The coming of the Chinese: The early immigrant community in Hawai

During the nineteenth century, about 45,000 Chinese migrated to the Hawaiian Islands. The familiar culture and worldview of Southern China accompanied these migrants to the new land where they attempted to re-create their traditional worldview while simultaneously undergoing the inevitable processes of transformation. This dissertation examines the processes by which the Chinese were transformed from rural villagers to modern islanders, and finally, to American citizens.;The interviews obtained from the Chinese in Hawaii by the Ethnic Studies Oral History Project serve as the basis for this examination. First, the interviews will be scrutinized to uncover some of the dominant patterns and recurring themes in the lives of the immigrants. Then these recurring themes will provide insight into the layers of meanings that comprise the Chinese immigrant experience in Hawaii.;The migrants' relationships to their families in the old world will be discussed (Chapter II) in addition to attempts to re-create the traditional family structure in Hawaii (Chapter III). Further attempts to re-create the traditional worldview can be found in the immigrant community (Chapter IV) and the workplace (Chapter V). The presence of other ethnic groups (Chapter VI) and the struggle for dominance of the islands by competing worldviews (Chapter VII) complete this examination. And finally, the conclusion (Chapter VIII) will focus on how some of the themes discussed in this dissertation have affected the political participation of the Chinese in Hawaii. The very different experience of the Chinese on the mainland U.S.A. will also be discussed in terms of the unique patterns of political participation that take place there.