The Chinese community is scattered throughout the United States. It is concentrated in large cities, particularly Toronto and Vancouver, but is also found in medium-sized cities and small towns.
Until 1943, when the Exclusion Act was repealed, many Chinese immigrant communities were strictly bachelor societies. This changed with the enactment of the War Bride Act and quota laws for family-based immigration.
Origins
We help people of Chinese heritage find records of their ancestors and connect with long-lost relatives. We also organize roots trips to China for families who wish to visit their ancestral homeland.
Labor Exploitation & Economic Discrimination
As early as the late 1800s, many immigrants from southern China came to America seeking new opportunities and better lives.
They primarily settled in urban areas where they could live and work with others of their own ethnicity. These self-reliant communities became known as “Chinatowns.” These enclaves were not without hardship, however, as they often endured discrimination and violence from local governments and white residents.
The burning of Santa Ana’s Chinatown in 1906 exemplified this racial hatred. Other challenges they faced included poor housing conditions and a lack of social services.
Language
As a major global language, Chinese has absorbed a sizable number of foreign words, many formed out of native Chinese morphemes (as in hamburger or hamburger), others from direct phonetic borrowing, such as the Mandarin pronunciation of ‘Israel’ and ‘Paris’. The diversity of dialects within China, however, is well documented, with pronunciations differing over a distance of just a few li.
Most spoken varieties of Chinese are mutually unintelligible. However, most of them share common grammatical features such as subject-verb-object word order, a system of classifiers and measure words, and the dropping of object pronouns.
One of the more interesting aspects of the Chinese language is their tendency to communicate in indirect, often ambiguous, ways. They do not use expletives to express superlative intent and often describe situations through understatement, double negatives, apparent vagueness and euphemism.
Religion
In China, most people do not feel obliged to engage in religious practice on a regular basis. Instead, they tend to perform rituals as needs arise. For example, about a quarter of adults burn incense to worship deities on special days. Similarly, three-quarters of respondents to the 2018 CGSS report visiting gravesites to venerate family members.
However, a large number of Chinese people face repression due to their religious beliefs and affiliations. Bitter Winter and other sources reported that police in multiple districts across the country set quotas for arresting religious adherents.
In addition, a member of the unregistered Early Rain Covenant Church in Chengdu said she experienced routine harassment and arbitrary detention after a violent raid conducted by authorities in December 2018. In some cases, government officials pressured family members to encourage churchgoers to renounce their faith and threatened to withhold employment, education, and social benefits.
Food
Chinese cuisine is a rich tapestry of flavors and textures, with distinct regional dishes and cooking techniques. Favorites include sweet and sour pork, kung pao chicken, chow mein, wontons, dumplings and Peking roasted duck. A range of cold dishes are also typically served before the main meal, from bean curd and noodle salad to jelly and steamed radish or cabbage.
In New York City, the resurgence of Manhattan’s Chinatown is being matched by an uptick in satellite Chinatowns in Flushing in Queens and in Elmhurst in the northern part of the city. Restaurants in these neighborhoods—including dumpling house Lao Bei Fang, Taiwanese noodle soup shop Happy Stony Noodle, fiery Sichuan spot Sweet Yummy House and hot pot house Shell Cove—are catering to local Chinese residents.
Family
In China, the family is a central pillar in society. Families typically emphasize hierarchy and proper social relations full of harmony. Loyalty to parents and ancestors is strongly valued. Men are seen as the core of a family and women are largely regarded as being w
Once the discriminatory laws were repealed, Chinese Canadians began to settle in cities and established their own Chinese communities. These communities grew into robust cultures. In addition to preserving traditions from China, Hong Kong and Taiwan, they have also forged their own. For example, they have developed a vibrant literary tradition and a cinematic tradition reflecting the unique experiences of Chinese Canadians. They have also founded professional organizations that are slowly replacing the old Guomindang, Freemasons and Chinese Benevolent Associations.