Summary of Iris Chang's The Chinese in America

By IRB Media

Please note: This is a companion version & not the original book. Book Preview:

#1 The first wave of Chinese emigration to the United States began in the mid-nineteenth century, when China was still an imperial state ruled by the surviving members of the Qing dynasty. The Qing, originally from Manchuria, had held power for two hundred years, but their power was waning.

#2 The Chinese civilization was centered around the two rivers that flowed from Tibet to the sea, the Yangtze River in the south and the Yellow River in the north. The Gobi Desert dominated the north-central area of China.

#3 The Chinese civil service was formed out of the need for a centralized state to control a diverse population speaking different dialects, despite the fact that most people rarely traveled far from their home villages.

#4 The peasants in China worked extremely hard, but they were never given anything in return. They were fed a sparse but nutritious diet, and hardly anything was wasted. They lived and died without ever seeing any members of the class that ruled over them.

• Language: English
• Publisher: IRB Media
• Release date: May 9, 2022
• ISBN: 9798822510340

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Insights on Iris Chang's The Chinese in America

Contents

Insights from Chapter 1

Insights from Chapter 2

Insights from Chapter 3

Insights from Chapter 4

Insights from Chapter 5

Insights from Chapter 6

Insights from Chapter 7

Insights from Chapter 8

Insights from Chapter 9

Insights from Chapter 10

Insights from Chapter 11

Insights from Chapter 12

Insights from Chapter 13

Insights from Chapter 14

Insights from Chapter 15

Insights from Chapter 16

Insights from Chapter 17

Insights from Chapter 18

Insights from Chapter 19

Insights from Chapter 1

#1

The first wave of Chinese emigration to the United States began in the mid-nineteenth century, when China was still an imperial state ruled by the surviving members of the Qing dynasty. The Qing, originally from Manchuria, had held power for two hundred years, but their power was waning.

#2

The Chinese civilization was centered around the two rivers that flowed from Tibet to the sea, the Yangtze River in the south and the Yellow River in the north. The Gobi Desert dominated the north-central area of China.

#3

The Chinese civil service was formed out of the need for a centralized state to control a diverse population speaking different dialects, despite the fact that most people rarely traveled far from their home villages.

#4

The peasants in China worked extremely hard, but they were never given anything in return. They were fed a sparse but nutritious diet, and hardly anything was wasted. They lived and died without ever seeing any members of the class that ruled over them.

#5

The Chinese had a long history of repelling all outsiders, but in 1644, the Manchu tribesmen from Manchuria conquered the Han people and established the Qing dynasty. They banned intermarriage between the Han and the Manchu, and they implemented a system of exams that promoted merit rather than lineage.

#6

The imperial exam system in China created a society in which the Han constantly competed against each other for favor with their rulers. The system suppressed rebellion until the nineteenth century.

#7

The Chinese port cities of Shanghai, Canton, and Hong Kong were more cosmopolitan and progressive than the rest of China. They were also influenced by overseas merchants, and their residents were more concerned with making money than with respect for status.

#8

The Chinese had been adventurous and robust world travelers in the past, but the nineteenth century saw their decline as a world power. The Industrial Revolution vaulted many European countries far ahead of China in technological development.

#9

The Qing dynasty, which ruled over China from 1644 to 1912, was a corrupt and inefficient government that allowed the ruling class to live beyond their means. The Chinese population had more than doubled during this time, and overcrowding caused shortages of arable land, which led to higher rents for tenant farmers.

#10

The Chinese government tried to stop the drug traffic, but they were unsuccessful. In 1839, the Qing emperor appointed a special commissioner, Lin Zexu, to end the drug traffic. In Canton, Lin confiscated 20,000 chests of opium and ordered the narcotic to be dissolved in fresh lime and water and