Chinese Introduction

Chinese people have a long and tumultuous history in British Columbia. Beginning in the 1860s, they journeyed under terrible conditions far over the Pacific Ocean from China to British Columbia. They lived on very little food, slept in crowded quarters and did not have bathroom facilities.

"Chinese on the deck of Black Diamond, 1889." Image coutesy of National Archives of Canada, Ottawa, Ontario. PA-118185

They first came to British Columbia in the 1850's and 1860's as miners during the numerous gold rushes and then in the 1880's as railway builders.

When in North America, or what the Chinese termed 'Gold Mountain', Chinese worked hard to earn money to send back to their families. China was, as it is today, a highly populated country with great numbers of peasant farmers. Because of this a portion of the money Chinese men made in Canada was sent home to provide their families with a higher quality of life. The Chinese population in B.C. consisted almost solely of men. Of those women who did come, most did not work for wages, and following 1885 when the headtax was in place, it was a great expense to bring a wife and family to B.C. The headtax was put in place to deter the Chinese from immigrating to Canada and was first set at $50. In 1901 the tax was raised to $100 and in 1904 to $500.

Kwang Family Image courtesy of Revelstoke City Museum and Archives, Revelstoke, BC. p.1794

[It was only in rare situations that women and families were brought to British Columbia.]

As already stated above, when fortune seeking Chinese men arrived in British Columbia many worked as miners and railway builders, while others worked as market gardeners, laundry owners and workers, and cooks. Often Chinese men worked in difficult and dangerous situations that endangered their lives, such as blasting rock cuts for railway grades. They were desired as railway labourers as they moved and housed themselves. They also cooked for themselves, thus saving the railway contractors a lot of money. Railway contractors saw them as cheap, hardworking railway labour and excellent, reliable cooks and laundry workers. The Chinese lived in crowded conditions and spent very little money on food in order to send more money home to China. Earning more than they would have earned in China they still earned much less than the average white man.

"Vegatable Vendor vendor, Vancouver." image courtesy of BC Archives, Victoria, BC. b 03625

The Chinese population did not assimilate with the dominant European culture. This was partly due to the fact that the Chinese were not welcomed into the European community and partly because they were still strongly connected to their homeland. Many white people disliked the Chinese who looked different, had a very different culture, worked hard for little money, and seemed to take available jobs away from the white population. Due to mainstream intolerance, Chinese people were not welcome to live in the white neighbourhoods, thereby perpetuating feelings of ethnic differences. They were valued mainly by large contractors as cheap sources of labour, and by the dominant white culture as a source of very capable domestic labour.

Chinese Canadians are now part of mainstream Canada, and many of their cultural traditions enrich our Canadian society. Intolerance still exists between individuals, but with awareness, respect and acceptance of others, intolerance can be prevented.

Royal Commissions

Canada's Government and the "Chinese Problem"

Chinese Digital Photo Album

Translation of a Chinese circular reported to have been widely distributed in China.