![]() ![]() via Ĭhinese food culture also had direct ties to anti-Asian sentiment in the late 1800s, beginning with the “Chinese rat-eater” stereotype. The rise of Chop Suey: Chinese food during the early Exclusion yearsĪ typical chop suey dish. These efforts and more showed how early Chinese immigrants wanted to settle in a new country and demonstrates their transnational community building.Ģ. However, they were not content with American racism As-sing joined other migrants to protest Chinese exclusion. If Chinese patrons were less likely to eat at a Chinese restaurant than go to a Chinese grocery store, white people were even less likely.įorty-niners were not an ethnically segregated group they actively wanted to integrate into American society. For restaurants in particular, they struggled the most because Chinese immigrants were more likely to eat at home. Grocery stories, pharmacies, and restaurants became increasingly niche and served Chinese immigrant communities. ![]() The Chinese were scapegoated, and subsequent legislation such as the Cubic Air Ordinances that unfairly targeted Chinese laundries. This was largely due to the rise in anti-Chinese sentiment as immigration increased, along with competition in the job market during an economic recession in the 1870s. Yet, the Chinese restaurant scene stagnated - there were 7 to 8 restaurants in 1849 and less than 30 by 1882. As-sing did not just cater to other Chinese immigrants but also gave banquets to local white politicians and policemen.Īfter the transcontinental railroad was completed, the restaurant scene in San Francisco diversified and soared as more American tourists traveled from the east. Norman As-sing was a forty-niner who owned Macao and Woosung Restaurant and a trading company after moving to the United States in 1920 and was possibly the most famous early Chinese restaurant owner. While there were migrant laborers who intended to stay temporarily, 19th-century Chinese immigrants also included merchants who were familiar with US-China trade, Western merchants, and wanted to do long-term business in California. The forty-niners and early Chinese restaurant history completely dispute tired stereotypical depictions of Gold Rush immigrants as greedy, short-sighted, and only interested in temporary migration to the United States. Many of these early immigrants were not the “coolies” that white American labor unions labeled them as. In 1862, an anti-coolie bill was meant to outlaw such a practice, but it left it up to Chinese immigrants to prove that they were “free and voluntary” immigrants. Many debated the morality of coolieism amid ongoing discussions about slavery and emancipation. The Gold Rush, Chinese immigration, and the rise of Chinese restaurants all tied into ongoing discussions about coolies, or imported Asian contract laborers, who became more in demand after 1807 when Britain banned the slave trade throughout its empire. The first Chinese immigrants during the Gold Rush, known as the “forty-niners.” did not bring their native foods to eat by themselves they were entrepreneurs who were already familiar with trading and exports, and established restaurants to appeal to all types of patrons. Via Ĭanton Restaurant, which opened in 1849, is the first known Chinese-owned restaurant in the United States. Chinese food among the first Chinese immigrantsĪ Chinese restaurant in San Francisco, circa 1880. ![]() This list gives an overview of the history of Chinese food in America, from 1849 until the present day, and how it is intertwined with the history of Chinese immigration, anti-Chinese sentiment, and the commodification of Chinese cuisine and culture. Everything, from the persistent stigma against Chinese eating habits to the ongoing debates over authenticity, trace back to how Chinese immigrants learned to survive, serve their clientele, and assert their cultural identity and belonging through the ages in Chinese restaurants. Through food, Americans can re-examine the history of Chinese immigrants and their diverse origins, struggles, and triumphs. Meanwhile, these dueling perceptions revealing surprising but notable insights about the history of Chinese immigration. These trends are closely linked to histories of anti-Chinese sentiment in the United States. However, Chinese food has also been labeled unhealthy or Chinese restaurants called unsanitary, while others decry certain dishes as “fake” Chinese food. Similar to fast food, it is quick, cheap, reliable, ubiquitous and tasty- nearly every American can name a dish like General Tso’s Chicken or fried rice. While China has no national cuisine and comprises a rich, diverse, and unique array of dishes, Chinese food has taken on several denotations in the United States. A History of Chinese Food in the United Statesīy Jaimie Yue, Michelle Li, and Hans ChouĬAST/HIST 260: Asian American History, Spring 2021 ![]()
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