Chinese Immigrant Narratives
The stories featured on this site grew out of a class project aimed at increasing understanding about Chinese immigrant and Chinese American experiences over time. Focusing in particular on the greater Boston area, which has a rapidly growing Asian American population and a thriving residential Chinatown that dates to the 1870s, we are interested in facilitating access to and engagement with the many different actors who have been part of this vibrant community over time. To this end, each story featured below is meant to provide an entry point to one individual’s experience in relation to Boston’s Chinatown. By taking as its starting point a narrative theme that developed out of an in-depth oral history interview with each individual featured below, each story also seeks to introduce one individual’s experience within a larger story central to understanding the history and social experiences of Chinese immigrants over time.