The Chinese rail workers were vital to the completion of the Transcontinental Railroad. The Central Pacific Railroad (CPRR) hired more than 10,000 Chinese men to build a railroad over the difficult terrain of the Sierra Nevada. By 1868, over 90% of the CPRR’s labor force consisted of Chinese immigrants.
Chinese Immigrants and the Dream of Gum San
Tens of thousands of Chinese men came to California for the Gold Rush and, later, for the railroad. Most came from the Chinese province of Guangdong, a province in the southern part of China. War, poverty, and over-population made living there difficult. Seasonal typhoons caused great destruction. These brave young men looked to a new, unfamiliar, country to cultivate their dreams.
California offered promise and excitement. The Chinese referred to it as Gum San, or “Gold Mountain.” They left their families, villages, and ways of life. They dreamed of returning to China as wealthy men.
Their “California Dream,” however, proved elusive. Prejudice, violence and low wages greeted them. Legislators passed laws designed to drive them out of California. Through it all, they stayed and worked hard. They fought for their rights. Their energy and work ethic transformed American history and the villages and homes of their birth.
[The Chinese immigrant] . . . comes because of his desire for independence, and he is assisted by the charity of his countrymen, which they bestow on him safely because he is industrious and honestly repays them. . . . he sets to work with patience, industry, temperance, and economy. He gives no man any offence and he is contented with small gains, perhaps only two or three dollars per day."
Hab Wa, Long Achick, Sam Wo & Co., Ton Wo & Co., Sacramento Daily Union, April 29, 1852, Chinese men who wrote an open letter to Governor Bigler “for the Chinamen in California” to protest racist remarks.*
*In the mid-19th century, “Chinaman” was an acceptable term referring to people of Chinese descent. Through the decades, this became a derogatory term. Today it is considered offensive.
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Gold Rush Discrimination
To my mind it is clear, that the settlement among us of an inferior race is to be discouraged, by every legitimate means. Asia, with her numberless millions, sends to our shores the dregs of her population. . . . It will afford me great pleasure to concur with the Legislature in any constitutional action, having for its object the repression of the immigration of the Asiatic races."
Governor Leland Stanford, Inaugural Address to the California State Legislature, January 10, 1862
Governor Stanford’s inaugural address [quoted above] reflected the growing anti- Chinese sentiment in the state. From 1852 to 1860, about 6,000 Chinese men arrived per year. They worked long, hard hours. Many made “worthless” claims pay off. White miners resented Chinese successes. They tried to drive the Chinese from their claims. Violent attacks against the Chinese included robbery and murder.
In 1852, the California State Legislature passed the Foreign Miner’s Tax. The law targeted Asian and Latin American immigrants. Until 1870, Chinese miners had to pay a monthly tax of $3. More discriminatory laws followed. From 1853 to 1862, the California legislature passed numerous laws to limit Chinese rights.
It is worth noting that Leland Stanford changed his view of the Chinese after he left politics. As one of the principals of the Central Pacific Railroad, he praised the importance of the Chinese railroad workers.
The Chinese railroad workers, as sojourners, faced constant hardship and discrimination to build the Transcontinental Railroad, the greatest engineering feat of the 19th century - a work of giants."
Dr. Raymond Douglas Chong, descendant of Railroad Worker Bein Yiu Chung. To read more stories of Chinese railroad workers and their contemporary descendants, visit our Descendants Stories exhibit.
Wanted! Five Thousand Laborers!
We continued about a year and a half, when we found we could not get sufficient labor to progress with the road as fast as was necessary, and we felt driven to the expediency of trying Chinese labor. I believe that all our people were prejudiced against Chinese labor, and that there was a disposition not to employ them."
Charles Crocker, Report of the Joint Special Congressional Committee to Investigate Chinese Immigration, 1877
Building a railroad with picks, shovels and hand tools requires a very large workforce. Construction supervisor, James Strobridge, could not retain enough white laborers. “They were unsteady men, unreliable,” Strobridge complained. He added that they would stay until payday, “get drunk and clear out.” Many of these white workers left the railroad to mine silver in newly discovered silver mines in Nevada.
Charles Crocker, Chief of Construction, suggested hiring Chinese workers. Strobridge resisted. He did not believe the Chinese were physically capable of building the railroad. He also did not think white crewmembers would work alongside Chinese laborers.
Reluctantly, Strobridge hired 50 Chinese workers. Favorably impressed, he hired more. He advertised for Chinese workers throughout California. Needing even more workers, he recruited directly from China. The first Chinese laborers hired specifically to work on the railroad arrived in 1865. Eventually, the Central Pacific Railroad hired more than 10,000 Chinese rail workers.
Lim Lip Hong, my great-grandfather, was a member of the very first Chinese crew that Charles Crocker hired in Dutch Flat in January 1864. He went on to build railroads for the next 13 years"
Andrea Yee, descendant of Railroad Worker Lim Lip Hong. To read more stories of Chinese railroad workers and their contemporary descendants, visit our Descendants Stories exhibit.
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Who Were the Chinese Railroad Workers?
If you saw the villages they came from you’d know why they left. They didn’t come for freedom but for survival."
Connie Young Yu, Great-Granddaughter of a Central Pacific Railroad Worker. To read more stories of Chinese railroad workers and their contemporary descendants, visit our Descendants Stories exhibit.
The Chinese rail workers were young men. Some had lived in California since the Gold Rush. Others came from China through labor contractors. It took about 21/2 years working on the railroad to pay off the cost of passage.
Like most immigrants, the men maintained ties to their homeland. Their earnings supported families back home in China. Some hoped to return to China when they earned enough money.
These sons, husbands, fathers wrote and mailed letters home. Unfortunately, the decades have taken their toll. War, uprisings, angry mobs, and fires destroyed Chinese homes and belongings. As yet, researchers have not found any letters or journals from Chinese workers
Even so, we know a great deal about the daily lives of Chinese workers through archaeological research. Artifacts from Chinese camps have provided important insight surrounding the men’s living conditions, diet, and social habits.
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No Matter the Cost
Working Through the Sierra Winter
The winter of 1866/67 and the winter of 1867/68 were long remembered as having had a snowfall heavier than has since been known on the mountains, and it was during these seasons that the railroad was built above the snow belt and over the summit."
Lewis Clement, US Pacific Railway Commission, 1887
Forty-four storms struck the Sierra during the terrible winter of 1866-1867. For economic reasons, the Central Pacific Railroad refused to halt work for the winter months, despite the human cost.
Blizzards created 30-foot snowdrifts. The snow was so deep, Chinese workers dug tunnels to connect camps to work sites. Thousands of Chinese laborers shoveled snow to keep the tracks clear. Avalanches swept through camps, killing many. There are no known accurate records of Chinese deaths. The total number of Chinese deaths were likely in the hundreds.
The experience of the winter convinced CPRR officials to build wood snowsheds to protect the tracks. Beginning in the spring of 1868, carpenters and laborers built more than 30 miles of snow sheds at the staggering cost of $2 million.
My great-grandfather, Mock Chuck, led his Chinese crew in 1865-1866 and conquered the towering forests, granite mountains and 13 foot snowdrifts to build the railroad. They accomplished the impossible, inch by inch, by hand and by heart. As I stood in the frigid cold at Donner Summit, I felt his pride in accomplishing what no one had ever done."
Vicki Tong Young, descendant of Railroad Worker Mock Chuck. To read more stories of Chinese railroad workers and their contemporary descendants, visit our Descendants Stories exhibit.
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Getting Over the Sierra
We measured work every Sunday morning, and the Chinamen without fail, always outmeasured the Cornish miners...The Chinese were skilled in using the hammer and drill; and they proved themselves equal to the very best Cornish miners in that work. They are very trusty, they are very intelligent, and they live up to their contracts."*
Charles Crocker, Report of the Joint Special Committee to Investigate Chinese Immigration, 1877
*In the mid-19th century, “Chinaman” was an acceptable term referring to people of Chinese descent. Through the decades, this became a derogatory term. Today it is considered offensive.
The Chinese workers performed the backbreaking, dangerous work of building the railroad. They cleared trees and leveled roadbeds. They constructed tunnels through solid granite. They blasted mountainsides, bridged gorges, and filled in ravines. Using only handheld tools and kegs of black powder, they achieved the impossible and completed the railroad in record time.
Summit Tunnel
Chinese laborers built 15 tunnels in the mountains of the Sierra. Seven were through solid granite. At 1,658 feet in length, the Summit Tunnel was the longest and the toughest. How did they do it? Two crews worked toward each other from both ends. At the same time, workers dug a shaft from the top down to the middle of the tunnel. Then they dug outward from the middle.
Working with black powder (not dynamite), crews averaged only 1 foot per day. To speed up the process, the CPRR experimented with the volatile explosive, nitroglycerine. Instead of the projected 3 years, Chinese workers finished the tunnel in 16 months.
I stood in the middle of the Great Summit Tunnel and in the darkness touched the walls of granite where they toiled for 15 months and where Uncle Jick Wah lost an eye in a blasting accident. I could feel the presence of the Chinese men from 150 years ago."
Dr. Russell N. Low, descendant of Railroad Workers Hung Lai Woh and Jick Woh. To read more stories of Chinese railroad workers and their contemporary descendants, visit our Descendants Stories exhibit.
You Decide...
Were Chinese workers lowered in baskets to plant explosive charges while working on the steep mountains of the Sierra Nevada?
Some say it is unlikely:
Doubters claim that neither James Strobridge (construction superintendent) nor CPRR engineers reported this work method. There are no photographs. They point to a 1927 story created by a Southern Pacific (SP) public relations agent as the source of the myth. After its publication, other writers picked up on SP’s story. Writers added their own details. Over the years, the myth became “fact.”
Some believe it is credible:
Supporters point out that workers from Guangdong were highly skilled at working from great heights in this manner. They reference several accounts detailing Chinese use of ropes, baskets and chairs before 1927. An 1868 newspaper, an 1869 tour book, an 1870 guide book, and an 1873 letter all mention Chinese working from ropes or baskets at Sierra work sites.
While the debate continues, no one disputes the Chinese performed very dangerous work while building the Transcontinental Railroad.
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The Chinese Worker
By the side of the grade smokes the campfires of the blue clad laborers who could be seen in groups waiting for the signal to start work. These are the Chinese, and the job...is to clear a level roadbed for the track. Miles back is the camp of the rear guard — the Chinese who follow the track gang, ballasting and finishing the roadbed."
Daily Alta California, 1868
The Chinese lived in sites separate from white workers. From the freezing cold Sierra to the hot, dry Nevada desert, they lived in brutal conditions. They worked sunrise to sunset, 6 days per week.
Laborers lived and worked in crews of 12-20 men. Each crew had a foreman and a cook. The foreman kept records and collected the pay. He deducted money for food and labor contractors.
The cooks purchased food from local Chinese merchants. The Chinese ate a healthy diet of fruits, vegetables, fish, and local game. They drank tea. The boiled water in the tea helped them avoid water-borne illnesses. They bathed daily and changed into clean clothes after work.
For recreation, some Chinese workers gambled and played games. Some smoked opium. Opium was legal and helped soothe the aches of hard labor.
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STRIKE!
An exchange between Mr. Frank M. Pixley, representing the municipality of San Francisco and Mr. Strobridge, Superintendent of Construction, Central Pacific Railroad (CPRR):
Q:(Mr. Pixley) "You wanted the white men to work for what the Chinamen worked for?"*.
A:(Mr. Strobridge) "We always paid liberal wages. When we paid the Chinamen $26 a month and they boarded themselves, we paid the white men $30 a month and boarded them."
Report of the Joint Special Committee to Investigate Chinese Immigration, February 27, 1877
*In the mid- 19th century, “Chinamen” was an acceptable term referring to people of Chinese descent. Through the decades, this became a derogatory term. Today it is considered offensive.
Strobridge’s answer above demonstrates how CPRR exploited its Chinese workers. They performed the most dangerous work, but were paid less than white workers.
On June 24, 1867, 3,000 Chinese workers went on strike. It was a highly coordinated and well-planned effort. They demanded a raise to $40 per month and a reduced workday.
Crocker did not meet the strikers’ demands, but he learned he could not take the Chinese workers for granted. In later months, the CPRR raised wages for skilled workers to $35 a month. Crocker also issued bonuses to all workers for working in the extreme heat of the Nevada desert.
Chinese Women
O, just marry all the daughters to men from Gold Mountain: All those trunks from Gold Mountain—you can demand as many as you want!
O, don’t ever marry your daughter to a man from Gold Mountain: Lonely and sad—a cooking pot is her only companion!"
Marlon K. Hom, Songs of Gold Mountain: Cantonese Rhymes from San Francisco Chinatown
The words to the above song demonstrate the struggles of 19th-century Chinese wives. Their husbands migrated to America to work. For the most part, it was cheaper and safer for the women to remain in China. Wives did not see their husbands for years.
Making matters worse, Congress passed the Page Act in 1875. This law excluded certain groups of people from immigrating to the UnitedStates. Namely—women. It outlawed the importation of Chinese women to America against their wills. The law originally intended to limit trafficking of women for prostitution. In reality, it prevented single or unemployed women from entering the United States.
This hindered development of America’s Chinese community. The community did not achieve equal numbers of men and women until after the repeal of the Chinese Exclusion Act in 1943.
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California for Americans
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That from and after the expiration of ninety days... it shall not be lawful for any Chinese laborer to come, or having so come after the expiration of said ninety days to remain within the United States."
The Chinese Exclusion Act, 1882
With the completion of the Transcontinental Railroad in 1869, thousands of Chinese laborers had to find other work. Some returned to China. Many remained in California. They worked in agriculture, mining, or manufacturing. Some worked for other railroads, as well as the Central and Union Pacific Railroads.
White laborers complained that the Chinese drove down wages and took jobs from Americans. Anti-Chinese sentiment grew. Media images, like this Magic Washer soap advertisement, reflected these sentiments and portrayed the Chinese in a menacing way.
In 1882, Congress passed the Chinese Exclusion Act. It was the first federal legislation in American history to restrict immigration based on race. The act prohibited Chinese immigration for 10 years. Congress renewed the law several times until its repeal in 1943.
Despite harsh treatment, the success of the Chinese shows that these contributions were not small. They were significant and affected our country greatly. Knowing this significant feat, among many others in this country, creates better understanding of who we are as Americans."
Baldwin Chiu, descendant of Railroad Worker Chas J. Lou. To read more stories of Chinese railroad workers and their contemporary descendants, visit our Descendants Stories exhibit.
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What is an American?
The [Chinese Exclusion] bill is founded on race hatred and panic. ... [If] a whole race may be excluded from the national domain... a whole enfranchised class maybe excluded from the suffrage for the same reason."
Harper’s Weekly, April 1, 1882
Since the time of the Gold Rush, the Chinese faced discrimination and racism. The need for labor often clashed with Americans' reluctance to integrate people who were different from them. “Nativism,” or the fear of foreigners, flared with the arrival of each new wave of immigrants.
This historic illustration [below] appeared in Harper's Weekly, February 18, 1871. It expresses the anti-immigrant sentiment of the time. These terms are derogatory and offensive.
The completion of the Transcontinental Railroad fueled growth and travel in the United States. This movement helped inflame racial and ethnic tensions. Even today, as diverse groups of people encounter each other, conflicts occur.
Yet, it is this diversity that defines what it is to be an American. As the U.S. population changes, the definition of an “American” evolves with it.
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Thank you!
We would like to thank the following institutions for their contributions:
- Bancroft Library at the University of California Berkeley
- California State Library
- Center for Sacramento History.
- Library of Congress
- Oakland Museum of California
- Stanford Library
Resources:
- Stanford Chinese Railroad Workers of North America
- Stanford Chinese Railroad Workers of North America Oral Histories and Interviews
- Stanford Chinese Railroad Workers Teacher’s Resources
For More information:
- Chinese Historical Society, Chinese American: Inclusion/Exclusion
- Chinese Historical Society of America, Towards Equality, California’s Chinese American Women
- Chinese Railroad Workers in North America Project
Further Reading
- Bain, David. Empire Express: Building the First Transcontinental Railroad. New York: Penguin Press, 1999.
- Chan, Sucheng. This Bittersweet Soil: The Chinese in California Agriculture, 1860-1910. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1986.
- Chan, Sucheng. “A People of Exceptional Character: Ethnic Diversity, Nativism, And Racism in the California Gold Rush,” 44-85 in Rooted in Barbarous Soil: People, Culture, and Community in Gold Rush California, Kevin Starr and Richard J. Orsi, eds. Berkeley: University of California Press, 2000.
- Chang, Gordon H. Ghosts of Gold Mountain: The Epic Story of the Chinese Who Built the Transcontinental Railroad. New York: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2019.
- Chang, Gordon and Shelley Fisher Fishkin and Hilton Obenzinger. “The Chinese and the Iron Road,” in Sandstone & Tile, Fall 2018. Stanford Historical Society 42, No.3.
- Kraus, George. High Road to Promontory: Building the Central Pacific across the High Sierra. Palo Alto: American West Publishing Company.
- Lee, Sue and Connie Young Yu, eds. Voices From The Railroad: Stories By Descendants Of Chinese Railroad Workers. Chinese Historical Society of America, 2019.
recommended children's Books
- Fraser, Mary Ann. Ten Mile Day and the Building of the Transcontinental Railroad. New York: Henry Holt and Company, 1993.
- Perritano, John. The Transcontinental Railroad. Scholastic Press, 2010. *This book offers a good overall evaluation of the building of the Transcontinental Railroad. Please note that the author describes the wages paid to Chinese railroad workers as fair wages for the time, (pp. 25, and 43). This is not consistent with the information we have provided in this packet. Chinese workers were not paid fairly when compared to wages paid to white workers.
- Yep, Laurence. Dragon’s Gate. New York: Harper Trophy, 1993.
- Yep, Laurence. The Dragon’s Child. New York: Harper Trophy, 2008.
- Yin. Coolies. New York: Puffin Books, 2003.