Archive Mini Project (Group Work)
Padlet 1: General Research about Archives
After a series of comprehensive explorations, our research direction was determined to be the disappearance of the discourse rights of Chinese labor in the international context. Padlet 1 showcases our team's various preliminary investigations into archives, including but not limited to misinformation, discourse rights, marriage, and social issues. Through group discussions, we discovered that although archives can exist in any form, they all point to the experiences of certain individuals. People present subjective or socially existing events to readers through recording and storing. Ultimately, we decided to focus our attention on the plight of Chinese people because this is most relevant to us.
Padlet 2: Research on the Invisibles and Chinese Laborers
Presentation Slides (20 pages)
Padlet 2 demonstrates the research process we conducted on this topic. Our research inspiration came from a documentary called "The Six," which tells the story of six Chinese passengers who "disappeared" on the Titanic and explores the social background that caused this phenomenon. The documentary revealed the prevalent discrimination against Chinese people in Western society at that time. This discrimination was not only reflected in daily life but also in the media and public attitudes towards these Chinese survivors. After the sinking of the Titanic, the media's attitude towards the surviving Chinese passengers was indifferent and even biased and derogatory (slides 2 & 4). Beyond the story of the Titanic, a large number of Chinese laborers migrated to Western countries due to changes in their living conditions (slide 9). They could not receive the same job returns as white laborers (slide 10). Due to cultural and background differences, Chinese laborers were often marginalized in Western societies. Their foreign identity led to forced exclusion and discrimination. At the same time, influenced by religious differences and geopolitical factors, people with yellow skin were seen as invaders and enemies. Slide 5 presents a story of anti-yellow racism with a religious background, and slide 7 shows Western countries' attitudes toward preventing Chinese trade. In the 1878 U.S. presidential speech (slide 11), Chinese laborers were referred to as docile and servile slaves. Their cheap labor became the scapegoat for low wages in America, and anti-Chinese sentiment began to brew. Subsequently, in 1882, the U.S. Congress passed the Chinese Exclusion Act, prohibiting Chinese people from entering the United States, and similar events occurred in Canada (slide 12). However, the contributions of Chinese laborers to constructions like railroads and gold rushes in countries such as the USA and Canada are undeniable (Bu, 2023; HISTORY, 2024; Terrell, 2021) (slides 13 & 14). Meanwhile, the Chinese community in the Western world also began to protect themselves. Under the exploitation of anti-Chinese public opinion and policies, some systematic Chinese associations began to form, providing assistance to Chinese immigrants and resolving disputes. The CCBA association repeatedly protested against discriminatory laws and treatments, providing legal and substantive protection to the Chinese community.
Through archive-led research, we found that historical records of overseas Chinese laborers are mostly negative. At the same time, it is difficult to find their presence in the Western-dominated international discourse narrative. Through the presentation of archives, we hope to guide people to examine historical biases and re-recognize the "disappeared" group of Chinese laborers, similar to the documentary "The Six."