Journeys of Longing and Belonging

After the United States barred most Chinese laborers in 1882, some migrants moved south to Mexico while others emigrated directly from China to Mexico. They sought new lives in a more welcoming environment fostered by Mexican President Porfirio Díaz. But when the Díaz regime fell, Chinese Mexicans again found themselves the target of organized racial hatred and discrimination. Horrific violence ensued, including the Torreón Massacre of 1911, during which more than three hundred Chinese Mexicans were murdered in one day—the worst anti-Chinese incident recorded in North American history.

Due to language barriers and scant archival records, the lives of Chinese Mexicans in the first half of the twentieth century remain relatively unknown. To recover their voices and experiences, Jian Gao draws on diverse, previously untapped sources, including Chinese-language newspapers, magazines, advertisements, and, most centrally, hundreds of private family letters. Using these sources, Gao illuminates Chinese migrants’ social, political, cultural, commercial, and emotional lives. He shows that, despite immense challenges, these marginalized people sustained themselves and created transnational networks linking distant places like Hermosillo, Ciudad Juárez, Mexicali, San Francisco, Taishan, Hong Kong, and Shanghai. By narrating the rich history of Chinese Mexicans from their own perspectives, Gao reveals the expansiveness of their world.