Blog Entry #2 - Field Trip to Chinatown

1) Decorative in Chinatown

 On a cold but sunny day, I went to a unique area near IIT. This is Chinatown in Chicago, where you can feel China in the United States. There are many different races in Chicago, but you can get a different exotic feeling when you go to Chinatown. 

2) Map of Chinatown in Chicago

 Currently, there are over 50,000 people living in Chinatown, forming a community.[1] There are also a lot of Chinese stores. How about the history of Chinese immigration in the United States until the current Chinatown exists today?
 Chinese immigration in the U.S. dates back centuries, with heavy rises in the desperate aftermath of the Opium Wars and the Qing dynasty in the mid-19th century. Between 1853 and 1873, the height of westward expansion, nearly 14 million Chinese laborers teemed into the United States.[2] During the 1870s, the Chinese laborers started coming over to work on the completion of the transcontinental railroad. They recruited over 80% of Chinese for laborers. Once the railroad was completed in 1869, the Chinese then moved on to find more work, some of the workers going to Chicago.[3] However, racism against the Chinese was severe. In newspapers and magazines, on political pedestals and on barstools, Chinese people were described in the language of animals and disease: “rats” and “yellow peril.”[2] China, which emphasizes a sense of community, has been living in a community called Chinatown in the U.S. where cannot communicate with other races and were ignored Chinese. During the time of 1890, there were around 560 Chinese in the city of Chicago. They took on their own businesses such as small shops, restaurant, and laundry areas. Around the 1900’s, there were 430 laundry areas, around 160 restaurants, and they were all operated by the Chinese. The largest immigration of Chinese came in the 1950’s through the 1960’s. During this time, Chicago ranked fourth on the list of Chinese population throughout America. Chicago was home to between 7,000 to 14,000 Chinese immigrants. The first Chinese community was placed around Van Buren and Clark Streets in Chicago. In 1905, due to the discrimination against the Chinese people in California, they boycotted American trade in China.[3]

3) Chinatown view from CTA Cermak-Chinatown station

 If you take the red line of CTA from IIT and move one stop, you can go to Chinatown. It is just one stop away but I could feel China from the scenery I saw at the station. I am a student from South Korea, a country close to China. South Korea share a similar culture to China. I also learned the Chinese language and Chinese culture in high school. Therefore, I felt that Chinatown was friendly. I went field trip with Korean, Bangladeshi, and Chinese who know Chinatown very well so I could listen to various Chinatown stories.

4) Luck at the CTA Cermak-Chinatown station 

 I found Chinese culture from the station. 福 is a Chinese word that means luck. They usually write this word upside down. This has to do with the Chinese pronunciation. In Chinese, the pronunciation of the phrase "upside down"(倒, dao) is similar to the pronunciation of the word "arrive"(到, dao). For this reason, If you write 福 upside down, it means good luck. In Chinese, the phrase "good luck" it is translated as "luck arrives at you."

5) The Nine Dragon Wall

 I found The Nine Dragon Wall as soon as I got out of the CTA station. It is made of gold color and has nine protruding dragons made of pieces of tile. According to the plaque of it, there are three existing ancient Nine Dragon Walls in China. This wall is the resemblance of the one in Beihai Park in Beijing. In China, gold is the color that represents the emperor. Dragons are also related to the emperor. Chinese believe that ancient Chinese emperors were even self-acclaimed as a reincarnation of dragons. Chinese also think nine is an infinite number because of nine's Chinese pronunciation. The word of nine(九,jiu) and the word of forever(永久,yǒngjiǔ )'s pronunciations are similar.

6) Chinatown Gate (Front)

7) Chinatown Gate (Rear)

  Chinatown Gate is across the street from The Nine Dragon Wall. The words Gung, Wei, Sha, and Tien are written at this gate. Their meaning is "the world is a commonwealth." This term emphasizes a community life in which other people are treated like family. Although, I felt an irony at this gate because it divides two generations. A Chinese friend of mine said that Old Town and New Town were divided by this gate. If you enter this gate, there is Old Town. New Town is across from this gate. The atmosphere in these two places was so different. Old town looks like traditional China but New town is refined.

8) The exterior of Pui Tak Center

Right after crossing the Chinatown Gate, I saw a Chinese-style building, the Pui Tak Center, a community center for the Chinese.

9) Pui Tak Center

 A person at the Pui Tak Center told me about the center's website when I ask more history about it. Based on the website, the Chinese Christian Union Church has had a deep commitment to serving the spiritual needs of the community since its founding in 1915. In 1993, the Chinese Christian Union Church purchased the former On Leong Merchant Association Building from the federal government. In addition to using the building for its youth and Mandarin language ministry, the church created the Pui Tak Center. Following the building’s renovation in November 1995, however, the center moved into the Pui Tak Building. In Chinese, “pui tak” means to build character or cultivate virtue.[4]  This Center, nowadays, offer many activities such that Chinese language class and English class for immigrant Chinese. 

10) A commercial street in the old town of Chinatown

11) A commercial street in the old town of Chinatown

 A variety of stores were found on the way to the next destination. Most of them were Chinese restaurants selling Chinese cuisines that the Chinese eat, not fusion foods for foreigners.

12) Oriental apparel shop

I could also find a shop selling traditional Chinese clothes.

13) Shop selling ginseng and herbs 

There was a store selling ginseng and herbs. In China, ginseng and herbal are used as medicine. Taking ginseng and herbal medicines can make people stronger. South Korea also eats them as health supplements. For these stores, I noticed that most of the shops are for Chinese immigrants. I felt that these stores are more out of date compared to shops in Korea. In Chinatown, they are located in Old Town, therefore they were built many years ago, but in Korea, since there are not too many stores like these, they are more modern.

14) Chinese-American Museum of Chicago

 When I visited the Chinese-American Museum of Chicago, there were many tourists.

15)A lion statue guarding the Chinese-American Museum of Chicago

In front of the Chinese-American Museum of Chicago, there is a lion statue guarding the place. South Korea also has a similar fantasy animal named Haitai. You usually can find it in front of the ancient palace.

16) Chinese traditional wedding jacket

 On the first floor, Chinese past clothes and ornaments are displayed. They are most silk clothes and I wanted to try them on if I have a chance.

17) Chinese children's clothing

 I learned the importance of traditional Chinese children's clothing by seeing this exhibition. According to the notice, the birth of a male child is one of the most important events in traditional Chinese society. In the infancy and toddler stages, the child is dressed in clothes and accessories with auspicious patterns that believed to bring good health, good fortune, repel evil spirits, bring blessings and protection.  Designs on children's clothing and hat were all symbolic, each flower, fruit, animal, and insect represented a wish for protection from evil spirits and wishes for the child to be healthy. The use of color, craftsmanship and symbolism are impressive especially during festivals such as the Chinese Lunar New Year. Many of the symbols are derived from traditional moral teachings and legends. Four basic symbols for a happy. Life is luck, wealth or officialdom, longevity, and happiness. Embroidery and applique are the most used techniques for the decoration of children's clothing. Basic fabric for embroidery includes cotton, hemp, wool, flax, satin, silk, and rayon. Cotton was used for everyday wear with richly embroidered silks and satins for special occasions. The popular kai dang ku, open crotch pants worn bt toddlers have been around for a long time as an old style of potty training. Older Chinese children's clothing was tailored on the same lines as that of the parents.[5]

18) Dragon on the second floor

 I watched a video about Chinese and Chinese immigrants on the second floor. On each side of the screen, there were Chinese traditional examples of what we were watching on the video. One of the most memorable stories was about Dimsum and Chinese medicine. The interviewee talked about how people could be served Dimsum every morning. Chinese thinks the harmony between yin and yang is important and that each person has a different constitution. Therefore, they fill in the deficiency of yin and yang with Chinese medicine. I also remember the interview that when the Chinese immigrant women's first memory of Chicago. She said that her parents told her that Chicago was very cold and made her dress in layers.

 Before watching this video, I was racially discriminated by a white old man. He was a volunteer at the museum. He suddenly came up to us, speaking in Chinese. We explained to him that we are South Koreans, not Chinese. Then suddenly, he deliberately spoke Japanese and kept talking to us. He followed us into another space to watch this video, and he said "Your grandparent can speak Japanese. Right?". This is totally wrong information. I assume that he was thinking about the past when South Korea was occupied by Japan. The history of Korea and Japan is an unresolved issue so all of Koreans are sensitive about this. After all, another employee apologized but I felt bad because I was disregarded in Chinatown, not elsewhere.

19)Chinatown Square

 After the tour in Old Town, I walked towards New Town. I arrived at Chinatown Square at the entrance of New Town.

20) Zodiac figures in Chinatown Square

 There are zodiac figures in Chinatown Square. Zodiac is an animal that represents every year. Korean and Chinese share the same zodiac culture. Rat, ox, tiger, rabbit, dragon, snake, horse, goat, monkey, rooster, dog, and pig is twelve zodiac animal. There is a story about the origin of the zodiac. Once upon a time, the king of heaven offered status to these twelve animals in the order for them to enter the gate of heaven. The reason why the rat is the first one is that it cheated. The rat thought that it was too small and weak so it couldn't win the first place. As the solution, the rat clung on the back of the ox, the most hard-working animal then stepped down in front of the gate and ran to the gate.

21) Me in front of an ox figure

 I was born in Aug 1997 so my zodiac is an ox. In the zodiac, the ox is symbolizing patient, faith, and loyalty. My grandmother said that the destiny of people who is an ox in the zodiac is doing work a lot because oxen are helping to farm. However, she said I have the destiny that works less than others who are an ox in the zodiac and born in Spring, Autumn, and Winter. This is because Summer is too hot for farming and ox is very important and expensive livestock so people make ox rest to protect their livestock against hot weather.

22) Pig figure

 This year, 2019, is the Year of Pig.

23) Immigration Mosaic

 A mosaic of Chinese immigrants with Chinese lanterns is also New Town. It is not in picture 23, there are a train and a ship on the left side of the mosaic, which means former Chinese immigrants who came to work building railroads. On the right side of the mosaic, there is a picture of modern Chinese immigrants. Various races are holding their hands among the mosaic and Statue of Liberty is behind them. This seems to mean the harmony and peace of various races.

24) Chinese-style architectural element

   Chinese-style architectural element is in Chinatown Square. There are many Chinese lanterns because it was Lunar New Year week when I visited it.

25) Chinese herbs store in New town of China town 

26) Inside of Chinese herbs store

 I could also find a store selling various medicinal herbs here. It is bigger and wider than the shop in Old Town. I felt again that the Chinese consider the principles of Yin and Yang important.

25) South Korean store in China town

 When I looked around stores near Chinatown Square, I found a store selling South Korean cosmetics.

26) South Korean-style chicken

There are also some Korean restaurants. Last time I came to China Town, I ate Korean chicken and drank Korean beer.

27) The New Chinatown Library

The next stop was New Chinatown Library, across Chinatown Square. This is a branch of the Chicago Public Library and it was opened August 29, 2015.[6] Skidmore and Owings & Merrill, famous architectures, designed the library. The new library has about 1,500 visitors a day. It has adapted to the community with a collection split between English and Chinese language books, tai chi classes and a cultural appreciation series on Cantonese opera. This is one of the initiatives that align with the Chinatown Community Vision Plan, which is Chinatown’s key stakeholder.[2]

28) Inside of The New Chinatown Library 

 This library is a two-story building and everything seems new. The library in my neighborhood is old. It is brown, while The New Chinatown Library is white. It was nice to have a lot of sunlight because the whole building is made of windows.

29) Zodiac pattern at the library seminar room

 There is also a zodiac pattern at the library seminar room.

30) The Chinese-American Veterans Memorial

 The last stop of the field trip was The Chinese-American Veterans Memorial. There was no special structure. It is a place to honor the Chinese-American soldiers who fought in the war. I respect them because they were participating in the war even though the United States is not their hometown. I think that The Chinese-American Veterans Memorial, set up for them, means a lot to the Chinese-American.

 Originally next plan of the field trip was going to Ping Tom Park but the weather was too cold to go there. As a result, we went to a restaurant to toast our body.

31) DOLO Restaurant and Bar

32) Chinese cuisines that I ate

  After the field trip, we went to a restaurant recommended by a Chinese friend near The Chinese-American Veterans Memorial. The name of this restaurant is DOLO Restaurant and Bar, it sells a variety of Chinese food, especially seafood. The cuisines were all delicious and familiar to me because Korean enjoy eating Chinese food. The address is 222 S Archer Ave, Chicago, IL 60616. You can find this restaurant by going straight and crossing the street at the Chinese-American Veterans Memorial.

33) Me and my classmates

 I can sympathize with the heart of the Chinese who gathers in Chinatown because I set my heart at rest being with people from the same country as me when I first came to Chicago. Although the weather was very cold, I enjoyed this field trip with my classmates.



-This blog was written by Dayoung Lee

References
[1] https://www.point2homes.com/US/Neighborhood/IL/Chicago/Chinatown-Demographics.html

[2] https://nextcity.org/features/view/chicago-chinatown-development-small-businesses
[3] http://chicago-chinatown.info/chinatown-history/
[4] https://www.puitak.org/about/history
[5] A letter of guidance in the Chinese-American Museum of Chicago
[6] https://www.chipublib.org/about-chinatown-branch/

Images
1) and 3) through 32) taken by Dayoung Lee

2) https://www.chicago.gov/city/en/depts/dcd/supp_info/tif/chinatown_basin_tif.html
33) taken by Jeahyun Lee