This book is a definitive history of Chinatowns in Canada. Frominstant Chinatowns in gold- and coal-mining communities to newChinatowns which have sprung up in city neighbourhoods and suburbssince World War II, it portrays the changing landscapes and images ofChinatowns from the late nineteenth century to the present. It alsoincludes a detailed case study of Victoria's Chinatown, theearliest such settlement in Canada.
The culmination of twenty years of research, which has includeddetailed surveys of over fifty Chinatowns in North America andinterviews with numerous community leaders and city planners in allmajor Chinatowns in Canada, this book explains why Historic Chinatownsare seen as important by Chinese today and why they may survive despitethe competing attractions of New Chinatowns. It also sheds new light onthe chracteristics of these communities and provides useful insightsfor geographers, historians, sociologists and anthropologists.
Contains much that is applicable to the study of urban Chinese settlements in the United States, and has an excellent bibliography of Canadian sources.
Much of the book is devoted to a kind of urban history of Victoria, where Dr. Lai lives, and in these chapters a good deal of local colour escapes through the bars, and there is a real feeling for the minority of Chinese who still inhabit Chinatowns.
'The Asian invasion' is a hot topic right now. It is ironic that the same issue was bruised about 102 years ago. Dr. Lai's book may not resolve the issue, but it may help one to a better understanding of the rise of ethnic communities in Canada.
Figures
Tables
Plates
Preface
Acknowledgments
1. Introduction
Part One: Canadian Chinatowns
2. Entry without Restriction
3. Chinatowns in British Columbia
4. From Restriction to Exclusion
5. Vicissitudes of Old Chinatowns
6. Postwar Arrival of New Immigrants
7. Postwar Chinatowns
Part Two: Victoria's Chinatown
8. The Budding Period, 1858-1870s
9. The Blooming Period, 1880s-1910s
10. The Withering Period, 1920s-1970s
11. The Reviving Period, 1980s
Part Three: Conclusion
12. Retrospect and Prospect
Appendices
1. Chinese Canadians Elected to Public Office, 1957-June 1988
2. Chinese Canadians Appointed to the Order of Canada, 1976-July1988
3. Chinese Canadians Awarded Honorary Citizenship, City of Victoria,1971-June 1988
Notes
Bibliography
Index
