Written by Harry Fry
Viewer disclaimer: this investigation contains discussion of racism and migrant struggles.
Jamie Ford’s Love and Other Consolation Prizes claims that “everyone in Chinatown seems to have an untold story”. The statement appears accurate: there are roughly one hundred and eleven Chinatowns across the world, all possessing varying origins, demographics, features, and even different names. But, is it possible to draw out recurrent connections between them all? Whilst a unique historical identity can be identified from each community, most share aligning themes of diasporic anxiety and challenging resettlement attempts. This feature will debate the narratives told of Asian immigrants in founding their new environments, with the intent to discern both the parallel existences and localised differences within these communities.
As a precursor, it is important to establish what can be quantified as a Chinatown, particularly in contextualising those that are not officially recognised or those who would view the name as a misnomer. Sociologist Voon Chin Phua suggests that these “heritage spaces” (a name attributed to these communities), were created out of functionality; a place for all Asian individuals in a region to settle and work collaboratively. They were also commonly built from unspoken necessity: racism and micro-aggressions existed widely outside and inside these “spaces”. Whether the creation of such spaces aided or damaged immigrants’ agency is another question. But they were clearly an experiment in segregation. Furthermore, the use of ‘China’ within its name limits the demographic breadth expected to be found in such locations and historical narratives. In reality, Chinatowns incorporated a wide variety of Asian cultures, from their food to their supermarket produce. Waves of new people came to each Chinatown throughout history from all over Asia. Therefore, in the context of this investigation, we should view a legitimate ‘Chinatown’ as one that encapsulates Asian migrants settling within a new country.
Uncovering Chinatowns reveals the intricate narratives of mobile cultures across the world, but most importantly, it reveals the cyclical accounts of Asian immigrants struggling to gain equality and comfort in a new location. The historiography is positioned towards the geographical significance of Chinese immigrants founding Chinatowns: from pursuing the Gold Rush in California to building hubs in UK cities during and after British colonisation of Hong Kong. These evaluations, however, are limited in the narrative they present. Instead, by positioning the participating individuals in Chinatowns as focal points, a richer breadth of questions can be pursued. How, and why, did Asian people connect with each other in a new region? What was their experience mostly living within a small hub of an unfamiliar, most likely European-dominated area? To what extent did they feel ‘settled’ or ‘safe’ in this new country? These topics need to be scrutinised more regularly, as painful immigrant experiences are still regularly lapsed and overcast. In centralising the individual feelings and memories within migrant history, the similarities and differences of their mentalities and realities can surface.
To attempt a more balanced treatment when researching these perspectives requires painting over established generalisations and amplifying the voices and lives of actual subjects of the topic. As aforementioned, definitions of Chinatowns should not be narrowed. Firstly, communities of Chinese migrants exist within Asia and many of them hold status as Chinatowns—this does not mean that all global Chinatowns are exclusively Chinese migrants, and the literature should reflect this. Secondly, Chinatowns outside of the US and UK are under-researched: in Oceania and Africa, consultation of their Asian demographic in historical scholarship is comparatively too slim. Historiography exceedingly reduces its focus to merely London and California Chinatowns. Once attention is given to less populist regions and their own Asian communities, comparing these spaces inside and outside of Asia will potentially initiate broader understanding of Asian migrants’ experiences. Correspondingly, narrow Eurocentric perspectives should not constitute the majority of narratives on Chinatowns. Primary accounts and scholars from Asian communities must be given equal room, if not supremacy. Moreover, interdisciplinary psychological studies could be used to comprehend the feelings of those who lived, and continue to live, in Chinatowns. Through doing this, their coinciding difficulties but also singular experiences can be derived and understood.
Recognising the official struggles of Asian people in the context of Chinatowns is a vital part of their history: aggressive legal divides in the Americas, local enclaves in Portuguese Macau, and even contemporary reference to Chinese quarters in Spain as prostitute zones. However, simultaneously incorporating psychological methodology can assist with a deeper, multi-dimensional analysis of Asian immigrant experiences. The experience of any migrant throughout history is varied, but typically involves challenging attempts to settle, anxiety in a new environment, and often unwelcoming attitudes from locals. Specifically in Chinatowns, migrants were repeatedly forced into their segregated quarters, unable to settle elsewhere and were consequently viewed as outsiders by local residents. Throughout modern history, Chinatowns frequently had poor reputations as the dark corners of cities, rampant with prostitution and crime. Importantly, the main impetus behind Chinatowns being the location of this activity was insufficient government care. Whilst Asian migrants would not have been ignorant of this dynamic, their understandable identity struggles in a foreign environment may have stunted full comprehension of the reality. There are contrasting examples of more integrated Asian spaces, yet equality was enduringly absent. The consequences of Asian migrant struggles throughout the world, especially in Chinatowns, continue to persist today.
In essence, whilst Chinatowns possess compounded history in every location, there are parallels that can be drawn: forced segregation, intolerance, and social stigmas. Despite these representing a darker side to the narrative of Chinatowns, their full history cannot be overlooked. Identity and resettlement struggles are mirrored across Asian communities worldwide. Equally important to consider are the limitations of established populist focus on Chinatown-based history, and the lack of representation of Asian sources and Chinatowns outside of Europe and North America. All Chinatowns need their story narrated, even their often-gloomy origins. Post-COVID-19 had effects such as hate crimes on Asian people that make these stories even more vital to prioritise. On a broader level, this topic can aid in the representation of micro-Asian communities across the world, particularly on a rural level; spaces which have thus far remained virtually untouched in the scholarship.
Bibliography
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Featured Image Credit: “Explore the Chinatown Neighborhood of Philadelphia,” Visit Philadelphia, accessed October 29, 2023, https://www.visitphilly.com/areas/philadelphia-neighborhoods/chinatown/.
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