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Gr. 5: Big Ideas 1 and 3 (click on link to enlarge)
Gr. 9: ALL the Curricular Competencies can be connected to this unit of study. (numerous content elaborations include Chinese Canadian experiences)
Gr. 10: Big Idea 4 (Historical and contemporary injustices challenge the narrative and identity of Canada as an inclusive, multicultural society) and all of the Curricular Competencies, as in Gr. 9, can be connected.

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Building Student Success - B.C. Curriculum

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Canada’s policies and treatment of minority peoples have negative and positive legacies.

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Pink: Unit Plans
Green: Kits to borrow
Yellow: Related Articles or Videos to build background
White: People of Interest/Organizations
Purple: Literacy Connections
Blue: Potential Field Trips

Some Key Questions to explore: (first drafts...)
- Which significant and dramatic changes occurred in the 19th century that are considered turning points for (more) respectful treatment of Chinese Canadians?
-What is the most significant contribution Chinese immigrants made to the development of BC? What was the greatest injustice they endured?
- Identify significant changes and/or constants of a Chinese immigrant's way of life between two historical periods (During the building of the CPR and after 1923, for example)
-How did the Head Tax and the Chinese Exclusion Act affect the creation and multiculturalism of BC?

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Unit plan for Grade 5 and 9/10, including 5 lessons per grade level, background documents and primary sources.
"Bamboo Shoots: Chinese Canadian Legacies in BC is the result of an educational legacy initiative following the May, 2014, BC government's formal apology for historical wrongs committed against BC’s Chinese Canadian community."

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Grade 5 Teaching Materials

The Grade 5 Bamboo Shoots unit is a comprehensive and flexible teaching resource designed to help you bring Chinese Canadian history alive in your classroom. The unit contains adaptable lesson plans, blackline masters, and rubrics-as well as a timeline building game, relevant stories, and a rich collection of historical photographs and archival documents. The lesson-specific materials that you see in the Grade 5 Gallery are available in the lesson download packages below, for offline use.

Overview

Here you'll find materials that pertain to the unit as a whole. The Unit Overview provides context for the resource, information about learning outcomes addressed in each lesson, and suggestions for several ways to approach the unit. The Historical Backgrounders will give you some historical context for the topics addressed in the lessons.

Time Shuffle Card Game

This timeline building game will introduce students to a number of historically significant events in Chinese Canadian history and help them understand the chronological sequence of those events. The downloadable game cards need to be printed and cut out prior to use.

Royal British Columbia Museum Outreach Kit

Can graffiti be historically significant? Students will examine replicas of graffiti left by Chinese migrants detained in Victoria's Federal Immigration Detention Hospital and determine its significance through a hands-on investigation of primary resources. For more information about how to access the Outreach Kit through the Royal BC Museum, visit http://royalbcmuseum.bc.ca/schools/writing-on-the-wall-outreach-kits/.

Lesson 4: Apologies for Past Wrongs

In this lesson, students will decide if present-day governments should take responsibility for historical wrongs against Chinese Canadians. Students will also consider the various ways in which governments can take responsibility for historical wrongs. This activity will conclude with a U-shaped discussion.

Grade 9 Teaching Materials

The Grade 9 Bamboo Shoots unit is a comprehensive and flexible teaching resource designed to help you bring Chinese Canadian history alive in your classroom. The unit contains adaptable lesson plans, blackline masters, and rubrics-as well as a timeline building game, relevant stories, and a rich collection of historical photographs and archival documents. The lesson-specific materials that you see in the Grade 9 Gallery are available in the lesson download packages below, for offline use.

Overview

Here you'll find materials that pertain to the unit as a whole. The Unit Overview provides context for the resource, information about learning outcomes addressed in each lesson, and suggestions for several ways to approach the unit. The Historical Backgrounders will give you some historical context for the topics addressed in the lessons. The Concluding Assessment offers guidelines and rubrics for assessing students on their overall understanding of Chinese Canadian history in BC.

Time Shuffle Card Game

This timeline building game will introduce students to a number of historically significant events in Chinese Canadian history and help them understand the chronological sequence of those events. The downloadable game cards need to be printed and cut out prior to use.

Royal British Columbia Museum Outreach Kit

Can graffiti be historically significant? Students will examine replicas of graffiti left by Chinese migrants detained in Victoria's Federal Immigration Detention Hospital and determine its significance through a hands-on investigation of primary resources. For more information about how to access the Outreach Kit through the Royal BC Museum, visit visit http://royalbcmuseum.bc.ca/schools/writing-on-the-wall-outreach-kits/.

Lesson 1: Significant Events in Chinese Canadian History in BC

In Part A of this lesson, students will be introduced to a selection of key events in Chinese Canadian history in BC through a card game and follow-up activity. In Part B, students will discuss what makes a historical event significant, and determine the historical significance of events from the card game. In Part C, students will complete a living continuity and change timeline to identify progress towards, or decline away from, equity for Chinese Canadians in BC.

Lesson 2: Chinese Immigration to BC

In this lesson students consider the short-term and long-term causes, and the intended and unintended consequences, of Chinese immigration to BC. The students teach each other about one of four time periods of Chinese immigration history. They will also demonstrate the relationship between various causes and consequences, and have the option to share their personal or family stories of immigration to the province.

Lesson 3: Historical Perspectives of Chinese Canadians in BC

Students will investigate the historical perspectives of Chinese Canadians at different points in BC's history to attempt to understand their views, beliefs, and attitudes. Students will analyze a variety of evidence about the circumstances, beliefs, worldviews, and values that existed at the time. They will also anticipate how different people thought or felt about specific events and issues in Chinese Canadian history.

Lesson 4: Judging Government Responsibility

In this lesson, students will decide if the government should take responsibility for historical wrongs against Chinese Canadians. In making this ethical judgment, students will consider the historical context, contemporary standards, the responsibility to remember and respond, and the lasting legacy of historical wrongs. Students will also consider the various ways in which governments can take responsibility for historical wrongs. This activity will culminate in a U-shaped debate.

Lesson 5: Memorializing Chinese Canadian History

In this final lesson, students will bring their historical significance thinking skills to their own community, or broader region in BC, to identify a place that they would propose for a memorial. Students will assess their site selections using criteria for geographic and historical significance, and considering local context and community. They will then draft a proposal for their choice of place to memorialize on an interactive map.

Grade 5 Gallery

This extensive viewing gallery presents historical photographs and archival documents related to the history of Chinese people in BC and Canada. These archival resources were acquired from the BC Archives, Royal BC Museum, University of BC Special Collections - Chung Collection, Library and Archives Canada, Vancouver Public Library, and regional museums in the province. Although this gallery was designed to support the Grade 5 lesson plans in Bamboo Shoots, the archival collection housed on this website is valuable for anyone interested in learning more about this important and often untold story in BC's history.

Grade 9 Gallery

This extensive viewing gallery presents historical photographs and archival documents related to the history of Chinese people in BC and Canada. These archival resources were acquired from the BC Archives, Royal BC Museum, University of BC Special Collections - Chung Collection, Library and Archives Canada, Vancouver Public Library, and regional museums in the province. Although this gallery was designed to support the Grade 9 lesson plans in Bamboo Shoots, the archival collection housed on this website is valuable for anyone interested in learning more about this important and often untold story in BC's history.

This resource was developed for the Ministry of International Trade and Minister Responsible for Asia Pacific Strategy and Multiculturalism by Open School BC, Ministry of Education in partnership with the Royal BC Museum, the Legacy Initiatives Advisory Council and BC teachers. View the full list of contributors.

The historical photographs, archival documents and images of curatorial objects in the galleries and in the teaching materials were acquired from various sources and have been reproduced with permission. These materials are intended for educational purposes only and the downloaded files and prints may not be shared, reproduced or used for any other purpose without permission from the copyright holders.

Third Party Copyright Credits for all images on this website can be found in the gallery.
Images used in the homepage design:

Portrait of a group of young men and women, 192- Image 58912, CB Wand photo, Vancouver Public Library

Chinese fish peddlers on Carrall street Vancouver 1904 Image 8005, Philip Timms photo, Vancouver Public Library

Chinatown, Victoria, ca. 1886. (Cormorant Street West of Government Street. This part of Cormorant is now Pandora Avenue.) Image D-04748 courtesy of the Royal BC Museum and Archives

Petition for pardon for Ah Sing, accused of receiving stolen goods, Yale and Lytton, 1860s BC Archives, GR-1372 f 1353

Letter and envelope Images 966_87_17a and 966_87_17b courtesy of the Royal BC Museum and Archives

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Bamboo Shoots: Chinese Canadian Legacies in BC

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Here you'll find materials that pertain to the unit as a whole. The Unit Overview provides context for the resource, information about learning outcomes addressed in each lesson, and suggestions for several ways to approach the unit. The Historical Backgrounders will give you some historical context for the topics addressed in the lessons.

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A great unit plan created by The Chinese Canadian Historical Society of BC to explore and connect Chinese and Indigenous cultures and family identities. Comes with two blackline masters for a Family Map and a Venn diagram, and a 22 minute movie. Synopsis on website link provided.  No grade level specified.

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Chinese Canadian Historical Society of BC

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Directed by Diana Leung and Kamala Todd
Produced for CCHSBC by Jennifer Lau and Karin Lee

Cedar & Bamboo (Full Length 22:06)

Film Guide & Teaching Resources (2015)

Film Guide - developed by Katherine Rybar in consultation with CCHSBC. Produced by CCHSBC and St. John's College, University of British Columbia.

Teaching Resources - Please note that these are blackline masters to accompany the Film Guide.
Please note that classroom usage of these films are made possible by CCHSBC.

Synopsis

Chinese people arrived on the Western shores of Canada many generations ago. Since then, they have formed unique relations and shared many experiences with this land's Indigenous people. Cedar and Bamboo explores those relationships through the lives of four people of Chinese and Aboriginal roots. Set in the stunning land of British Columbia and the bustling multicultural city of Vancouver, their stories reveal the difficult circumstances of aboriginal people and early Chinese immigrants that both led to these unions but also challenged these families to stay as a whole.

At the age of five, elder Judy Joe was taken from Vancouver to her father's village in China, where she was raised by her stepfamily. She fought to reclaim her Canadian identity. When she finally returned to Canadian soil, she found herself only to be like an immigrant in her place of birth.

Musqueam elder Howard Grant, who shares a long heritage of the Musqueam people through his mother and a Chinese heritage through his father, reflects on his experiences with both cultures. Siblings Jordie and Hannah Yow, who grew up in Kamploops and are now in their 20s, reflect on growing up in an absence of information on their cultural backgrounds.

​As an extra on the DVD, 1788 provides 10 minutes academic commentary from Harley Wylie of the Mowachaht/Muchalaht First Nation and Professors Jean Barman and Henry Yu of the University of British Columbia on the shared histories in British Columbia of these two peoples.

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Directed by Diana Leung and Kamala Todd Produced for CCHSBC by Jennifer Lau and Karin Lee Film Guide - developed by Katherine Rybar in consultation with CCHSBC. Produced by CCHSBC and St. John's College, University of British Columbia. Teaching Resources - Please note that these are blackline masters to accompany the Film Guide.

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Extensive Background Information, curated by Library and Archives Canada 

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Extensive Background Information, curated by Library and Archives Canada 

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History of Canada's early Chinese immigrants - Library and Archives Canada

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The history section was written by Paul Yee, the author of many works of history and fiction on the early Chinese in Canada. Find out why they came to Canada and how they contributed to Canada's developing economy, the community ties they formed, and how immigration policies and attitudes restricted their lives in Canada.

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Chinese Canadian Museum (First one in Canada!) Opened in Feb. 2022

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Chinese Canadian Museum (First one in Canada!) Opened in Feb. 2022

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Guided tours in English or Chinese, $10 per student, located in Vancouver's Chinatown at 27 East Pender St.  Museum exhibits cover topics such as Chinese Canadian history, heritage, food culture, activism, and artistic expressions.  Visit this link for more details.  Here is a link about the reasons behind opening the museum: https://www.youtube.com/watch?app=desktop&v=SbjWolprOFE.  Another news story from Global News was interesting to watch, and had more information about the building that houses the museum.
https://globalnews.ca/video/8616212/canadas-first-chinese-canadian-museum-to-open-in-b-c

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School Programs - Canadian Chinese Museum 華裔博物館

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Enhance students’ learning beyond the classroom by booking a field trip with us! We currently offer select school programs in both English and Chinese at our Vancouver Chinatown location. More school programs are in development and will be available in near future. Please stay tuned! Guided Museum…

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Stories of the early Chinese immigrants who shaped Canada’s social fabric: field trip

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Stories of the early Chinese immigrants who shaped Canada’s social fabric: field trip

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Self-guided tours of artifacts, recordings, photos from 1800s to present-day. $10/student, $12.50 adult.  Located at 168 East Pender St. Vancouver.  A Curios store also on site.  The link above will take you to a video interview with Carol Lee, chair of Vancouver Chinatown Foundation, introducing the Centre.  Visit this link to go to their website: https://www.chinatownfoundation.org/chinatown-storytelling-centre/

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Free tours, located in the Chinese Cultural Centre, 555 Columbia St. in Vancouver.  It is the only museum in Canada dedicated to preserving the history of Chinese Canadians in Canada’s Armed Forces.  Wonderful veteran stories (over 100!) that could be used for a biography project.

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We are the only museum in Canada dedicated to preserving the history of Chinese Canadians in Canada's Armed Forces. We are located in Vancouver at 555 Columbia St - in a Ming Dynasty styled building - which is part of the Chinese cultural centre complex. Our museum is located on the second floor.

Amongst the glass cases and wall displays, visitors will find a wide range of photographs, documents, and artifacts which help tell the story of Chinese-Canadian soldiers in both world wars, and in conflicts since then.

Tours
You can also arrange for a tour of our museum, which can include tours of Chinatown. Contact us at: info@ccmms.ca

Hours
Tuesday - Sunday 10:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m.
Closed on Mondays and on statutory holidays.

Entrance fee: By donation

Location

Chinese Canadian Military Museum
Located in the Chinese Cultural Centre Museum and Archives
555 Columbia Street (2 nd floor)
Vancouver, BC V6A 4H5

Tel: 604-658-8880
Fax: 604-687-0368
Email: info@ccmms.ca

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Chinese Canadian Military Museum Society

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We are the only museum in Canada dedicated to preserving the history of Chinese Canadians in Canada's Armed Forces. We are located in Vancouver at 555 Columbia St - in a Ming Dynasty styled building - which is part of the Chinese cultural centre complex. Our museum is located on the second floor.

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100th anniversary of the 1923 Chinese Exclusion Act

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100th anniversary of the 1923 Chinese Exclusion Act

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This next major exhibition at the Chinese Canadian Military Museum is in the works now.

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Chinese Canadian Military Museum Society - Loyal to Country

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The Paper Trail to the 1923 Chinese Exclusion Act.
Our next major exhibition that will commemorate the 100 th anniversary of the 1923 Chinese Exclusion Act. This law, which was in effect for almost a quarter century, led to the darkest and, for some, the most despairing period in Chinese Canadian history.

The Exclusion Act was a last-ditch effort to block all immigration from China after four decades of charging ever-increasing head taxes failed to stop the flow of Chinese migration.

The 1923 Act also resulted in Canadian-born Chinese children being issued an "immigration card" containing the words "this certificate does not establish legal status in Canada." Through this card, a form of exclusion was symbolically passed on to the next generation of Chinese born on Canadian soil.

These children would become the generation that enlisted in Canada's war effort despite the lack of full status in this country. Some even lost their lives in combat, such as Quan Louie of Vancouver who died in bomber command over the skies of Germany.

Learn more about this important project and how you can include your ancestors in commemorating this largely forgotten period of Canadian history. Click here.

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The 1923 Chinese Exclusion Act - Chinese Canadian Military Museum Society

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100th Anniversary Exhibition The Paper Trail to the 1923 Chinese Exclusion Act. Our next major exhibition that will commemorate the 100th anniversary of the 1923 Chinese Exclusion Act. This law, which was in effect for almost a quarter century, led to the darkest and, for some, the most despairing period in Chinese Canadian history.

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Virtual Field Trip, artifact photos only

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Virtual Field Trip, artifact photos only

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This museum unfortunately burned down in the Lytton fires, but they are in the process of rebuilding.  Here is the link for their digital collection; it was a little hard to navigate their webpage. http://162.216.185.204/lchm/public/.

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Schools

The museum curator Lorna, works with teachers and administrators to design experiences that will match the age groups and learning objectives of the students. Often, this will include a guided tour of the building, explanation of each exhibit and a demonstration of selected artifacts. Thoughtful, hands-on activities such as crafts and games are also planned. Lorna is passionate about creating engaging experiences that are relatable to students and the Lytton area.

Students will see artifacts, archives, and building. Learning may include information about the experiences, hardships, and contributions made in BC's Interior by thousands of Chinese miners, railway workers, merchants, and farmers.

This tour is typically 40 minutes to 1 hour in duration. The cost is $3 per person and any size school group is welcome. Throughout the year individuals can contact us directly to set up a time to have students visit.

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The museum curator Lorna, works with teachers and administrators to design experiences that will match the age groups and learning objectives of the students. Often, this will include a guided tour of the building, explanation of each exhibit and a demonstration of selected artifacts. Thoughtful, hands-on activities such as crafts and games are also planned.

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Recognizing the Chinese Canadian Experience During the BC Gold Rushes

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Recognizing the Chinese Canadian Experience During the BC Gold Rushes

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A field trip guide to accompany primary sources research, before a visit to The Royal BC Museum (but some great lesson ideas and background information links!)

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General and Recommended Resources by the Chinese Canadian Historical Society of BC

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General and Recommended Resources by the Chinese Canadian Historical Society of BC

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A great place to start researching (teachers) when planning lessons, including racism-related articles and the City of Vancouver's official apology for its historical discrimination against Chinese people.

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Chinese Canadian Historical Society of BC

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Historic Study of the Society Building in Chinatown (July 2005) - PDF
Author: CCHSBC (Contractor to the City of Vancouver)

​This report provides historical, sociological and architectural data for five historically significant Society and Clan Association buildings in Vancouver Chinatown. It includes an overview of Chinese in Vancouver, a brief history of Vancouver Chinatown's architecture, and an overview of the nature and activities of the kinds of societies and associations discussed in the report. The five buildings studied include: the Mah Society of Canada, Lim Sai Hor Kow Mock Benevolent Association, Chinese Benevolent Association, Yue Shan Society, and May Wah Hotel. The report presents research results on the historical value and social history of each building.

Society Buildings in Chinatown (2004-2004) - PDF - English | Chinese
Author: City of Vancouver, CCHSBC (Contractor to the City of Vancouver)

This brochure is part of a 2004-2005 study that tells the stories of the society buildings, including their historical, social and architectural significance and to help stimulate interests to restore or upgrade these important buildings from their current condition. The process of the research was also an outreach to the clan associations and benevolent societies in Chinatown that began the discussion for the future of the society buildings.

Cedar and Bamboo (2010)
Directed by Diana Leung and Kamala Todd
Produced by Jennifer Lau (CCHSBC) and Karin Lee (CCHSBC)

Film Guide - Developed by Katherine Rybar (in consultation with CCHSBC)
Produced by CCHSBC and St. John's College, University of British Columbia

This is a resource kit for K-12 teachers teaching the BC Curriculum. It includes two films (Cedar and Bamboo, 22 min; 1788, 10 min), a film guide, and an accompanying teaching guide (blackline masters). Cedar and Bamboo features the personal stories of four individuals living in British Columbia who have mixed First Nations and Chinese descent. Their stories explore the relationships between these communities, concepts of personal and Canadian identity and raise questions about what parts of Canadian history are publicized and what parts are "hidden."
​
This content is particularly relevant to the Prescribed Learning Outcomes for Social Studies Grade 4, 5, 6, 10, and 11, Civic Studies 11, and BC First Nations Studies 12.

Chinese Historic Places (2015) | Media Release
Authors and Partners:

The Province of BC

Heritage BC (contracted by the Province of BC to administer nomination process)

Legacy Initiatives Advisory Council (evaluation team working group: Dr. Henry Yu, Co-Chair)

CCHSBC (evaluation team working group

Twenty-one places of historical significance to the Chinese Canadian community in British Columbia were provincially recognized under the Heritage Conservation Act, fulfilling a commitment in the Chinese Historical Wrongs Consultation Final Report and Recommendations. These 21 sites were chosen from a list of 77 distinct places put forward by 138 nominations made through a public nomination process in early 2015. The 21 sites paint a rich picture of the contributions Chinese Canadians have made to the development and prosperity of BC since the mid-19th century. There is an interactive online map, Chinese Historic Places, created by Heritage BC, that provides information on the 21 sites. (Edited from Province of BC)
Historic Places Nomination Report (July 28, 2015)
​Authors and Partners:

The Province of BC

Heritage BC (contracted by the Province of BC to administer nomination process)

Legacy Initiatives Advisory Council (evaluation team working group: Dr. Henry Yu, Co-Chair)

CCHSBC (evaluation team working group

​This report documents the 77 places of significance to the Chinese Canadian community in BC that were put forward by 138 nominations from British Columbians during a public nomination process in early 2015. This report identifies these sites and describes their heritage value.
This nomination process was held as to act on recommendations from the Chinese Historical Wrongs Consultation Final Report, which was produced from a consultation process that followed the Province of BC's formal apology to the Chinese Canadian community for historical wrongs committed b past provincial governments, in May 2014. (Partially edited from the report, and from the Province of BC)

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Historic Study of the Society Building in Chinatown (July 2005) - PDF Author: CCHSBC (Contractor to the City of Vancouver) ​This report provides historical, sociological and architectural data for five historically significant Society and Clan Association buildings in Vancouver Chinatown.

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This site contains articles, videos with accompanying lesson plans and primary and secondary articles/artifacts.  (click on Chinese Canadians tab) Lessons are for either Gr. 6-8 or 9-12.  Focus could be on these Key Questions:  How can we identify the historical values, beliefs and practices of a different time?  What are the differences between our worldview and the worldviews of the past? Is presentism influencing our interpretation of the time? (district needs to be a subscriber to access resources)

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Immigrant Experiences - The Critical Thinking Consortium

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Canadian Steel Chinese Grit (Documentary)

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Canadian Steel Chinese Grit (Documentary)

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A documentary released in 2000, about the history of working conditions when building the CPR railway

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This documentary, released for distribution in November 2000, delves into the history of the Chinese workers without whom Canada's national railway could never have been realized. In a climate of racial tension, 17,000 Chinese workers were hired so the railway could be completed on time. Assigned the dirtiest, most dangerous tasks, they received half the wages of white labourers, and were denied the food and lodging provided to their white counterparts. Hundreds of Chinese labourers lost their lives as construction pushed through the treacherous mountains of British Columbia. For those who survived, prospects did not improve after the railroad's completion in 1885 due to poverty and the introduction of the head tax which kept families apart. This film includes interviews with Chinese-Canadians whose parents and grandparents built the railroad - and indeed the nation - give life to this poignant documentary that retells and rethinks a vital chapter in Canada's history.
Copies of the film can be obtained through:
Moving Images Distribution
103-511 West 14th Avenue
Vancouver BC V5Z 1P5
Canada
Phone: 604.684.3014
Toll-free: 800.684.3014
Fax: 604.684.7165

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Canadian Steel Chinese Grit (Documentary)

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This documentary, released for distribution in November 2000, delves into the history of the Chinese workers without whom Canada's national railway could never have been realized. In a climate of racial tension, 17,000 Chinese workers were hired so the railway could be completed on time.

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Graphic Timeline Poster (interactive links) available in 3 languages, and a set of 8 documents about Chinatowns across Canada 

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Graphic Timeline Poster (interactive links) available in 3 languages, and a set of 8 documents about Chinatowns across Canada 

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The first trilingual Brief Chronology of Chinese Canadian History, is a large illustrated wall chart, updated in 2012 to cover 222 years of Chinese migration, segregation, integration and contributions in Canada. (created by the Chinese Canadian History Project Council within the David See-Chai Lam Centre for International Communication at Simon Fraser University)

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The Chinese Canadian History Project Council within the David See-Chai Lam Centre for International Communication at Simon Fraser University has developed educational materials for use by schools, community organizations, new immigrants, and tourism to educate students, the Canadian public, and visitors to Canada about the contributions of Chinese Canadians, over more than two centuries, to the building of Canada.

The background to events leading up to this book began in the 1990s with the David Lam Centre cooperating with Chinese partners in the production of the historical documentary film, Canadian Steel, Chinese Grit, which was released in the year 2000. The film's success led us to publish the first trilingual Brief Chronology of Chinese Canadian History, a large illustrated wall chart, updated in 2012 to cover 222 years of Chinese migration, segregation, integration and contributions in Canada. We thank Dr. David Chuenyan Lai, Professor Emeritus of Geography at the University of Victoria and Adjunct Professor with SFU's David Lam Centre, for his research and writing of the English text for the chart. Thanks also to Ms. Liang Xiaomei for translating the English text to Chinese and Mr. Martin Tzou to French.

Following publication of the latest Canada-wide chronological chart, we decided to publish a series of booklets focusing on specific Chinatowns across Canada, starting with Canada's oldest Chinatown in Victoria, published in 2011, and followed by Vancouver, Toronto, Edmonton, Winnipeg, Ottawa, Montréal, and finally Calgary in 2016. Each of the Chinatowns in the series includes a thematic focus and narrative of "budding, blooming, withering and rehabilitation." We invite the reader of this book to give serious thought to the question of the future of Canada's Chinatowns, which we believe are significant social and cultural sites essential to maintaining Canada's national memory while contributing to a more complete understanding of our shared history.

Victoria is a prime example of a "Revived Chinatown," whose rehabilitation was brought about through cooperation between the City and the Chinese Consolidated Benevolent Association, led by a rehabilitation committee chaired by Dr. David Lai. The mayor and city council were convinced that there was economic potential and heritage value in preserving and revitalizing its historic Chinatown. On the opposite extreme is Calgary Chinatown, where virtually all of the old buildings were demolished and replaced by new high rise buildings. Edmonton South Chinatown was demolished and assigned a new site for the old Chinatown businesses and associations to move into. The Toronto old Chinatown was virtually destroyed through the expansion of the new city hall, and many businesses and associations gradually moved to the Dundas and Spadina areas which became known as Toronto Central District Chinatown. Hence, Calgary Chinatown, Edmonton South Chinatown, and Toronto Central District Chinatown are called "Replaced Chinatowns."

At the time of this publication, Vancouver's city council has not yet committed itself to an overall plan for the revitalization of its withering Chinatown without destroying the historic architecture and their culturally unique functions, which together determine the character of the neighbourhood.

This book is also a contribution to Canada's sesquicentennial celebration, Canada 150. Our project is both a public information project and a statement of advocacy for maintaining the viability and integrity of Canada's historic Chinatowns.

We are thankful to our Honorary Patron Senator Vivienne Poy for her tireless efforts in promoting this educational project among Canadian Members of Parliament, the Senate and community organizations. We would like to express our sincere gratitude to the institutions, associations, community groups, chambers of commerce, municipal governments, and individuals who have contributed their generous financial support to this project. All contributions are allocated to the Chinese Canadian Heritage Fund established in 1998 for the express purpose of supporting research and the production of educational materials related to Chinese Canadian history.

Thanks are also extended to our colleagues and research assistants for translating the English texts to Chinese and French. For example, Mr. Jack W Lee and Mare Bernier translated the English text of Montreal Chinatown to French.
Acknowledgement | 鳴謝 | Reconnaissance

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A Brief Chronology of Chinese Canadian History

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The Chinese Canadian History Project Council within the David See-Chai Lam Centre for International Communication at Simon Fraser University has developed educational materials for use by schools, community organizations, new immigrants, and tourism to educate students, the Canadian public, and visitors to Canada about the contributions of Chinese Canadians, over more than two centuries, to the building of Canada.

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Chung Collection at UBC: Three Themes of BC History, C.P.R. History, Immigration and Settlement

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Chung Collection at UBC: Three Themes of BC History, C.P.R. History, Immigration and Settlement

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Great resource for primary sources, a collection spanning over 100 years! Usually open to the general public, but under construction right now for renovations.

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Learning, knowledge, research, insight: welcome to the world of UBC Library, the second-largest academic research library in Canada.

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Article about Push and Pull Factors of Immigrating in the 1800s

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Article about Push and Pull Factors of Immigrating in the 1800s

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Tips for how to use this article with close readings strategies are included (must sign in as a teacher to access this free resource and lesson plan)

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READ: Industrialization and Migration (article) | Khan Academy

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UBC Intern Projects on highlighting Chinese Canadian history in Burnaby (at Burnaby Village Museum)

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UBC Intern Projects on highlighting Chinese Canadian history in Burnaby (at Burnaby Village Museum)

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Explanation and links to three projects (including gallery displays, podcast series (with interviews) and artwork on the history of piggeries and other farms, restaurants, laundries, Traditional Chinese Medicine and herbalism

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Summer 2020, four UBC students and alumni interned with the Burnaby Village Museum (BVM) on projects highlighting Chinese Canadian history in Burnaby. This marks the third year of a , and UBC joint partnership between the Burnaby Village Museum, the UBC Initiative for Student Teaching and Research in Chinese Canadian Studies (INSTRCC) , the UBC Asian Canadian & Asian Migration Studies program (ACAM) , the UBC Centre for Community Engaged Learning (CCEL) , the UBC Faculty of Land and Food Systems , UBC St. John's College (SJC).

Due to the restrictions of COVID-19, this year's interns were tasked with creating virtual experiences that reimagined BVM's historical Chinese Canadian programming in remote online spaces. Working under the co-supervision of UBC and BVM staff, these internships provided invaluable opportunities for students to apply what they learned in the classroom and on international travels to the Burnaby Village Museum's research, programming, and exhibits.

Debbie Liang and Joty Gill-UBC alumni and graduates of Dr. Henry Yu's 2019 summer ACAM 390 Global Seminar to Asia-returned to work with the BVM this summer on the production of two short films showcasing the history of Chinese Canadian Chop Suey restaurants and piggeries in Burnaby.

Film stills by Debbie Liang
Two other interns, Rose Wu and Wei Yan Yeong, are current students in UBC's Faculty of Land and Food Systems. This summer, they were tasked with the reinterpretation of the BVM's market garden, highlighting its association with early Chinese Canadian market farming in the region. The resulting project was a three-episode podcast series, aptly named Back to the Roots , which delves into the topics of family-operated farming businesses, Chinese contributions to early local and alternative food systems, and Traditional Chinese Medicine and herbalism.

Check out the students' projects at:
BVM Summer 2019
In the summer of 2019, UBC ACAM390 students returned to do summer internships with the Burnaby Village Museum for the second year of a joint partnership between Burnaby Village Museum and INSTRCC.

Two student teams applied learnings from their Asia trip to contribute to the Burnaby Village Museum's research and programming on Chinese Canadian history. Debbie Liang and Marcela Gomez conducted research on three early Chinese Canadian industries: piggeries, restaurants, and laundries; designing interactive programming around their findings. They created art panels that represented the three industries, including flip-up flaps that contained historical tid-bits. The pair also led visitors on short interpretive tours of the museum.

Joty Gill and Vanessa Chan designed additions to living history museums in the form of a visual compilation of migration stories. Their work included a comic strip and other interactive activities for families and children. The pair were also charged with analyzing visitor attendance and survey data, creating a report for the Burnaby Village Museum on their findings.
Story Garden, Story Harvest Station, & Garden Party
The summer of 2018, students from ACAM390, Jenny Lu and Stephanie Johnson, interned at the Burnaby Village Museum for the first year of the museum's partnership with the UBC Initiative for Student Teaching and Research in Chinese Canadian Studies (INSTRCC) . Tasked with creating an interpretive experience for the museum's Chinese market garden site, the pair came up with a 3-fold project that included a Story Garden, Story Harvest Station, and Garden Party, with the aim to "engage, educate, and empower museum guests".

The "Story Garden" explored the history of Chinese-Canadian farmers and their contributions to BC's food system through six interpretive story panels, called "Story Cards," in the Story Garden. Visitors were also introduced to information on the crops grown in the garden. The cards were translated into Traditional Chinese with the help of Lu's grandma.

The "Story Harvest Station" was a pop-up space that acted as an addition to the "Story Garden". Museum guests were invited to share their personal stories of food, migration, and culture. Selected story cards were hung up around the canopy tent and visitors had the opportunity to read other people's contributions. Both the "Story Garden" and "Story Harvest Station" aimed to address the lack of interactive exhibit objects that engaged visitors directly on the topic of Chinese-Canadian history and empower guests to recognize the importance of their individual stories in Burnaby's local history.

To close off the two-month summer internship, the pair planned a Garden Party inspired by Josephine Chow's reflection on the community gatherings Big Bend farmers used to hold during the "off season". The Garden Party was hosted to celebrate and thank the community (Burnaby Heritage Plaque Advisory Committee, ACAM staff, the Hong family, Edmund Leong, and other community partners) for their contributions toward BVM's Big Bend market garden exhibit. The event was also an opportunity to share with community partners the Story Garden and Story Harvest Station, as well as other ACAM projects that were prototyped throughout the summer.

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Virtual Museum Programming during COVID-19 Summer 2020, four UBC students and alumni interned with the Burnaby Village Museum (BVM) on projects highlighting Chinese Canadian history in Burnaby. This marks the third year of a joint partnership between the Burnaby Village Museum, the UBC Initiative for Student Teaching and Research in Chinese Canadian Studies (INSTRCC), the [...]

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A thought-provoking talk told from the perspective of a great 18-year-old American speaker.  Lots of potential for discussion and reflection.

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I Am Not Your Asian Stereotype | Canwen Xu | TEDxBoise

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Displayed in 2017.  Some window displays are still up, but this link allows you to see them all.  A brief summary of the project can be found here: https://www.ccmms.ca/features/chinatown-history-windows/

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Chinatown History Windows – Page 2 – 2017 window exhibit on Vancouver Chinatown history

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Small Prize Awarded for Heritage Fair project related to Chinese Canadian History

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Small Prize Awarded for Heritage Fair project related to Chinese Canadian History

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Could possibly tie in the Veterans stories from the Chinese Canadian Military Museum?

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Chinese Canadian Historical Society of BC

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CCHSBC is a proud participant and supporter of the BC Regional Heritage Fairs, a province-wide programme that encourages youth to see history around them. Heritage Fairs are a group opportunity for...

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Research the most decorated Chinese Canadian man in the military with this lesson, adaptable for all grades.  A great cartoon vignette included.

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Lesson Overview

Through exploring the life of Kam Len Douglas Sam, students will discover why Sam was the most decorated and highest-ranked Chinese Canadian in history. Students will also explore the role that racism played in his life.

Historical Thinking Concept(s)

Establish historical significance

Use primary source evidence

Identify continuity and change

Take historical perspectives

Understand the ethical dimension of historical interpretations

Learning Outcomes

Students will:

Inquire: using pictorial and written data, students will explore material related Kam Len Douglas Sam

Collect: collect historical data from articles and pictures and draw conclusions by reflecting upon the historical perspectives presented in this data

Analyze: using written and pictorial data, students will gather information about Kam Len Douglas Sam and analyze the immediate and long-lasting historical significance of his life experiences

Understand: demonstrate an understanding of the historical significance of Kam Len Douglas Sam

Communicate and Apply: summarize the significance Kam Len Douglas Sam's life and relate it to the experience of other Canadians

Background Information

The following links can be shared with students after the initial kick-off lesson plan activities have been explored:

Starting Prompts

As students enter the room, have this image of Kam Len Douglas Sam available for students, either on a classroom screen, individual devices, or hard copy pictures.

Ask the students to tell you everything they observe from the photo. If the observations do not come spontaneously, try these questions:

Who do you think he is?

What do you think he does?

When and where do you think the photo is taken?

Who do you think is taking the photo?

Why was the photo taken?

What details can you pick out in this photo?

After this brainstorming session, reveal the details about the man in the photograph by accessing the Background Information (see above). Ask the students what assumptions they made about the man in the photograph. (Assumption: something that you accept as true without question or proof, Cambridge Dictionary) Did they think he was Canadian? Why or why not? Tell your students that if they assumed that he was not Canadian, they are not the first people to think this.

Lesson Activity

Show the " Flying and Spying" History Bits video.

For younger grades (3/4):

Pick four dates mentioned in the "Flying and Spying" video. Have students fold a piece of paper to create four squares. In each section, write a date at the top, then instruct students to illustrate this date in Kam Len Douglas Sam's life.

For older grades (5/6):

Using the Establish Historical Thinking template from The Historical Thinking Project, have students work in pairs or individually on the historical significance of Kam Len Douglas Sam's life.

For all grades:

As a closing whole class discussion, refer to the first scene in the Kayak video of the Royal Canadian Air Force Office in Victoria, BC, in 1941. Ask: why do you think Sam was rejected by the Air Force? Ask students if they have ever been rejected for something based upon their appearance. Do students think there are other cases in Canadian history where Canadians were judged based upon their ethnicity? Chart these thoughts as a whole class or individually.

Materials/Resources

Extension Activities

For older grades, look at Chinese Canadians of Force 136. The video "Force 136: Chinese Canadian Heroes" is very informative, but suitable for older viewers due to the sensitive nature of some content. At the end of this video, Catherine Clement of the Chinese Canadian Military Museum says: "The Chinese had a double victory." Have students research why this quote is applicable to Chinese Canadians.

Learn more about the history of Chinese Canadians in military service.

Access the University of British Columbia's Open Library. What do students learn about Kam Len Douglas Sam with this primary source? What is a primary source? (Primary source: original materials in different formats such as letters, diaries, photographs, artefacts, etc.). See if students can find another primary source related to Sam on this site.

Once declared missing in action, Sam was able to do espionage work in Europe. What do students think are the characteristics of a good spy? Why was Sam valuable to the Allies' cause? Have students list characteristics that they think would make a good spy. Research other Canadian spies in WWII.

Using a comic book template, have students create their own comic book of Sam's life.

In the video, Sam's grandmother burns joss sticks. Have students research what these are and why she would use them. Are there any other Chinese traditions that can be explored? Are there other students in the class that have traditions that are part of their ethnicity? Research different traditions celebrated by different groups in Canada.

Read "The Many Wars of Doug Sam," an article written by Sam's son, Trevor Sam, for Canada's History magazine.

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kayak: canada’s history magazine for kids

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Flying and Spying: The Life of Kam Len Douglas Sam

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Through exploring the life of Kam Len Douglas Sam, students will discover why Sam was the most decorated and highest-ranked Chinese Canadian in history. Students will also explore the role that racism played in his life.

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Won Alexander Cumyow: Chinese Canadian Lawyer lesson plan

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Won Alexander Cumyow: Chinese Canadian Lawyer lesson plan

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Great video that accompanies this resource! Created by BCTF. Here is the link for the video vignette: https://www.labourheritagecentre.ca/cumyow/

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Won Alexander Cumyow: Working People: A History of Labour in BC- Labour History Project Lesson Materials 6

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Lesson activities to accompany the vignette ‘Won Alexander Cumyow’ from the acclaimed Knowledge Network series; Working People: A History of Labour in British Columbia produced by Landrock...

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Accompanies Bamboo Shoots units, or could be signed out on its own.  Directly linked to the BC curriculum and uses poetry and wall graffiti (primary sources) to capture student interest. Helpful inquiry question posed.

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Royal BC Museum and Archives | Victoria, BC, Canada

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The Writing on the Wall: An Outreach Kit on Chinese Canadian Historical Wrongs

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A beautiful picture book written by Joanna Ho. (She also has another book called Eyes that Kiss at the Corners, but this one is more relevant to the unit.)

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Eyes that Speak to the Stars by Joanna Ho READ ALOUD Book

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The Jade Peony won both the 1995 Trillium Book Award and the 1996 City of Vancouver Book Award.

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Disappearing Moon Café won the 1990 City of Vancouver Book Award and was a 1990 Governor General's Award Finalist. (teacher preview first, some reviews weren't great)

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Landed (read aloud suggestion for Gr. 3-5)

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Landed (read aloud suggestion for Gr. 3-5)

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-Set in America, helpful for comparison of experiences
-A free lesson plan sequence is available from the author
-Could connect to Ellis Island lessons or Angel Island Immigration Station tour on YouTube (American experience)

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Based on a true story, 12-year-old Sun studies hard to be able to answer questions correctly to prove he's his father's son and get into America. Upon arrival he is detained for a month due to the 1882 Chinese Exclusion Act.

In a starred review, Booklist said " The story is told with quiet restraint; there are no emotional partings from Sun's mother in China, no tearful reunions with older brothers already in California. But the tension is always there, and Choi's beautiful, full-page oil paintings, in sepia tones and shades of green, are quiet and packed with feeling."

And School Library Journal said "Chois soft illustrations, reminiscent of those in Allen Says Grandfathers Journey (Houghton, 1993), capture the spirit of the time with beautiful visual detail. This is a significant book; from it, students will learn much about this chapter in U.S. history."

One thing that we love is that this book is NOT set at Ellis Island. "Ellis Island may be well known to most schoolchildren, but its West Coast cousin is finally getting the attention it deserves." (The Bulletin for the Center of Children's Books) Ellis Island is so important to teach, of course, but it's important to provide a fuller picture of early American immigration. This book helps do that.

Reading Level for Landed by Milly Lee:

Interest Level: Grade 3-5
DRA Level: 40
Lexile Measure: 790L
Grade Level Equivalent: 4.4
Guided Reading Level: R

For kids in third and most of fourth grade, this book will need to be a read-aloud rather than for individual reading, as children Read-Aloud vs. Individual Reading: generally
do not read on the reading level (difficulty level) of this book until the middle of fourth grade. The majority of fifth graders should be able to read this book independently.

National Council for Social Studies Children's Book Council Notable Trade Book in the Field of Social Studies

Cooperative Children's Book Center Choice

Below are sample spreads from inside this book. The oil paintings are rich with historical details in this vivid recounting, based on the author's father-in-law's experiences, of a disturbing chapter in Chinese American history.

Landed by Milly Lee Lesson / Activity Ideas

We found a website with some suggestions on using this book--and other children's books about early American immigration--in the classroom. The unit is called Faces of Immigration and it used children's books to introduce students to the immigration experience of those arriving on the west coast of America. It's a five-day unit. To access this FREE unit, click here: Landed by Milly Lee lesson/activity idea

Where to now?

Now that you've seen this great book, what would you like to see now? Please note that as an Amazon Associate, we earn from qualifying purchases.

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Based on a true story, 12-year-old Sun studies hard to be able to answer questions correctly to prove he's his father's son and get into America. Upon arrival he is detained for a month due to the 1882 Chinese Exclusion Act.

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"My Chinatown", read aloud by illustrator (and now) author, Kam Mak.  Followed by a Q&A session.

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"My Chinatown", read aloud by illustrator (and now) author, Kam Mak.  Followed by a Q&A session.

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Start the video at 4:54.  Story ends at 17:00, then there is a question and answer session.
Beautiful, poetic language and vocabulary choices!  Lesson idea:  Write a collaborative class poem about Burnaby (one pair of students for each month of the year).

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Live Book Reading: "My Chinatown: One Year in Poems" by Kam Mak

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Some good suggestions for books with Chinese content: My favourite top 3 are: "Coolies" by Yin, and "The Ugly Vegetables" and "Where the Mountain Meets the Moon", both by Grace Lin

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This blog post originally appeared in the Pragmatic Mom Blog.

Best Chinese American Books for Kids

The Chinese immigrant experience is one with a long history in America resulting in becoming the largest Asian population in America today. There is a great one-page overview on Chinese immigration that details this history. Interestingly, this article says that the earliest Chinese immigrants during the 1700's were well received and became wealthy but attitudes changes negatively during the mid-1800's when less skilled Chinese "Coolies" came during the gold rush.

As I think about the Chinese immigrant experience -- my father immigrated from China to pursue a Ph.d program at U.C.L.A. a few years before the Communist Revolution -- my own experience is probably similar to most second generation immigrants in the quest to balance American culture while honoring an Asian past. Of course, my background is dissimilar to most Chinese immigrant stories as my mother is of Japanese descent and 2nd generation at that. And did I mention that I married a Korean?

And so each of us carries an immigrant story that is unique. I chose these books because there was something special about each of them that helps me to connect to my Chinese roots and I hope that you enjoy them to, even if your ancestry isn't Asian.

For my own children, a "mixed-plate" to quote a Hawaiian term, they are 2nd, 3rd and 4th generation Asian. And at 1/4 Chinese, 1/4 Japanese and 1/2 Korean, they are an unusual mix in that these three countries have traditionally hated each other for centuries. And so in reading these stories, they may or may not relate to any of these stories, but I hope that it will help them to honor and take pride in their ancestry even if it's as varied as a patchwork quilt.

Chinese American Books for Kids Honorable Mention

The Year of the Book by Andrea Cheng

The Year of the Book is a subtle and realistic portrayal of what it means to grow up as a second generation Asian American. For 4th grader Anna Wang, it means being on the sidelines at school while her once best friend trades up socially. At home, life is safe and cozy, especially with books that comfort and entertain her. Is it her Asian-ness that keeps her from being popular or it is her bookish personality? Should she care or embrace it? Books, family and friends make up the triad that define Anna right now and this is the year of the book to learn how to balance it all. I'd hand this multicultural chapter book to any girl who has ever felt left out. [chapter book, ages 8 and up]

The Great Wall of Lucy Wu by Wendy Shang [chapter book, ages 9-12]

If there is one book that I would single out as THE seminal Asian American coming of age story, it would be The Great Wall of Lucy Wu. What is unique about this story compared to all others is that the Chinese American family is an assimilated 3rd generation family without the usual Asian stereotyping. It's not about characters that are super smart geniuses or that play the violin/piano like a child prodigy ... these are characters that Asian kids living in suburban communities across the United States can actually relate to. Fitting in while retaining your Asian culture. Living up to high family expectations and standards. Being your own person versus who your parents want you to be. Good stuff! And it's so well written that I think it will be up for many, many children's lit awards. Wendy Shang is the Amy Tan of children's literature. Try her for yourself!

Historical Tales (A Story of Ancient China) series by Jessica Gunderson

I found these great beginning chapter books at the library. They are a very interesting and accurate historical fiction series that brings Ancient China to life. Great if you are also combining any museums of, say, Terracotta Warriors. The Terracotta Girl would be a perfect fit! The Jade Dragon is a more general story combining ancient sports (horned helmet wrestling jiao di, rowing and archery) with dragon symbolism.

by Robert D. San Souci
I always find it interesting to read the book a movie is based on. San Souci retells this legend that comes from a ballad composed around 420-589 A.D. about the battles found between the Chinese and Tatars (what is now Mongolia and Manchuria). This retelling shows that the Disney movie is faithful to the ballad with one big exception, Mulan did have permission from her parents to join the army. Filial piety is pretty important in Asian culture! [picture book, ages 6-10)

Nim and the War Effort by Milly Lee

Nim wants to win the paper drive but her grandfather won't let her miss Chinese school. She has to venture out of Chinatown in order to prove to a Caucasian kid that she's an American. [picture book, ages 7-12]

I chose this picture book as much for gorgeous traditional Chinese paintings as for the story which is about the life of painter Han Gan, who lived in China 1,200 ears ago. The myth is that he is a such a great painter of horses that one of his paintings comes to life. [picture book, ages 5-8]

This is a Great Books for Girls by Kathleen Odean selection about a nun who is a master of Kung Fu and helps a village girl avoid a unwanted marriage. A great book about girl empowerment through the martial art of Kung Fu. Think The Karate Kid for girls! [picture book, ages 5-9]

8. In the Year of the Boar and Jackie Robinson by Bette Bao Lord

This is the story of Shirley Temple Wong as she emigrates to America at age 8 and discovers that American is the land of opportunity by learning about baseball, the Brooklyn Dodgers and the great Jackie Robinson. [chapter book, ages 8-12]

When one thinks of Chinese immigrants, the image of "Coolies" comes to mind and this period marks the period of when new Chinese immigrants were viewed negatively. The Coolie story is an important story about the Chinese immigrants during the 1800's and underscores why "Coolies" were an important part of building the great railroads across the Western United States. [picture book, ages 5-8]

It's the Year of the Dog, and Pacy learns that this is the year to "find herself" which means trying to find her special talents and how she fits in with family, friends and classmates. There is a little bonus gift in that Pacy enters a book writing contest and that book is The Ugly Vegetables! Grace Lin is the "Amy Tan" of children's literature and this is a gentle story for anyone who struggles with finding themselves. In real life, Grace Lin said that she actually won the science fair and you can check her website to find out more about what really happened in real life versus Year of the Dog. [chapter book, ages 8-12]

5. Millicent Min, Girl Genius by Lisa Yee

Millicent Min is an 11-year-old girl genius with no social skills or friends except for her Grandmother Maddie. While Millicent can rationalize her solitude, her parents and grandmother co-conspire to socialize her. They force her to play volleyball and to tutor an annoying Chinese American kid, Stanford Wong, who is the polar opposite of her. Things look up for Millicent when she makes her first friend, Emily, at volleyball. But things come to a head when Emily finds out that Millicent and Stanford are lying to her as they both try to hide their tutoring arrangement from her. And to make matters worse, Maddie decides to move to England. Millicent is a genius, but can she figure out how to repair her friendship? [chapter book, ages 9-14)

One of my favorite picture books about a little Chinese girl who objects to the "ugly vegetables" her family grows compared to her non-Asian neighbors who grow beautiful flowers. But when her mother makes a delicious soup from the Chinese vegetables, all the neighbors want to trade flowers for soup. What I like about this story is that "fitting in" is something internal that the little girl feels; not as result of overt prejudice. And in the end, her differences enrich the entire neighborhood. [picture book, ages 4-7]

When her parents cook Chinese food to sell at their store on the 4th of July, the little 2nd generation Chinese American girl thinks that her parents "don't get it." No one wants Chinese food on the 4th of July, right? A simple story that depicts perfectly the straddling of two worlds that 2nd generation children feel. [picture book, ages 2-6]

2. Zen Shorts by Jon Muth

Jon Muth manages to take Chinese philosopher Chuang Tzu and distill it into three stories that both children and adults can relate to. A wonderful book for everyone's bookshelf. The artwork is gorgeous too! [picture book, ages 4 - adult]

My oldest has always loved Asian folk tales. In this Newbery Award winning book, Grace Lin's finest work to date weaves Chinese Folk tales into a story that is greater than the sum of it's parts. With Asian themes of filial respect and sacrifice, she writes a novel that is the "Asian Percy Jackson." [chapter book, ages 8-12]

To examine any book more closely at Amazon, please click on image of book.

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Top 10: Chinese American Children's Books (ages 2-14)

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This blog post originally appeared in the Pragmatic Mom Blog. The Chinese immigrant experience is one with a long history in America resulting in becoming the largest Asian population in America today. There is a great one-page overview on Chinese immigration that details this history.

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(Book Review) Chinatown Ghosts: The Poems and Photographs of Jim Wong-Chu

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(Book Review) Chinatown Ghosts: The Poems and Photographs of Jim Wong-Chu

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This link is to an essay written about the author and the time he lived and wrote about.

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Chinatown Ghosts: The Poems and Photographs of Jim Wong-Chu
by Jim Wong-Chu

Vancouver: Arsenal Pulp Press, 2018
$19.95 / 9781551527482

Reviewed by LiLynn Wan
First published April 13, 2019
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When Chinatown Ghosts was first published in 1986, Jim Wong-Chu broke a silence in Canadian literature. This slim volume of poetry was one of the first English language literary publications by a Chinese Canadian writer about the Chinese Canadian experience. The book was initially denigrated by many in Vancouver's Chinatown community because of the defaced image of Mao Zedong that graced its cover, and it received little notice outside of that community. It was, as Wong-Chu describes in the opening poem of this collection, a way of "unlocking" to "begin to open." And what a force of literature, creativity, and change Jim Wong-Chu helped to unlock.

The posthumous republication of Chinatown Ghosts in 2018, scarcely more than three decades later, takes its place as tribute and legacy amidst a flourishing canon of Asian Canadian and Pacific Rim literature that has claimed national and international recognition. Although Wong-Chu published little of his own writing after Chinatown Ghosts, he worked consistently until his passing in 2017 to support and mentor countless emerging Asian Canadian writers and artists. He sought out Asian Canadian writers (in the days before the internet) and published anthologies of Asian Canadian short stories and poetry. He co-founded the Asian Canadian Writers Workshop, Ricepaper Magazine, and the LiterAsian Festival, all of which are thriving today. Wong-Chu's photographs and poems in Chinatown Ghosts map his early steps in articulating a collective Asian Canadian identity, history, consciousness, and voice that lay at the heart of his lifelong activism.

The impact that Jim Wong-Chu left on the Asian Canadian literary community is made clear in the many tributes and homages which preface this 2018 republication of Chinatown Ghosts. This new edition also includes a selection of his photographs of Vancouver's Chinatown taken in the 1970s and early 1980s that are thoughtfully arranged in composition with his poetry.

Many of the poems in this collection identify place, culture, and history as central to Chinese Canadian identities. Poems like "tradition," "the old country," and "peasants" describe a consciousness and experience that extends beyond the confines of Vancouver's Chinatown and the borders of British Columbia, across the Pacific Ocean to China. For Wong-Chu, many places are home, and culture exists in those small acts of tradition, and of food, work, and family relations, that remain constant across geographic borders. This diasporic understanding of place and culture is central to the author's conception of an Asian Canadian identity.

In these poems, temporal borders are also fluid, as history weaves through the author's present. In "journey to merritt," we are accompanied by the ghosts of nineteenth-century railway workers. In an "old Chinese cemetery" in Kamloops, we "walk/ on earth/ above the bones/ of a multitude of golden mountain men." The ghosts of railway and cannery workers, gold miners, and peasant farmers who suffered exploitation, discrimination, and poverty haunt this literary journey of self discovery. Nonetheless, there is at the same time an overarching sense of humour and hope.

This duality is most apparent in layout of the poem, "equal opportunity." Here, a photograph of the "Iron Chink"[1] in the Royal BC Museum is placed next to the first half of the poem, which describes how the Chinese were once forced to sit in the back, and then the front of the train. In each case, an accident claims the lives of the passengers in the front, and then the back of the train. In each case, "the Chinese erected an altar and thanked buddha."

On the next page is a photograph of three men in suits and hats, sitting relaxed on a stair railing on a sidewalk somewhere in Chinatown, the man in the centre looking straight at the camera, arms crossed, a quiet and deliberate smirk on his face. Next to this, the poem concludes, "after much debate/ common sense prevailed/ the chinese are now allowed/ to sit anywhere on any train."

The history of the Chinese in Canada in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries is recalled in these poems as a history of discrimination driven by economic necessity. Labour is a central theme in this collection, as it is to the history of the Chinese in Canada, to Vancouver's Chinatown, and in the author's own life. Wong-Chu ended his formal education after the tenth grade and worked in restaurants before taking on a career as a carrier for Canada Post. The hilariously wry "Jimmy the waiter" as well as painfully stoic pieces like "eggroll kid" and "the newspaper vending kwan yin, " bring us into the working world of the second half of the twentieth century.

The alternate placement of poems that describe the emotional toll and harsh reality of modern working life in Chinatown, alongside poems that recall historical periods of intense discrimination and racism against the Chinese in British Columbia, highlight connections between past and present that were central to Wong-Chu's conception of identity.

Poems like "fourth uncle" and "of course there are ghosts" use family to discover what was carried through the generations as well as what was left behind. In "mother," Wong-Chu explores women's labour, marriage, and family dynamics. He describes with painful accuracy the loneliness and tedium of being wife and mother in a low-income Chinatown household. The poem begins, "she always wears her silence / in front of father."

In a similar vein, the poem "how feel I do" explores the shame of being a new immigrant who is not yet able to speak English alongside the corresponding shame of losing one's own language. Wong-Chu was brought to Canada as a paper son,[2] which means that his own family history was shrouded in silence. The theme of silence lies at the heart of this collection, not as subject but as target. When Jim Wong-Chu published this collection in the 1980s, Asian Canadians were generally silent in mainstream media as a result of institutionalized racism over the community's 150-year history. His poems and photographs emerged out of a compulsion to say something fundamental, which, in the 1980s, had not yet been said loud enough to be heard: We Are Here.

Jim Wong-Chu's photographs are exceptional, both aesthetically and historically. Most of those included in this volume are portraits of people, working class residents of Chinatown at work and play. They capture a time and place that has disappeared, but whose story of a struggle to find identity and belonging is still relevant in a country where immigration continues to play a significant and controversial role.

When Chinatown Ghosts first appeared, in 1986, I was ten years old. I thought then that Chinatown was a constant, a place that always was and always would be. I realize now that it was home, but the goal was never to stay. For many of us who grew up in that era, assimilation was success, and that meant moving away from Chinatown. Today, Vancouver's Chinatown continues to face gentrification on one hand, and on the other deterioration where it borders Vancouver's drug-ridden Downtown Eastside. The Asian population in Vancouver has changed dramatically in the last thirty years, to where Asian Canadians have taken leading roles in economics, politics, and culture. There is a nostalgia to these photographs, but in hindsight they are also a celebration of the many successes of the Asian Canadian community and of the actualization of Jim Wong-Chu's vision of a vibrant Asian Canadian identity and culture.

Jim Wong-Chu wrote what he knew. His poems and photographs have a humility and authenticity that is enticing, captivating, and endearing. His poetry, like all good poetry, speaks to universal human experiences, but his comes from a distinctly Asian Canadian perspective. The 1980s to 1990s marked the early stage of a period of heightened political consciousness and awareness of a collective social identity for Asian Canadians that was to come to maturity by the first decade of the millennium.[3] Academics focused on the valuable tasks of writing about the politics, legality, geography, social organization, discrimination, racism, and inequality associated with Chinatown.

But grassroots activists like Wong-Chu understood early on that this was not enough. He recognized the importance of encouraging the contemporary production of art and culture, including literature, from within the Asian Canadian community and for the Asian Canadian community.

Chinatown Ghosts captures the essence of the human spirit in a particular time and place. Jim Wong-Chu's extraordinary legacy is retained in his words and images, a testament to his life's work in guiding a generation of Asian-Canadians silenced by racism to voice their humanity.

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LiLynn Wan is a full-time potter currently living in Herring Cove, Nova Scotia. She produces functional dinnerware, kitchenware, and teaware. Her work is inspired by classical Chinese, Korean, and Japanese ceramics, aesthetics, and philosophies of craft. She holds a PhD in Canadian history from Dalhousie University.

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The Ormsby Review. More Books. More Reviews. More Often.

Publisher and Editor: Richard Mackie

The Ormsby Review is a journal service for in-depth coverage of B.C. books and authors. The Advisory Board consists of Jean Barman, Wade Davis, Robin Fisher, Cole Harris, Hugh Johnston, Patricia Roy, David Stouck, Maria Tippett, and Graeme Wynn. Scholarly Patron: SFU Graduate Liberal Studies. Honorary Patron: Yosef Wosk. Provincial Government Patron since September 2018: Creative BC

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Endnotes:
[1] "Iron Chink" was the nickname for the automated industrial machine for butchering and cleaning fish that was invented in 1906. The name denotes the racism that was rampant in British Columbia at the time. In the case of the Royal BC Museum artifact, the name "Iron Chink" is cast in iron on the front of the machine.

[2] "Paper Sons" is a term used to describe individuals who were brought to Canada and the United States from China, often as children, using false documentation. These documents (papers) could be bought, and were often those of a deceased child or individual.

[3] For more on the history of Asian Canadian Activism, see Xiaoping Li, Voices Rising: Asian Canadian Activism (UBC Press, 2011). For more on Wong-Chu's role in this movement, see Zhen Liu, ""The Generation that Responded to Duty": An Interview with Jim Wong-Chu" in Ricepaper Magazine (15 June 2017), <https://ricepapermagazine.ca>, accessed (25 March 2019.)

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Chinatown Ghosts: The Poems and Photographs of Jim Wong-Chu by Jim Wong-Chu Vancouver: Arsenal Pulp Press, 2018 $19.95 / 9781551527482 Reviewed by LiLynn Wan First published April 13, 2019 * When Chinatown Ghosts was first published in 1986, Jim Wong-Chu broke a silence in Canadian literature.