Chinese laundries
Chinese laundries emerged as a significant business for Chinese immigrant families in the United States during the mid-nineteenth century, particularly following the California gold rush in 1849. The first Chinese hand laundry was opened by Wah Lee in San Francisco in 1851, marking the beginning of a niche industry that flourished as it required minimal capital and no specialized skills, appealing to many Chinese men facing prejudice in other labor markets. By the late 1800s, Chinese laundries were prevalent in urban areas, yet they faced increasing discrimination, exemplified by laws that targeted their operations, such as the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882, which severely restricted Chinese immigration and denied citizenship.
Despite these challenges, Chinese laundries became a cornerstone of Chinese American identity and community resilience, with families often working and living in these establishments. Over time, the stereotype of the Chinese laundryman became ingrained in American popular culture, appearing in various media forms, from trade cards to cartoons. However, as the mid-twentieth century approached, traditional Chinese laundries began to decline with the rise of self-service laundromats. Nevertheless, the legacy of Chinese laundries remains a crucial chapter in the narrative of immigration, labor, and the fight against discrimination in the U.S., highlighting the perseverance and entrepreneurial spirit of Chinese immigrants.
Chinese laundries
DEFINITION: Important niche industry for Chinese immigrant families
SIGNIFICANCE: Chinese laundries developed as a major occupation for the first wave of Chinese immigrants who came to the United States (US) during the mid-nineteenth century. Laundries opened throughout the country and became uniquely identified with this ethnic group. The Chinese launderer stereotype appeared in popular culture and media.
Although the first Chinese arrived in the US in 1820, the first significant wave of Chinese immigration did not occur until soon after the California gold rush in 1849. With hopes of making a fortune in “Gold Mountain” and then returning to their families in China, thousands of young men left their impoverished villages in southern China to travel to California. They became contract laborers, working in the gold mines and on the railroads. However, growing anti-Chinese sentiment and restricted urban labor markets forced the increasing numbers of Chinese immigrants to seek other work.
Growth of Chinese Laundries
In 1851, Wah Lee opened the first Chinese hand laundry in the US. His small, leased storefront in San Francisco had a simple sign: “Wash’ng and Iron’ng.” Within a few weeks, the business had expanded to twenty washermen working three shifts daily. A laundry was an ideal business for Chinese immigrants since it required no special skills or venture capital, and Euro-American men considered it undesirable work. Typically, laundry work required long days of exhausting manual labor over kettles of boiling water and hand irons heated on stoves. By the 1870s, Chinese laundries were operating in all towns with Chinese populations.
However, as more groups competed for work, prejudice against Chinese immigrants intensified. In 1880, 95 percent of San Francisco’s 320 laundries operated in wooden buildings. The city passed an ordinance requiring owners of laundries in wooden buildings to obtain a permit. Two-thirds of the laundries were owned by Chinese people, but none of them was granted a permit. Only one non-Chinese owner was denied.
The Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882, the first race-based immigration law, was designed to prohibit Chinese immigration and deny citizenship to Chinese people for a decade. In 1883, 8,031 Chinese people, including immigrants returning from visits to China, entered the US. However, in 1884, only 279 entered the country, and in 1887, only ten entered. In 1892, the act was extended for another ten years, so for decades, there were violent crimes and discrimination aimed at the Chinese, but they found safety in Chinatowns. By the early twentieth century, there were Chinese laundries in every major city. The Chinese persevered, taking actions such as forming the Chinese Hand Laundry Alliance in 1933. The Chinese Exclusion Act was repealed in 1943. By then, entire families worked and lived in Chinese laundries, and the new generations of Chinese Americans gradually assimilated into American society.
Chinese Laundries in Popular Culture and Media
From the 1870s through the 1890s, trade or advertising cards were popular for promoting a service, product, or event. The stereotype of Chinese laundrymen was used to advertise laundry-related products, such as detergents, wringers, and soap. For example, the Lavine Soap trade card showed small, cute, pig-tailed Chinese with the product. A silent film of 1895, The Chinese Laundry Scene, featured the popular slapstick vaudeville act Robetta and Doretto as an Irish police officer and a Chinese laundry worker quarreling.
In 1922, the Los Angeles Times ran a “Junior Times” section that included a variety of mechanical paper puppets. Along with police officers, animals, a jack-in-the-box, and other figures was “Lee Ling, Chinese Laundry Man.” Shockingly derogatory portrayals occurred in Laundry Blues, a Van Beuren cartoon distributed by RKO Radio Pictures in 1930. Because it was so overtly racist, this cartoon was censored and banned.
An ingrained part of popular culture, the old comedic associations were carried into television. A popular television commercial for Calgon water softener during the 1970s featured a White woman asking a laundry owner named Lee how he gets his shirts so very clean. He replies, “Ancient Chinese secret.” The secret is exposed when Lee’s wife sticks her head out from the back room and shouts that they need more Calgon.
The Chinese laundryman stereotype persisted, but by the 1950s, the traditional Chinese laundries were becoming obsolete. Self-service laundromats proliferated during the 1950s. Generations of children who grew up in laundries pursued higher education and entered other occupations. With the end of the civil war in China in 1949, a new wave of Chinese immigration began. These immigrants often came from upper- and middle-class families searching for a better life in America or were well-educated intellectuals pursuing advanced degrees. In 1993, writer Alvin Ang and composer John Dunbar presented the musical The Last Hand Laundry in Chinatown (A Requiem for American Independents) as a homage to Chinese laundries. The history of Chinese laundries in the US tells an essential tale of immigration, labor practices, and discrimination. Understanding the importance of Chinese laundries in US history leads to insights into the ability of immigrants to achieve entrepreneurial success, rally against institutionalized racism and stereotypes, and form a community and identity in the face of adversity.
Bibliography
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