Entry Denied: Exclusion and the Chinese Community in America, 1882-1943 (review)

412 China Review International: Vol. 2, No. 2, Fall 1995 Sucheng Chan. Entry Denied: Exclusion and the Chinese Community in America, 1882-1943. Philadelphia: Temple University Press, 1991. xi, 286 pp. Hardcover $49.95. Paperback $22.95. The arrival of newcomers into the U.S. has changed and continues to change the cultural landscape ofAmerican society and to enrich community life. At the same time, however, their arrival in recent years, whether by legal or illegal means, has intensified the growing racial and ethnic divide. One scholar has observed the emergence of a "low intensity race war" in a Southern California area.1 The prediction that the "immigration issue" will be the issue of the last decade of the century is already a reality. Heated political controversies over immigration policies and practices have surfaced across the country. This issue has been at the center of state-level politics—as evidenced in the unfortunate passage of Proposition 187 in California, a place formerly known for its progressive politics and ethnically diverse population.2 At the federal level, congressional concern over Chinese boat smuggling and Asian organized crime has resulted in several hearings and policy initiatives, including several crime-suppression measures.3 One hopes that these trends will not lead back to the discriminatory immigration policies ofover one hundred years ago. In this regard, the publication of this collection ofhistorical essays on the Chinese-exclusion era is timely, important, and instructive. The editor, Sucheng Chan, has masterfully assembled eight wellwritten essays, and has provided an excellent introduction to this period ofhistory. The essays represent a major contribution to the study ofAsian Americans— Chinese in particular—and to the field oflaw and society. The book is distinctive in several ways. First, it fills the existing gap in empirical data regarding the life experiences of Chinese during the exclusion period. While earlier and later eras of Chinese history in the U.S. have been well documented, the same cannot be said of the exclusion period. At that time, because of the curtailment of Chinese immigration , the public outcry over the presence ofthe Chinese had leveled off, and consequently it received little attention in English-language materials. By comparison , Chinese-language data sources offer richer materials for study. As the editor aptly notes, "the six decades of exclusion are the 'dark ages' of Chinese American history. That period is shadowy because we know so little about it; it is also dark because it was characterized by immense suffering and deprivation" (p. x). Second, a consistent theme running through all the essays is the demystifica-© 1995 by University tion 0fme long-standing stereotypes ofChinese, namely, that they are a passive or awan ressand accommodating people. The authors use a variety ofdata sources, from legal documents to poetry, to underscore the point that the Chinese did not simply "lump it" (p. 11). Instead, Chinese immigrants from this period actively con- Reviews 413 structed a sense ofplace and community in a hostile and discriminatory environment and, at the same time, remained connected to their native land. They accomplished this in a variety ofways such as accessing and negotiating their way through a very complex legal system and forming protective trade associations and other social support organizations. The theoretical implications of these essays are clear. The authors are challenging scholars to construct a more interpretative framework that focuses on the interaction between immigrants, their immediate community, and the larger political structure. The editor organizes the book into two main sections. The first four essays (chapters 1-4) chronicle the development and implementation of the exclusionary laws and the ensuing interaction with and legal struggles ofthe Chinese in state and federal courts. The first essay, "Chinese Contribution to the Development ofAmerica," written by Charles McClain and Laurene Wu McClain, provides a concise and informative introduction to the participation of the Chinese in the legal arena and their contributions to legal precedents and constitutional law. The authors examine several critical legal cases filed by Chinese such as Chae Chan Ping ? U.S. In this case, Chae Chan Ping had lived in the U.S. since 1875, had gone on a trip to China in 1887 after securing the necessary immigration certificate...