Esther Lam
Archives of Childhood
A young girl is sitting in her house, playing with her little sister’s hair as she
watches her little brother on the side playing with a stick. “Baba is only a weaver and
we are poor, but we are happy, are we not?” she thinks to herself. She looks up from her
spot and sees Baba talking to a strange woman outside. His face looks sad. Mama is
crying next to him. What is happening? Why is that strange woman giving Baba money?
Mama walks into the house. Tears are still streaming down her face. “My dear
daughter, come help Mama gather some of your things. Be a good child and go with the
lady, do you understand?”
The girl’s eyes grew wide. “What is happening? Why does Mama want me to
gather some of my belongings? Why do I have to go with the strange lady?” Questions
ran through her head. She was afraid. Before Mama could say anything more, the girl
ran to the room she shared with her sister and brother. She hid under the bed. It was her
safe spot. Her secure place.
A few moments later, she hears her Baba’s footsteps. There was another set of
footsteps, unfamiliar, that were coming with Baba’s. From under the bed, the child sees
two sets of feet—Baba’s and the strange woman’s, small and pretty. Baba’s face
appears. “Come out from there, my child. Baba has some fruit for you.”
Slowly, the girl crawls from her hiding spot. She takes the fruit from her father.
The strange woman approaches her and goes down to her eye level. The girl looks to
her father, “Baba, who is this lady?”
“Little girl, do not call him your father. He is not your father anymore. Say
that.” What a stern tone. Confused, the child once again turns to her father and says,
“You are not my father.”
Even to the young child, the man’s face visibly changed from sad to heartwrenched. He walked the woman and his child out the house, helping carry what little
belongings the girl had to the carriage outside. His wife continues to cry, his two
younger children continue to play, oblivious to the situation taking place. Before he
turned around to walk away back to the house, he takes the soft little hands into his
large rough hands and places some cash in it. “I wish you all the prosperity in the
world, my dear child. May our ancestors be with you.” With that, he quickly turns
around and walks away as the carriage pulls away.
The girl watched, as her family and house become just a distant dot. “What is
happening?” She is still not too sure what has happened. She recalls stories that she has
overheard her parents telling, of some of the neighbors’ children being sent off. Their
families had needed money. They had hoped their children could have a better life. She
never thought something like this could happen to her. After all, she is only seven.
The real story of Sing Kum, a Chinese slave girl in the 19th century may never be
revealed. But the above scenario could have very well happened to another little girl
during that time period. Many young Chinese girls are subject to such treatment,
especially during a time where immigration to the United States was a dream for many.
It was a way to rebuild their lives, a hope that moving to a new place would take them
out of the harsher life they led in China. In an attempt to further investigate the life of a
Chinese immigrant, the following letter was found in the book compiled by Judy Yung,
Gordon Chang, and Him Mark Lai Chinese American Voices: From the Gold Rush to
the Present:
Miss B, --
You ask me to write about my life. I can not write very well, but will do the best
I can.
I was born in Sin Lam, China, seventeen years ago. My father was a weaver and
my mother had small feet. I had a sister and brother younger than myself. My father was
an industrious man, but we were very poor. My feet were never bound; I am thankful
they were not. My father sold me when I was about seven years old; my mother cried. I
was afraid, and ran under the bed to hide. My father came to see me once and brought
me some fruit; but my mistress told me to say that he was not my father. I did so, but
afterward I felt very sorry. He seemed very sad, and when he went away he gave me a
few cash, and wished me prosperity. That was the last time I saw him. I was sold four
times. I came to California about five years ago. My last mistress was very cruel to me;
she used to whip me, pull my hair, and pinch the inside of my cheeks. A friend of mine
told me of this place, and at night I ran away. My friend pointed out the house. I was
very much afraid while I was coming up the street; the dogs barked, and I was afraid my
mistress was coming after me. I rand the bell twice, and when the door was opened I ran
in quickly. I thank God that he led me to this place. I have now been here nearly three
years. I am very happy, for I do not have those troubles which I had before. I have kind
friends, but most of all, I am thankful that Jesus died to save me. God has given me the
Bible to read, which teaches me that “Straight is the gate and narrow is the way that
leadeth unto life.” I was very bad before I came here. I used to gamble, lie, and steal.
Now I love Jesus, and by God’s help I will try to be obedient, and do those things which
will please him.
Yours truly,
Sing Kum
San Francisco, January 4, 1876
This letter was in the particular chapter named “Letter by a Chinese Girl (1876).” Sing
Kum had written this letter to a “Miss B” in San Francisco. This letter can also be seen
in Reverend Otis Gibson’s book The Chinese in America. An attempt was made in
trying to build up Sing Kum’s biography:
Born: around 1859, Sin Lam, China1
Immigrated to US: Around 1871, San Francisco1
Race: Chinese
Gender: Female
Sing Kum was born in China around 18592 to a weaver and his wife. She also
had two younger siblings, a sister and a brother. Being born during a time in which foot
binding was still allowed, Sing Kum did not have hers bound since she was born into a
poor family1. Footbinding was a practice for status. It is meant for Chinese women to be
able to marry into money: the tinier the feet, the more “beautiful” a woman3.
Interestingly, Sing Kum’s mother’s feet were tiny, hinting at the fact that she had had
her feet bound as a child. Unfortunately for Sing Kum, because her family was poor, she
was sold as a possible slave/servant girl by the age of seven2. Her father had not sold her
as a means of just trying to survive and alleviate poverty. It was once an acceptable
Chinese American Voices, “Letter by a Chinese Girl (1876)”
AncestryLibrary.com- 1880 census, family history, Los Angeles
I use the word “around” because it is unclear whether or not she was exactly the age of 17 in
1876; she could be approaching 18 years old, or some Chinese go by the Lunar Calendar. Even in the
census from 1880, it states that her “estimated” birth year is “abt” 1856.
3
NPR.org: “Painful Memories for China’s Footbinding Survivors”
1
2
2
Chinese American Voices, “Letter by a Chinese Girl (1876)”
practice for parents to sell their children, especially girls, to also try and save their lives3.
When selling their children, parents often convince themselves that this was the only
way for their child to have a higher chance at a better life. At least their child would be
with someone who could provide better for him or her.
Her first mistress told her to deny her father as her father, which she did1. When
she did so, her father seemed sad, but still sent her away with some money and wishes of
prosperity. The sadness that Sing Kum describes about her father gives the idea that he
did not want to send his child away. It can be taken as a hint that although he feels
selling his daughter would save her from a life of poverty, he also knows the reality of
selling a child into slavery. This would be the last time she would ever see her family.
Since then, she is sold four times1.
As the result of one of these sales, Sing Kum was brought to San Francisco
around 1871, at around the age of 121. She went through a lot of abuse as someone’s
“property.” She was whipped, had her hair pulled and the insides of her cheeks pinched1.
During her time as a slave/servant girl, Sing Kum was very likely sold and forced to
work as a prostitute. In the 1870 census, about 61% of the 3,536 Chinese women in
California were listed as “prostitute” for their occupation4. After having to go through
such an ordeal for about 2 years, Sing Kum managed to escape from her harsh life after
her friend pointed out to her the Methodist Mission Home founded by Reverend Otis
Gibson in 18701. She arrived at the home, immediately rushing in as soon as the doors
were open to her, asking to let her go to a school for Chinese girls. It was there that she
learned to read and write in English and Chinese1.
3
Children in Slavery Through The Ages
Girls in China are usually seen as unwanted, so buying them was deemed a charitable practice
3 Journey to Gold Mountain
Around 1870, there were around 23,714 people attending school in San
Francisco. Of those, only about 1,742 were foreign-born5. Considering that not all
foreign-born persons are Chinese and males greatly outnumbered females at the time,
Sing Kum was amongst the fortunate females to receive education. During her time of
education, she also became a Christian, thanking God and Jesus for bringing her to the
Mission Home. Even before the age of 17, Sing Kum acknowledged that she gambled,
lied, and stole1. Whether she really did such things or she was writing in such a way
because of her audience (i.e. the Mission) is unknown. However, it would not be
surprising, since one would try to do anything to survive, especially in a foreign land.
Within the 3 years that she had been in the Home before the age of 17, she had learned
to read and write in proper English, as seen in her letter to a “Miss B.” She eventually
also became an assistant teacher in the Mission Home1.
Sing Kum would not have been the only Chinese immigrant to struggle in the
United States. There had been a large assumption in society then that any Chinese
immigrant had arrived in America as a slave. As Rev. Gibson states, “Let me uncover
another fallacy here. We have the statement that the Chinamen who come here are
mostly slaves. This statement is not true of the men in a single instance.”6 Quite
oppositely, many arrive as voluntary immigrants. But, because of this assumption, the
Chinese have been degraded, seen as an inferior race to many. This view would not have
helped the immigrants in terms of trying to get a better life. Luckily, there are people
such as Rev. Gibson who do not see this. He clearly states with passion, “The Chinese
an inferior race!...Does that sound like an inferior race?...If the Chinese are truly the
inferior race which they are said to be, then coming to this country, they must ever
remain the mud-sill of society, performing for us our unskilled labor, and thus lifting the
5
6
University of Virginia Library, Historical Census Browser, Country-Level Results for 1870
The Chinese in America. Page 260
superior white race.”7 With such an assumption, it would be difficult for anyone to avoid
stealing, gambling, lying.
One would think that the Mission Home would be a relatively easy place to
research and find with the present day resources that we are provided with.
Interestingly, so far any attempt in trying to find information about the Home has been
quite futile. The closest bit of information found so far is another Methodist home that
Reverend Otis Gibson helped out with: Pine United Methodist Church, a “mother”
church of all Japanese American Methodist Churches in the United States.8The
continued existence of the Home is still unknown to me. Further attempts in finding the
Home will continue, which will hopefully lead to a better history to Sing Kum’s life.
By around the age of 24, Sing Kum had married Ah Sou9. This is based on the
assumption that the same Sing Kum found in the 1880 census. There is an uncertainty
due to the slight difference in age and the location in which the census was taken.
According to the 1880 Los Angeles Census, her household also consisted of a child of
around the age of 10 by the name of Ah Kow. Since she had arrived in America around
the time that Ah Kow was born, it can be assumed that she is not his biological mother,
especially since there is no mention of him in her letter to Miss B or in Rev. Otis
Gibson’s recollection. Both Ah Sou and Ah Kow are listed as laborers, while at the same
time Sing Kum is listed as a “keeping house”10. It is possible that she worked as an
assistant teacher for a while before getting married and moving to a different location.
This is the last record that could be found about Sing Kum.
Briefly looking at the children and families that were in living around Sing Kum
in 1880, it appears that by time, although no one is listed as having gone to school
7
The Chinese in America. Page 264
“Who are we?: About Us” Pine United Methodist Church
9 AncestryLibrary, 1880 Census
10 AncestryLibrary.com- 1880 census, family history, Los Angeles
8
during the census year, no one is listed as illiterate either. It is quite possible that the
census taker just did not care to take the time to get accurate information. After all, in
the census, the majority of the names that show up seem to imply that the family name
of the multitude of persons in the area is “Ah.” In Chinese, when one person refers to
another, “Ah” followed by the person’s name is used. For instance, if the person’s name
is Wong, then he would be referred to as “Ah Wong.” Since the census written shows
that practically the entire area has persons with names of “Ah,” it could very well be that
the census taker did not care to go from person to person and taking their actual names.
This would not be a surprise, as the Chinese were commonly mistreated during this time
period. However, it would also not be too much of a surprise that there are this many
people in the area with the same family name, since families do tend to live close by.
Most females in that district stayed at home, and all males ranging from the age
of 10 and up worked outside the house2. This could be that culturally, Chinese women
are expected to the ones who are in charge of taking care of the house and their families,
while men are those who go out and do the hard labor. Everyone living in the same area
were also Chinese immigrants.
There have been many frustrating attempts to find out more about Sing Kum and
the Methodist Mission Home that she was at. Throughout the summer, I plan to finish
reading Otis Gibson’s The Chinese in America and possibly research on other Chinese
immigrants that he mentions. Since I’ve only mainly been focusing on the immigrants on
the West Coast (more specifically only those in California), I plan to expand and
continue on researching more on those in the East Coast. I hope that within my first two
weeks of research I will have an even firmer idea in what I would like to research. At
this point, my plan is to possibly compare the experiences between the immigrants
between the two coasts. Also, it was interesting to me that despite not being listed as
attending school, the immigrants taken in the 1880 census were not listed as illiterate
either. I wonder if the Chinese cultural component of maintaining education despite the
environment had kept them educated.
Another topic I just might hope to look into is whether the things I learned as a
Chinese-American child pertains to these Chinese immigrants. As I read through
materials in my research, I found that I would make assumptions based on my past
experiences. Things would make sense to me that probably would not have made sense
to someone who did not grow up in a Chinese household. This has got me thinking even
more while reading things. I would have to stop and wonder if I would have to explain
why certain things make sense to me or if it was typical for anyone to be able to
understand. If possible, I hope to find historical components that lead to certain beliefs
or cultural aspects of the persons I read about.
Sources used
AncestryLibrary.com. Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California, 1880 Census. Roll: 67;
Family History Film: 1254067; Page: 159B; Enumeration District: 022; Image: 0020;
4th and 5th June, 1880
http://search.ancestrylibrary.com/iexec?htx=View&r=5542&dbid=6742&iid=423997900022&fn=Sing&ln=Kum&st=r&ssrc=&pid=14225118
Lim, Louisa. “Painful Memories for China’s Footbinding Survivors.” March 2007.
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=8966942
Pine United Methodist Church. “Who we are: About Us” Accessed April 2012.
http://www.pineumc.org/?p=aboutus
Spicksley, Judith. “Reviews in History.” Children in Slavery Through the Ages. Book
Review. Jan 2012. http://www.history.ac.uk/reviews/review/893
Takaki, Ronald. Journey to Gold Mountain: The Chinese in 19th-Century America. New
York, NY. Chelsea House Publishers, 1994. Print. Page 101.
University of Virginia Library, Historical Census Browser, Country-Level Results for
1870. Focus on California: Total Females, Persons Born in China, Females 5-18 years of
age, Foreign-Born Persons who Cannot Write, Total persons attending school, Foreignborn persons attending school. http://mapserver.lib.virginia.edu/php/county.php
Yung, et al. Chinese American Voices. “Letter by a Chinese Girl (1876).” London,
England. Regents of the University of California, 2006. Print. Pages 15-16.