Unbound Feet: A Social History of Chinese Women in San Francisco (31 page)

I thought I was American, but America would not have me. In many respects she would not recognize me as American. Moreover, I find racial
prejudice against us everywhere. We are American citizens in name but
not in fact. 115

Unlike Mexican Americans and Japanese Americans, who, experiencing the same discriminatory treatment, refused to stake their futures
in their parents' homelands, many Chinese Americans approaching adulthood in the 119zos turned to China as a possible solution to American
racism.116 Well aware of their limited opportunities for gainful employment and meaningful integration into American society, they were
equally cognizant of China's need for their skilled labor. The question
that nagged their consciences was "Does my future lie in China or America?" When the Ging Hawk Club of New York sponsored an essay contest on this theme, a respondent chord was struck in the hearts and minds
of second-generation Chinese Americans throughout the country.' 17
The range and complexity of their answers illustrate the depth of their
dilemma in the face of racial discrimination, cultural conflict, and the issue of national identity. One point of view was expressed by the firstplace winner, Robert Dunn, a student at Harvard University:

Ever since I can remember, I have been taught by my parents, by my Chinese friends, and by my teacher in Chinese school, that I must be patri otic to China. They have said: "You should be proud of China's four thousand years of glorious and continuous history, of her four hundred million population, and of her superior culture and civilization. You must
be thankful for the traditions and customs you have inherited as a member of the yellow race. What is more, you would not be living if it were
not for your ancestors and parents who are Chinese. Most certainly, then,
you are obliged to render service to China, especially in these days of need
and stress and humiliation. Don't you realize that the Chinese are
mocked at, trodden upon, disrespected, and even spit upon? Haven't you
yourself been called degrading names? Have you no face, no sense of
shame, no honor? How can you possibly think of staving in America to
serve it?"

But as much as Robert felt an obligation to China, he also felt an obligation to America:

Somehow, however, I feel there is another side to the picture. I owe much
pride and gratitude to America for the principles of liberty and equality
which it upholds, for the protection its government has given me, and
for its schools and institutions in which I have participated. Without them,
I certainly would not be what I am now. . . . I am certainly as much
indebted to America as I am to China. If this is true, then I should serve
both equally; but is this possible if I choose a future that lies here in America?

After considering that employment opportunities were scarce in both
China and the United States and that he, as a Chinese American, would
have difficulties adjusting to life in China, Robert concluded that he could
do his part just as well in America by promoting goodwill and understanding between the Chinese and American peoples and by contributing financial support to enterprises in China. He could, he believed, have
it both ways.

With the conclusions, then, that I owe America as much allegiance as
I do China; that it is possible to serve China while living in America; that
remunerative employment, though scarce, is not impossible for me to obtain in either China or America; and that I would avoid the unhappiness
and social estrangement due to conflicting cultures by staying in America: I think no one could justly accuse me of being unwise if I chose a
course of life whose future lies here in America.iis

Others, like Kaye Hong, a student at the University of Washington
who won second place in the essay contest, took a different line. Their
future lay in China because China needed their help and because employment opportunities were better there than in America. He wrote: My patriotism is of a different hue and texture. It was built on the mound
of shame. The ridicule heaped upon the Chinese race has long fermented
within my soul. I have concluded that we, the younger generation, have
nothing to be proud of except the time-worn accomplishments of our
ancient ancestors, that we have been living in the shadow of glories,
hoping that these arts and literature of the past will justify our present.
Sad but true, they do not. To live under such illusions is to lead the life
of a parasite.

In his view, it would be more meaningful for Chinese Americans to do
their part in building a new nation in China. Thus, "it is for me- `Go
Further West, Young Man'. Yes, across the Pacific and to China."' 19

In response, Jane Kwong Lee wrote that both Robert Dunn and Kaye
Hong had "half-cooked ideas about China" as a result of the older generation's failure to educate them properly. As long as this continued, she
predicted, Robert's opinions would continue to represent the majority
view, and only a small percentage of Chinese Americans would go to
China in search of a future. Although she titled her essay, "The Future
of Second Generation Chinese Lies in China and America," she advocated that "since China is weak and not a comfortable place to live, all
Chinese, including American-born Chinese, should try to make her
strong and rich."120 A year later she amended this view, saying that it
was important for college graduates seeking employment in China to
know the Chinese written language and customs.121

Ironically, neither Robert Dunn, Kaye Hong, nor Jane Kwong Lee
acted on the opinions they expressed. Despite what he said in his essay
about remaining in the United States, Robert, after graduating from Harvard University in international law, went to China in 1941, where he
became the secretary of one of China's top delegates to the United Nations Conference. After the 1949 revolution he returned to the United
States, working as senior reference librarian at the Library of Congress
until he retired. Kaye, who had advocated going "west to China," ended
up staying in the United States, where he made his fortune in business.
As for Jane Kwong Lee, by the time she graduated from college, her
mother had passed away and, rather than returning to China, she settled down to married life and active political involvement in San Francisco. These three students' contrary actions to their earlier beliefs show
how Chinese Americans had to stand ready and accommodate changing circumstances in their lives.

When polled, 75 percent of Chinese Americans who attended the
Chinese Young People's Summer Conference at Lake Tahoe, Califor nia, in 1193 5 were in favor of serving China. During a discussion on the
issue, many of them expressed the belief that the second generation not
only should go back to China, but they must go back to China.122 Similar sentiments were expressed in CSYP, whose line was "Once a Chinese, always a Chinese." The newspaper encouraged Chinese Americans
to learn Chinese but also to take advantage of the American educational
system-to acquire knowledge of mechanics and applied sciences so that
they could take this knowledge back to benefit China. "Indeed," the
newspaper stated, "your future lies with China, not with the United
States." 12' At the same time, though, CSYP encouraged those entitled
to vote to do so. "The thought of eventually going back to China should
not keep the Chinese from voting," the newspaper pointed out. "Exercising the right to vote is one way to ensure protection for the individual and the community."124

Some Chinese American women, whose political identities were
shaped by their parents' loyalty to their homeland and speeches by Chinese nationalists in the community, also felt strongly that their future lay
in China. These thoughts, expressed by Jade Snow Wong in her commencement address at graduation from San Francisco City College, were
shared by her peers:

The Junior College has developed our initiative, fair play, and selfexpression, and has given us tools for thinking and analyzing. But it seems
to me that the most effective application that American-Chinese can make
of their education would be in China, which needs all the Chinese talent she can muster. 125

While second-generation women such as Florence Chinn Kwan, Lilly
King Gee Won, and Rose Hum Lee did indeed put their education and
talents to good use in China, most Chinese American women remained
in the United States and made the most of the situation.126 Some, particularly the daughters of educated, middle-class parents, were inspired
by their dual political identity to take the first steps toward political
activism.

Out of a strong sense of Chinese nationalism, many daughters first
joined their mothers in raising funds for Dr. Sun Yat-sen's revolutionary cause and for war and famine relief in the years following the 191111
Revolution. When America entered World War I, they were encouraged
to express their American patriotism by volunteering for Red Cross work
on the home front while the men stood in long lines to enlist. Organized by the Chinese YWCA and local churches, women helped solicit donations, contributed handcrafted items to fund-raisers, wrapped bandages, sewed garments for war refugees, and knitted socks and scarves
for soldiers at the war front. Chinatown newspapers also reported that
young Chinese women were organizing American dances and musical
events in the community to raise monies for the war effort.127

When the war ended and China was humiliated by the Versailles
Treaty, which awarded German concessions in Shandong Province to
Japan, women did not hesitate to join in the community's boycott and
burning of Japanese products from Chinatown stores. According to
newspaper accounts, Chinese merchants were united on boycotting the
sale of Japanese art goods, rice, and seafood as long as Japan occupied
Shandong. To launch the boycott, a public burning of Japanese-made
goods was held in which Chinatown merchants contributed thousands
of dollars of whatever Japanese merchandise they had left in their
stores.128

Eva Lowe, who was ten years old at the time, remembered the community's outrage over the treaty.129 "We realized that China was again
being carved up like a melon," she said. "In response, we protested by
burning Japanese curios in the Chinatown streets." Her early political
awareness and involvement stemmed from encounters she had personally had with racism and from her exposure to nationalist sentiment in
the Chinese community.

As a child growing up in Fort Bragg, California, Eva had been called
"Ching Chong Chinaman" and had had horse manure and rocks thrown
at her. She also recalled seeing derogatory cartoons in the American
newspapers that depicted Chinese with long queues. "I felt deep inside
that the Chinese were inferior and I was not proud to be a Chinese,"
she said. After moving to live with her sister in San Francisco, Eva became inspired by ideas of Chinese nationalism and learned to detest Japanese imperialism. On the way home from making deliveries for her sister at a local garment factory, she would pass Japanese businesses along
Dupont Street. She couldn't resist shouting, "Hell, hell, hell, Japanese
go to hell!" She continued doing this until "one time she [a Japanese
proprietor] had a broom ready for me. And that was the end of it." Soon
after, Eva left for China with her sister and brother-in-law. Her four years
of education there further politicized her about Chinese nationalism and
women's rights and made her a "fighter for the underdog" upon her return to the United States.

The aviators Ouyang Ying (Mrs. Frances Lee) and Katherine Cheung
are further examples of the kind of educated, middle-class Chinese American women who moved into the political arena-and in their cases,
into a male-dominated field-because of Chinese nationalism. Ouyang
Ying was one of the first Chinese Americans to answer the Chinese government's call for trained aviators to help China build up its air defenses.
Born in 1895 in Courtland, California, she was a "modern woman," according to her grandson Li Yauguang. "She enjoyed motoring and horseback riding, and was quite aware of anti-Chinese discrimination, which
worked to instill in her a strong sense of Chinese nationalism at an early
age."13° Ying, who studied under instructor Frank Bryant, was considered "one of the most apt pupils they have had."131 Unfortunately, she
died in a flying accident in 192.0 at the young age of twenty-five, before
her goal of going to China to serve could be realized.132

Katherine Cheung of Los Angeles gave up studying music in favor
of flying for similar reasons. She was the first Chinese woman in America to earn a pilot's license (in 1931) and the first Chinese member of
the 99 Club, the nationwide organization of women flyers. Katherine
frequently made the San Francisco newspaper headlines because of her
daring feats in navigational flying, aerobatics, and cross-country racing.
When she heard that China excluded women from its aviation schools,
she responded, "I don't see any valid reason why a Chinese woman can't
be as good a pilot as anyone else. They drive automobiles-why not fly
airplanes?"133 She had every intention of opening an aviation school for
women in China, but after the trainer plane given to her by the Chinese
community in San Francisco crashed, her ailing father made her promise
not to fly again. Because of strong sexism in China, even if Ouyang Ying
and Katherine Cheung had succeeded in going there, it is doubtful that
the Chinese government would have allowed them to serve as aviators.
When aviators Hazel Ying Lee and Virginia Wong of Portland, Oregon,
went to China in 193 3 with eleven male Chinese American aviators, neither was allowed to serve; the Chinese Air Force simply refused to admit women. 134

Voting was another avenue of political participation for Chinese
American women. As soon as California granted women suffrage in
1911, a number of second-generation women exercised their right to
vote. According to newspaper accounts, Clara Lee and Emma Tom
Leong of Oakland and Tye Leung of San Francisco were among the
first Chinese American women to vote. All three were featured in the
local newspapers as "progressive" women when they appeared to register or cast their vote. One reporter promoted Clara and Emma as "the first Chinese of their sex to become accredited members of the American electorate"; according to the article, the two women chose to exercise their rights "because they believe that mothers as well as fathers
should have a voice in making the laws which are going to govern the
lives of their children.""' Tye Leung was accorded the distinction of
being "the first Chinese woman in the history of the world to exercise
the electoral franchise. 11136 Capitalizing on her renown, the newspaper
showed her seated behind the wheel of a Studebaker-Flanders z.o, a preference that she supposedly shared with Dr. Sun Yat-sen-though she in
fact never owned a car in her life. "Miss Tie believes in the automobile
and regards it in its various functions as a mark of progress-her own
watchword." The newspaper reporter found Tye Leung a "progressive"
match to the automobile: "Not only can she read and write the English
language better than a great many of her adult brethren, but speaks it
fluently, and is altogether familiar with the political issues involved in the
Presidential primary election." 131