About the earliest immigrants from China to the United States! !

From 65438 to the 1940s, due to civil war and other factors, some adult men in Guangdong and other places were forced to leave their homes and join the army of gold panning in the western United States. In order to make a living, most of these warm-blooded men from China who came to the United States engaged in heavy physical labor such as building railways, while others engaged in jobs that white men looked down upon, such as selling hot food, looking after children and helping people wash clothes. In some areas, such as California, where Chinese are most concentrated, the main agricultural labor force is Chinese workers. 1860, about 10000 Chinese workers were engaged in the construction of the Central Pacific Railway; 1870 17000 China workers worked in various mines, and about 2000 people were engaged in handicraft production. But at the beginning of the 20th century, with the completion of the railway and the decline of the mining industry, more and more immigrants from China went to cities to look for job opportunities, and then concentrated on living in various cities.

At that time, most immigrants from China lived in the western United States. According to statistics, more than half of the immigrants from China live in several states along the Pacific coast. Another area where China people are concentrated is the central coastal area on the east coast of the United States, including new york, but this only accounts for one fifth of all immigrants from China. The earliest immigrants from China first lived in several states near the Rocky Mountains, including Montana, Colorado, Utah and other major urban areas. However, because the Chinese Exclusion Act prohibits more China people from immigrating to the United States, there are few women in China where Chinese in the United States are concentrated. So ... In some small towns, due to the extreme shortage of women, China immigrants cannot reproduce. Everyone's death means that China society has lost a member. In this way, the total number of people in China will gradually decrease.

During the period of 1900- 1940, with the development of coastal cities such as San Francisco and new york, more and more China people were attracted there. As a result, the Chinese communities in these cities have also grown rapidly. By 1940, American official statistics show that 57% of American residents belong to urban population, while 9 1% of China immigrants live in major cities. Since then, most immigrants from China have become urban residents, and most of them have worked in restaurants, laundries or garment factories in China.

Compared with the coolies in China in the19th century, the jobs in cities are quite different. First of all, the job in the city is mainly the service industry. Secondly, compared with the factories and companies employed by white Americans in the past, China people in cities usually work for enterprises run by China people themselves. Whether it's a restaurant or a laundry room, people in China are their own bosses. However, the work in the city is essentially similar to the previous work, and that is one word: bitterness. In a word, only by doing hard work that white Americans don't want to do, and the pay they want is lower than that of Americans, can China people have room for survival.