Posted by Jeff (66.12.27.234) on June 11, 2001 at 15:50:09:
In Reply to: Chinese and Gold Rush posted by tongditting on June 09, 2001 at 01:11:36:
: Hello,
: I'm doing a paper about Chinese Americans in 1840's in The Gold Rush . I just want to know why did the Chinese
: leaved China? this is one of the hardest question in my paper. I tried to read books about it but I can't find the right
: reason. I will appreciate it if you can help with this.
It wasn't a very pleasant time in China during
the 19th century. The opium imported into China
by England made the Chinese weak and poor. At
this time, the Americans painted a beautiful picture
in China luring thousands of Chinese to come to
America looking for gold. The recruit was a success.
Many Chinese left their homeland and family behind
to come to the 'Gold Mountain' (Chinese still refer
to San Francisco as the 'Old Gold Mountain'). To
their surprise, they were sold to the railroad
company for cheap labor. Most of them never saw
gold nor their homeland again. It was a sad
chapter in the Chinese history.