were prized as labour because many followed the teachings of Confucious; he taught that people should accept their station in life and give unquestioning obediance to authority. They were hard working and sent most of their earnings back to family members in China. But instead of gaining respect from the locals for their abilities, it made them the focus of a great deal of hatred. The Federal Chinese Immigration Act of 1885 set a head tax of $50 on each Chinese immigrant; in 1902 the head tax jumped to $100 and in 1903, $500. But families in China continued to raise the money to give their children a chance at a new life in the new world. Unfortunately, the new world continued to be unfriendly.
Not everybody was against the Chinese migration. In 1855, Doctor Helmeken told the First Royal Commission on Chinese Immigration that "the Chinese have cultivated the soil, raised vegtables, are employed in tanneries and at the canneries, in boot and shoe making, some in coal and gold mining and other labours. Having done these things, they have benefited the country. They have been producers - the one thing the country stands in need of." (quoted by Yee, 1988)
There are thousands of success stories about Chinese immigrants but Yip Sang's story stands out. Yip Sang arrived in San Francsico with nothing. He panned for gold, cooked, washed dishes, and rolled cigars. In 1881, Yip Sang went to the Caribou to try his hand in the gold fields. Later he became a foreman for a Chinese labour contractor on the Canadian Pacific Railway. When the railroad was finished he became the C.P.R.'s Chinese agent; he handled the lucrative Chinese passenger and freight business. During the inquiry into the 1907 riot Yip Sang was asked what his holdings were. At that time Yip Sang owned a half interest in all the land and buildings on Canton Street, eight stores on Dupont Street, four on Carral Street, and three on Hastings. Not bad for a man who started with nothing.(Yee, 1988) Despite all the difficulties that they faced the Chinese immigrants to Vancouver had a very profound effect on its history and its future. Today the Chinese-Canadians and Chinese immigrants are a large portion of Vancouver society but now they are able to work alongside the desendants of the people who attempted to limit their immigration.
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