Chinese records claim that a Chinese monk named Huishen traveled 7,000 miles east of China. The monk then landed in a country he called Fusang. Some people say Fusang was California.
What was the name of the Chinese monk?
The name of the Chinese monk is Huishen.
What do you think the Native Americans would have thought of the monk?
I think the Native Americans would have thought the monk was strange because they have never seen anyone like him before.
In the 1850’s the United States only allowed whites to become citizens. Chinese immigrants were not allowed to vote. They also could not own land. Chinese could also not testify against whites in court.
What were Chinese not allowed to own?
The Chinese not allowed too own land.
Imagine you were a Chinese immigrant who had been shot by a white person. How would you have felt if you could not testify against that person in court?
I felt very sad.
As soon as news of the discovery of gold in California reached China in 1849, there was an increase in the numbers of Chinese immigrants to the west coast of the United States. They came because wars, floods and famine had made earning a livelihood difficult in China.
Why did Chinese immigrants come to California?
Because wars, floods and famine.
How do you think the Chinese heard about the discovery of gold?
I think after the Chinese heard about the discovery of gold then them was an increase and immigrants to the west of the United States.
Chinese workers on the railroad were fed a Chinese diet including dried oysters, dried fish, sweet rice, crackers, dried bamboo, salted cabbage, Chinese sugar, dried fruits and vegetables, dried seaweed, Chinese bacon, dried mushrooms, peanut oil, tea, rice, pork, and chicken. This was a much healthier diet than the beef, beans, bread, butter and potatoes of white workers at the time. The Chinese also drank barrels of hot tea. White workers, instead, would drink cold water. Too often this water was contaminated and caused illness among the workers.
Literal Question:
How many Chinese worker on the railroad were fed a Chinese diet including?
Figurative Question:
How many worker drink cold water and dead?
Chinese workers on the railroad worked six days a week from sunrise to sundown. They were paid $1 each day. Three thousand Chinese were hired to work on the railroad.
In 1867 two thousand Chinese workers went on strike. They demanded a raise to $40 each month. The strike ended in one week, and the Chinese workers were forced to go back to work without a raise in their pay.
Literal Question:
How much do they have pay for the worker each day?
Figurative Question:
Why the strike ended in one weekend?
The typical Chinese gold seeker was in his late teens or early twenties, male, single, and had not been to school. His goal was to return to China as soon as he had earned a lot of money. He did not intend to stay in California and he continued his traditions, clothing, language, food and clothing. He stayed in places where there were other Chinese. The largest and most important of these communities was San Francisco's Chinatown.
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