Today Benny came in and gave us a 45-minute lecture on the history of Chinese immigration in the 19th, 20th, and 21stcenturies. Benny emphasized that since China’s population and land mass is so large, Chinese people immigrate all over the world as well as inside the country. If there’s a drought or famine in one area, then people will migrate to a different region of China. One huge influx of immigrants occurred in the 1400s and was called the Age of Discovery. While it was all around the world, a Muslim monk named Zheng He traveled around to spread ideas while also learning about his religion in different parts of the world. Another immigration that occurred was when Buddhist monks traveled to India to learn more about Buddhism.
During the Age of Discovery, many European countries came to Asia, especially to China, and learned about valuable resources there. This is what sparked the Opium Wars in the 19th century between China and Great Britain. China realized that much of its population was being addicted to opium due to Great Britain’s widespread trade of the drug. After China lost the war, Great Britain took Hong Kong as a colony. This is also where Benny was born and raised. He came to Indiana for college, like Kwan, and studied to become a physician.
A more recent influx of Chinese immigrants was when they came to the United States for the California Gold Rush and the transcontinental railroad. While they experienced racism and unequal pay, most immigrants stayed in the United States for better wages and working conditions.
After the lecture, Benny just sat down and talked with us about our interests and what we hope to gain out of the ICR. It was nice to know that our input matters in the program.