ITC's Chinese Texans

The first Chinese, seeking jobs that would allow them to return to China with money, were single men. Most in Texas worked on railroad construction crews. Some 250 Chinese were on the Houston and Texas Central construction in 1870. A few stayed in Robertson County at the end of the railroad work as cotton sharecroppers. Other than a few individuals, these were the only rural Texas Chinese, then or now.

A second group, nearly 3,000 from the west coast, worked on the Southern Pacific construction as the line moved east from El Paso. Blasting powder and desert heat were not the only perilous aspects of this job. Judge Roy Bean, the “Law West of the Pecos,” ruled at least once that there was “no law against killing a Chinaman.” And members of a surveying crew, including 11 Chinese, were killed near Eagle Pass on the last day of 1881 by Apaches. Or so the raiders were identified. After 1883 some workers settled in El Paso County, but by that year further Chinese emigration to the United States was virtually halted. Anti-Chinese sentiment, much originating on the west coast, created exclusion laws that allowed very few individuals to enter the country.

Only in 1917 was an exception made. U.S. General John J. Pershing had been ordered into Mexico to destroy the forces of Francisco “Pancho” Villa, who had raided into the United States. Pershing's unsuccessful pursuit was supported by hundreds of Chinese in northern Mexico. Perhaps hoping to be allowed into the United States, they provided the expeditionary army with food and supplies in an otherwise hostile countryside. More than 500 individuals followed Pershing out of Mexico and were given special permission by the U.S. government to stay, on provisional terms. Some 400 of these were allowed to settle in San Antonio, although they could not become citizens.

The first Chinese, unable (in any case, not allowed) to bring families, intended to make money and leave (with the exception of "Pershing's Chinese"). Most did. They were laborers who took work where few others would, such as on railroad crews, or where their presence would offer no economic threat, such as sharecropping or running a laundry. They were mainly single men, mostly southern Chinese who spoke Cantonese.

When China became a World War II ally, the feeling in the United States changed to some degree, and the exclusion act was repealed in 1943.

After World War II northern Chinese, Mandarin speakers and often from well-educated upper-economic classes, came to Texas. Many specialized in medicine, sciences, or engineering. These later arrivals could and did establish the traditional extended families—very patriarchal—and lived together in enough numbers to celebrate Oriental holidays and traditions.

Of more importance, later generations maintained the traditional family and merchant associations. A few organizations based on province of origin were established. All of these supported Chinese families in economic terms. This generation claims very few individuals ever listed on welfare rolls.

Traditions and Legends

Emphasizing education, the Chinese made several efforts at establishing Chinese schools, where the language and some history were taught. San Antonio's school was operated from about 1922 to 1947. Ending for a time, it was revived in 1971. Another school has operated in Houston most years since 1970.

Many present-day Chinese Texans are Christian, and many customs have yielded to Western tradition. Still, their Lunar New Year is commonly celebrated, and most people remember that firecrackers (even on the 4th of July) are a popular Chinese contribution to life in the United States.