This elegant fan depicts the Empress of China, the first American merchant vessel to trade with China. The ship departed from New York harbor... Read More
From its storefront on Vesey Street, the Great American Tea Company (est. 1859) sold seven varieties of Chinese tea. With this ad and a later one... Read More
This painting by Jake Lee is doubly significant, both because it captures a little-known aspect of Chinese American history and because the... Read More
In the imagination of many Americans, Chinese immigrants posed a threat to the jobs of white workers and seemed unassimilable. George Keller's 1882... Read More
Wong Chin Foo (1847-1898) was a journalist, lecturer, and activist who became an outspoken critic of anti-Chinese sentiment and stereotypes in... Read More
A Chinese immigrant is interrogated by US immigration inspectors on Angel Island 1923. National Archives... Read More
Hardly missing a beat, early Chinese immigrants brought Cantonese opera to their new home in America. As early as 1852, they began sponsoring traveling... Read More
Hazel Ying Lee, a Women Air Force Service Pilot (WASP), and her brother Vic both died serving their country during World War II. The family... Read More
This 1943 newspaper advertisement urged Americans to write their congressman and demand the repeal of Chinese Exclusion. World War II put new... Read More
When Toy Len Goon immigrated to Portland, Maine to join her husband in 1921, she spoke no English. After her husband’s death, Goon took over their... Read More
This portrait of the Low family illustrates the effects immigration restrictions had on Chinese families prior to the major immigration reforms of... Read More